 The engine is a magical 1.4 liter torque monster that seemed to never eat or drink.  I regularly got 44 miles per gallon.  That was good.  44 could be had at 70 with the Air conditioning on.  50mpg wasn't unreasonable at 60.  The trunk is a colossal cavern.  I got a grandfather clock into my car.  A sedan.  (the trunk was closed)      Everything that isn't mentioned above ranges from sub-par at best to unforgivable at worst.   The 5 speed is great as a means to send the car's fuel mileage into the stratosphere.  The shifter linkage may have been found in a box in wolfsburg marked "1975 rejects".  The throw to fifth is within a knuckle of the distance to the passenger's knee.  The release for reverse sometimes failed to activate reverse.  This caused a great deal of unpleasantness.  Camera on, clutch out, car goes..  forward.  Sometimes the camera didn't come on.  The backup camera came on a couple times in 1st.  That was amusing.  And there's all that torque but nowhere to go, because the traction control cannot be turned off.  This causes problems when the car can smoke its wheels easily.  If it was raining, the car was sketchy.  Traction control would have a meltdown.  If it was snowing, there was a good chance that traction control and skid protection's constant freakouts made you and your vehicle a danger to the public.   Let's see, App-Connect hardly ever worked.  Only the misfortune of driving a 2016 base model made me thankful for the former plymouth designer (I presume) who designed the cheap, monotonous interior of the SE trim - it's black plastic.  The dashboard is harder than the bumpers.  And it's cheap.  the inner door reflectors fall out. often.  The mirror control button is counterintuitive, Seat heat was great, and the heater was great.  The glovebox was huge.  That's good.  The dashboard had old school gauges.  I like that. Unlike many vehicles in its segment, it looks like a car.  The problem is that it's a lousy one.  It was a riot to drive in the dry and a nightmare in the wet.  they could have spent two hundred dollars more per unit to have a great car.  The problem was that VW didn't, and the car is lousy.  If fuel mileage is your only concern, this is a winner.  If you're going to lease - don't.  VW might delete your payment history and report all kinds of strange things to the credit bureau.  VW credit has an ongoing computer glitch that is affecting several hundred people, but they won't fix it.  Also, the car's mediocre at best.  If you're basic, it's perfect.  Its failings will be lost on you.   If you need a cheap, newer vehicle, don't do it.  It's german.  It's turbocharged.  The parts are expensive.  It's not made well.  And neither the dealer, VW Credit, nor VW itself were willing to stand behind its product.