Update on the old man's car:
In the last 52 weeks I have racked up just over 23,000 km (14,000 miles) in the Jetta. Why? Because it gets the same fuel economy as the wife's Golf wagon and it has more passenger room. I like the seats better too. So if we go to the city or to visit friends, we take the Jetta.
I mentioned in another thread I put a set of Continentals on it a couple of months ago. The car loves them. Cornering speeds are up almost 10% before the tires start complaining.
So now that the car has passed 230,000 km, we'll see how the journey goes.
If I was foolish enough to drive cross the continent I wouldn't hesitate to take this car.
Best
Les