 UPDATE....July 2017.  The car has been boght back by VW as part of the Diesel emmisions issue.  This was the worst ownership experience ever.  .....................................................................Some design aspects of the car are now driven by cost cutters at VW.  Lets take a look at some things simple....starting with the door hinges!  They have shrunk dramatically compared to my 2013 Jetta hinges.  Door detent stops are pretty useless and you will easily hit your door on the car next to you in a parking lot.Seats....creaking and popping from the backrest of the drivers seat is getting quite annoying.  Oil changes look a bit more involved on the EA 288 engine due to the filter location.  The dash icons have shrunk in size....you may need reading glasses to see them!   Headlights are not as powerful as on my Jetta, high beam is pretty much useless.   Get used to hitting your head when exiting this car....you need to be agile to get in and out.  Hidden door key slot is not user friendly....ref Jetta again.   Interior light buttons hard to find in the dark....four buttons in close proximity.  The dash illumination reflects in the side window.  The exterior mirror demisters only operate at under 68deg F.....not good for humid Texas mornings that start out at 8O deg F.  Exterior mirrors have suffered due to fashion/aerodynamics taking over functionality....they are too small....ref Jetta again, much better!   Performance.... pretty good but does get caught out below 1800 rpm....very noticeable turbo lag.  Economy....good so far.  Mark VII Golf has grown apart from it's predecessor.  I'm not sure where VW are going with these design changes apart from cost cutting.  Safety wise, add as many airbags as you wish but make visibility better starting with the door mirrors.   I am thinking a lot has to do with the adoption of exhaust treatment equipment that has driven costs up and profits down.OK, lots of things have changed since the above review.  The VW Diesel Emissions scandal being the main one!  On top of this, visits to the Dealership for warranty repairs and a service have left me completely unimpressed.   I understand this car will be bought back by VW and scrapped.  So much for being environmentally less damaging.  This has been the worst buying and owning experience of any car I have owned in over 35 years and over 40 vehicles over that time period.Update, January 2017.  The Diesel emission scandal is still ongoing.  I opted for the buy back but the process is extremely slow and time consuming with forms to be filled out, notarized and uploaded to the VW Claims portal.  Due to an error in my form, the portal has to be reset and I have told this could take 28 days!  No option to go back to the steps that was incorrect.  On top of this, the Dealership where I go for service and parts have had many people quit since the emissions woes and the replacements are not very helpful.  I waited 35 minutes for a parts guy to help last week as he was the only one there.  I was the only walk in customer but his phone never stopped ringing.  Other issues with the car include front brake rotors warped, (Dealer machined them true, under warranty) a noise from the drivers side front suspension when turning (Dealer can't find what it causing it) engine under tray fell off after an oil change....suspect it wasn't put back correctly ($290 to have it replaced) windshield mists over on the inside first thing in the morning when the blower is turned on, loose drivers inside door handle and drivers seat lumbar adjuster knob keeps falling off.  Overall, this has been and is continuing to be, a poor experience and one not to expect from a company such as VW.JANUARY 2018.  This car is now history.  VW bought it back in March 2017 as part of the emissions settlement.