Packaging. There's lots of room for large adults in front and rear, for head, leg and elbowroom. Getting in and out of the rear seats is as good as it gets for a two door. Both the driver and passenger seats fold up and completely out of the way making ingress and egress best in class. Storage is good too. A full size glove box, in dash CD slot, door pockets and covered bin in the armrest will swallow up most of your driving peripherals. Fold the split back seats, open the wide hatch and load it up with 405 kg (893 lbs including occupants) of almost anything you need to transport. There's 0.5 cubic meters (18 cubic feet) available with the seats up.
Problems? Not too many by my count. Other than the annoying need to unlock the rear hatch separately from the rest of the car every time you close it, was the traction control system. Before you attempt to cross a busy street in dry weather conditions, make sure you press the ASR button on the dash, turning the traction control off. If you don't, the traction control will bog down the engine and you'll end up in the middle of the road, going nowhere. This could prove dangerous. The ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation) with Electronic Differential Lock (EDL) works tremendously in slippery conditions however.
Price. This is the best part. Sure, a VW usually costs a little more than comparative makes, but in the case of the GTI - it's a downright bargain. Exhilarating performance, corruptible power, sheer perfection in the details and great all round looks. That's why I want a Volkswagen GTI VR6.