Faults:

Hmm...

It burns through oil at a rate of about a quart a month.

The handle on the drivers side door broke off.

Had a bad thermostat, water pump, and crankshaft sensor at 70,000.

In the last two years:

The cup holder broke.

The glove box broke.

The middle armrest broke.

The power steering pump fell off while I was driving.

The A/C stopped working.

The water pump went out (again).

The front passenger side window stopped working.

The clutch went out.

It's leaking coolant out of the engine somewhere.

And I think the head gasket maybe blown.

General Comments:

This is the worst car to maintain.

It seems like at least twice a year, we have to sink anywhere between 500-1000 dollars on some repair.

Faults:

My first problem with the car occurred with the glove box not coming down in a smooth manner. This was remedied by replacing the air piston (cost about 15 $CAN).

My second problem was that that HVAC unit was not blowing hard enough to my expectations. This was simply remedied by a trip to the local VW dealership to purchase a new H.V.A.C filter for 12.35$ (CAN$). After 15 minutes of installation with the instructions provided by vwvortex.com, the problem was remedied.

My third problem... This was most likely due to my negligence and *stupidity*. I figured a one arm iridium spark plug would provide better performance and economy than the OEM three arm copper sparks. Was I ever wrong! Apparently, the copper sparks light at the optimal temperature for the 2.0L engine. Please! Please! If you own this car and change the sparks, opt for the *cheap* 3 pronged copper spark plugs as they are the best for performance and fuel economy. If you go with the the "high performance" iridium sparks, as I did, you will end up running with a Jetta on 3 cylinders. Fortunately, I had remedied the problem within 300km of instillation. Please do not make the same mistake I have made. More expensive does not mean better!! Go with the *cheap* OEM copper sparks!

My fourth and final conflict with the car was extremely random. I woke up one morning with it being -36C with a windchill of -47C and my HVAC fan was making a very loud sound. After a swift punch to the dash (sorry honey), and a 3 minute drive, the sound never appeared again, and neither did -47C...

General Comments:

The 2.0L engine is in my opinion indestructible. Over the past three years my car has gone from +43C to -52C. It has always started with no problems.

Unfortunately for me, I had a roll-over accident with this car. I truly believe that the engineering in this car had saved my life, as I had rolled at least two times, at a speed of 100km/h or so: coming off a highway. I truly believe that if it wasn't for me being in this car for this accident, I would not be able to write this review today.

All in all, the car was quiet, comfortable on long highway trips, had decent power for my needs (no hauling nor heaving towing) and was extremely reliable in the most extreme north Canadian conditions.

My next car will most likely be a VW Passat TDI, as I would enjoy the fuel savings of a diesel and the larger dimensions of the Passat.

Faults:

The only thing that went wrong with my VR6 was that I had to change the AC compressor (400$) and one O2 sensor (60$), both from ebay!!

For the fun I changed my cat converter; I bought a Magnaflow for $45.

Other than that, nothing.

I have no idea why this car is getting so much negative feedback. Probably bad luck.

The only thing you should probably go with is a manual transmission; the 4 speed automatic is not that good.

General Comments:

Runs great, not so bad on gas, well at least comparing to my 4.2 Range Rover.

If you compare it with any car of its category, none will give you leather heated seats, great sound system and electric everything for that price.