This thread is allover the place, partly because there hasn’t been clear direction given IMO.
OP - what are the primary goals here? How long do you plan to keep the car? Are you shopping for TCO or simply looking at the monthly payment? These two things do not always coincide.
You cannot be advised to lease or finance a car until we at least know which car is in question. Some cars would be much better to lease because they have terrible depreciation, others will be better to finance because they have slower depreciation (and the money factor is very high), for example.
I have a buddy with brand new rs3. It blows the 340 out of water in performance. I had a 340 before. He uses it as daily with a family of 4. This is guy who went from golf r to rs3. He doesnt complain about space as its bigger than last gen golf.
Not sure you know what your talking about honestly. Why would you not commute an hour in it? Yea 340 is bigger. I would rather have rs3. Not a big fan of audi but this is best bang for the $$$ in terms of performance and practicality. Bmw is great but 340 isnt exactly a suburban in terms of space either. This comparison is like guys measuring themselves in the gym locker.
I test drove a CVT WRX and it was surprisingly decent, just the road noise on the highway is not Audi or BMW level. The WRX leases well because the 22s are discounted. I ended up financing a VW Jetta GLI, I think for the money it is pretty refined and still fun to drive.
