I have owned an '07 GTI (4-dr 6-spd in Reflex Silver with Interlagos Plaid cloth seats) since summer 2008 and it has been a great little car. Only major issues (fixed under warranty) were a/c (this is common apparently) and a turbo failure (replaced turbo). I only have ~30K miles on the car right now so these were relatively low-mileage incidents.
Cheers
d.
ps It had the ride height of a 4x4 when I got it and that was easily and immediately fixed with H&R springs. No other mods except 18" wheels - waiting until it's out of warranty to get the chip
