One month in and I just filled my tank for the 3rd time. 25.1, 24.3, 25. All the fills were really close to that 25mpg mark. I have yet to take the car for a long hwy drive. All my drives were around town, decent amount of traffic and lights but these are suburban roads. The second fill I really gave the 2.5 a little work out the last 50 miles of that tank. Lots of fun hilly backroads. No redlining but all my shifts were in the 3500-4750 range.
So far I am just enjoying every second I spend in the new Golf. The interior is really great all around, awesome seats, surprisingly good stereo. The ride is a real joy. The car feels incredibly solid, especially when taking a turn a little too hard. The MT shifts like butter, best shifter I've experienced in a car under 20k.
Hopefully reliability issues don't come up during my time owning it. Consumer reports rates the rabbit and 2.5 golf's reliability very high.
One complaint though which I experienced in other VW's, the power windows move too slooooooow. Underpowered motors? I experienced that nightmare multiple times with my camaro.