Well, a buddy of mine has a 2001 GTI that runs high 13's and he has not spent much at all. And, it would out handle my civic anyday. Oh, and it looks tight as hell. As far as quality goes, well my wifes friend has a passat 4motion and that car drives just as nice as my bosses s500. Also, one of my friends has a 2003 Jetta VR6 stock and it's very nice. Every manufacturer has lemons. I'm a Honda freak but I don't agree with you on the quality of VW's.