GTI - 2011, MKVI, Autobahn Edition

Update 10/05/2011: A person asked me how I felt about my GTI now that I'm coming up to a full year of ownership. The following was my response to the question. You are correct, I'm coming up on my first year of ownership of my GTI and I'd be happy to give you my impressions to this point. I've put approximately 12.5k miles on the car and I've driven it in rain, snow, excruciating Summer heat, several rounds of autocross and everything in between. In a nutshell, I still love this car. First and foremost, I've had zero mechanical problems with my GTI. Not even the tiniest of issues to report. Hence, I can only conclude from my experience that the build quality of my GTI is absolutely top notch. I took the car in for a gratis 6k inspection and 10k servicing and this went without a hitch. There was a factory software recall which was applied by the dealer to my GTI which fixed a problem with the keyless entry system but I'd never experienced the rectified problem in the first place. My GTI appears to drive today with the same exhilarating quickness as it did the day I took delivery. The car still handles with a sublime tightness without a hint of body roll but it also still has the same relatively stiff suspension to remind you when going over bumps and potholes too. The turbo still has the same explosive power and I've made very good use of it when driving autocross. The car really behaves very differently with the traction control disabled (the throttle response in particular gets much quicker) and I've had a great deal of fun racing around the cones during competitive events. The GTI is made to be driven aggressively and this is when the car really shines. I put Winter wheels (16" alloys with snow tires) on the car last year and I'll do the same again this year. With the snow tires, the GTI handles more or less like any other front wheel drive car except for the fact that you have to attenuate the power a little more carefully when driving in snow. You can spin your wheels in wet (or dry) conditions somewhat effortlessly and I'm pretty mindful of that now. Ground clearance is really the only concern when dealing with the white stuff but I haven't gotten stuck as of yet. Functionally, the GTI is deceptively large. I can easily fit four adults in the car without compromise...I'm sure the 2-door model feels different in this regard. The hatchback and folding rear seats also make for a surprising amount of cargo space when it's required. Gas mileage around the city is not that great...maybe 18-20 mpg in my experience. Conversely, mileage on the highway is astoundingly good...well over 30 mpg. My record is 36 mpg on a 200 mile drive. All in all, the GTI is amazingly useful in most real-world situations. Perhaps the only thing I thing I can point to and wish VW had done better is the NS-315 navigation/media unit. Everything works fine but I find the interface a little cumbersome in design and implementation....maybe VW should have hired Apple to write the car's software because I think it could have been done better. All in all, this is one of the best cars I've ever owned and I've had quite a few. I do miss some of the luxuries of my previous cars, like automatic climate control but those amenities would ruin the overall theme of the GTI: fast, fun, high-quality but spartan....very German at it's core. For the money, I can't see how you can get much more quality & bang for your buck. While cars like the Mazda 3 Speed are technically faster, they also seriously lack the quality and refinement of the GTI. To summarize: One year later and this car still gets 5/5 stars from me...I only wish I could give it six out of five. :)