6spd DSG transmission - seemless upshifts and downshifts. No hunting around for gears. Highly refined 4 cylinder turbo. No 4-cyl engine whine or harshness. Smooth power delivery with virtually no turbo lag. Quick bursts of power when you want/need it.
Very tasteful styling of dash and interior appointments. Smart combinations of high-quality upscale materials - brushed metal, high-quality plastics, leather, carpet, headliner, trunk and door edge trim.
Great detail and high feature content for a car in this class. Outclasses anything by the Japanese/Americans in its class. 6 spd DSG, in-dash 6cd player, Dual-zone AC, parking sensors, automatic Xenon headlights, rain sensor, hydraulic trunk lifts, etc.
I have owned 3 VWs in the past 9 years. My local VW dealer has a very good service department. No problems with VW reliability/service with any of my cars. Styling is smartly conservative. No gimmicky styling cues that look dated in 2 to 4 years.
Crisp responsive handling (not a Porsche but much much better than a Civic, Corrolla, or Camry), connected steering feel, good responses to driver inputs, solid feel which inspires confidence not boredom.