The R is a great car. I was, and still is, on my list. But at the time of my Fist purchase, I wanted to stay well below the R's price point.
Just as we can tune our cars, so can VW. APR tuning is comparable to Cobb and other vendor here, and I used them to tune an Audi A6 twin turbo. Pretty cool picking up 80 hp in 30 mins (no intercooler upgrade). They have Stage packages as well.
I'm sure the R will be tested against the Focus RS, and that will be a good read. But the Focus will lack the interior refinement for sure. I can't wait to see the RS comparisons vs its competition.