No offense but I would rather want my family to be safe than to be praised by others on how 'modern' a car I chose. City is extremely unsafe especially for rear occupants as it lacks rear safety beam, rear bumper guard and guard rails behind seat. We have already seen here in a thread on PW, how a brand new city was reduced to a crumpled tin when it was hit from the back by a GLI.
Yes City, has a better and faster engine which is more economical, but frankly it should not take precedent over safety of your loved ones. GLI has all these safety measures mentioned above and it is also bigger and heavier and better built compared to city which means more comfort, and better safety. Not to mention it has ABS, EBD and BA.
Also let me add that if you want to be distinguished, buy a S class or Rolls Royce. These GLIs and Citys and even Civics and Corollas are not meant to distinguish you on the road nor are meant to be raced on. Not to mention that a rare car also translates into pathetic resale.
In the end, everyone is entitled to his opinion and I respect yours, but just wanted to intervene so that OP does not makes a decision in ignorance