 My 2004 GTI is number 7 on my list of VWs I have owned.  Aside from the ridiculous place of the cup holders (which I am now over) I love all of this car.  I have 76k on it now and it runs great.  Everyone who complains about the quality of their VW does not follow the directions provided by VW.  You must use full synthetic oil, preferably from the approved oil list from VW.  You must do routine maintenance when it is supposed to be done.  I always do my maintenance on time and I have had a variety of VWs go to nearly 300k miles.  Treat the car nicely, drive it nicely, fix whatever breaks.  If a person acts like they like the car and takes care of it, it will last. 