I got a GTI the first year the MKIVs came out in 2000. Stuff like a broken glove box door, window regulators killed their "evaluation" by CR. But I sold mine 4years and 70K later and it ran just as good as the day I bought it.
Well, I just received the latest Consumer Reports Auto Issue in the mail, irregardless of your personal experience, it's not just "minor stuff". The CR ratings show the VW's various models rated below average to terrible in all the following categories: Drive System, Fuel System, Electrical, Climate System, Brakes, Body Hardware, & Power Equipment.
I had the misfortune to have one of these for a rental of about 800 miles. It was the top of the line one, loaded up with leather, etc, maybe a Passat, don't recall exactly, and had only had about 8000 miles on it. We were driving along in desolate Eastern Colorado, and suddenly every single light including the speed, warning lites, etc., on the dash went dark, and stayed that way for the remaining hours of our trip, and it was nighttime. It did the same thing on the return trip. Luckily, the motor kept running, and the headlights worked, so we didn't get stranded.
Later I spoke to my niece, who owned one of the things for a couple of years, told her what happened, and she said, "Oh yeah, ours used to do that. We took it to the dealer several times, they said it was fixed, but it kept doing it." She owned Hondas before and after her one unpleasant experience with a VW. You can have them. I wouldn't even accept one for a car rental again.