What makes VW unreliable...I have a mkiv gti (had a 99 and a 96 civic before that) for over 2 years and im yet to have any problems with it and I see old vws from the early 70s like the beetle and bus drivin around town.... I have driven the new gti and it probably has the best transmission out there in the DSG... and YES it is a threat to the new si and rsx if compared equally (without bias)