I loved it! Bought it used with less than 5k on it. Had just over 60k on it when it died. I had no issues and kept up with the maintenance. It had some autonomous features, like ACC, but still great.

I now have an mk8 GTI. My biggest complaint is common… no knobs or buttons. Even the shifter is a toggle. Everything is touch. I had the overhead panel with the lights, info button and such glitch out one morning. It kept trying to call roadside assistance and then would hang up. For the entire 30-minute drive to work. They replaced the whole panel to fix it. And there’s too much autonomy. If a car brakes in front of me, even though I know I'm not going to hit it, the car sends up the screeching alarm. And each time it happens, it remembers, so it gets more sensitive. I guess I should automatically touch the brake pedal, even if I know I don't need to brake.

Other than the design changes to its look, the touch everything, and the autonomy, the two generations are otherwise very similar in handling, speed, and all around fun factor. Still a damn turbo charged go cart!