 This the fourth diesel we've owned (2nd VW) and they just keep getting better.  We bought this car after comparing it to the Honda Accord and Subaru Legacy.  It, by far, was the most refined, quietest, smoothest, and most composed of the three.  Surprisingly (to us) the Honda was a distant last.  After 42,000 miles over 2 years, the car has been flawless.  Mileage is consistently between 42 and 44 over a tank with 60% hwy / 40% city split.  Open highway runs are typically in the mid to upper 40s.  I've seen as high as 52 mpg.The DSG transmission is the mark by which ALL other transmissions should be compared with respect to smoothness of operation.  I have never driven a car with a smoother shifting transmission than this one.  Even when one watches the shifts, they cannot be felt; utterly imperceptible.  It has the most room of any mid-size car, especially in the back seat.  It handles well, and ergonomics, while not perfect, are very good.The diesel engine does take getting used to.  One of my sons says it's "touchy".  It's not, really; just behaves differently than most other cars.  Pulling power is quite good thanks to the abundance of torque, though with only 140 hp one isn't going to win any stoplight races.  Then again, that's not why one would buy this car in the first place.My quibbles with the car boil down to three items.  First, the ride, while composed, can become somewhat harsh.  The 50 series tires certainly don't help, but softening the ride slightly would make a big difference in my book.  Second, some of the interior parts are on the cheap side.  Not as bad as the crap Toyota uses, but they could be better, or at least made to "feel" better.  Last, and by far the worst issue, is the infotainment system.  It is unquestionably the absolute worst excuse for such a system ever put in a vehicle.  While the radio sounds great, and the nav system is quite good, the system is so pathetically slow to respond to input it is maddening.  Taking my time, I can back out of a parking spot and drive off before the back-up camera ever turns on.  I can literally count the seconds it takes between pushing a button and the system taking action.  I could go on about how bad it is, but I digress...Overall, the car had been outstanding.  More reliable than a Honda we recently replaced, it has continued to be exactly what we needed.Update - We now have a bit over 52,000 miles on the clock.  The car has remained trouble-free.  The fuel economy of 41-43 mpg (average over a fill-up) is unchanged.  We expect to put at least 100,000 miles on the car before replacing it.  Of course, with the emissions debacle (grossly overblown in our opinion) in full swing, we really couldn't doing anything if we wanted to (which we don't) until whatever solution the eco-Nazis force on us is implemented.  On the bright side of that issue, though, VW's Goodwill Package has effectively provided us with free maintenance for the next two years, and that will be about the time we would look at replacing it anyway.  That makes this the least expensive car to operate we have ever owned.Update 2 - We had to stop driving the car about two months ago.  Not because of anything wrong with it (it still runs perfectly), but because of the diesel settlement structure.  We will be selling the car back to VW.  It has a little shy of 59,000 miles on the clock, which is just below the threshold for a mileage deduction of the buyback price.  While we won't recoup our full purchase price, we will be getting back a heck of a lot more than we could ever think of getting by selling it on the open market.  it's too bad because it's a really good car despite some of its aggravating shortcomings (e.g. the lousy infotainment system).