I have had mine since Halloween of '09 and still use it as a daily drive. As the others have mentioned, it does get a little "noisy" but the way I see (hear) it is that I'm more part of the car than someone just moving over pavement.
Being that it is a 2011, I would suggest looking into the "Steering Lock Issue" since it wasn't fixed until the 2012's. I had this problem but was fixed by the warranty. Thread can be found here:
Sticky***** Steering Lock Failure Database ***** Sticky Don't let this turn you away though.
I learned to drive manual on this car and did just fine. This does put me in a place where I only have experience on this car being manual but I have not had any issues. As far as the amount of space, yeah, you lose a lot of space coming from a GTI but what exactly will you be hauling? I haul my groceries, soccer stuff, guitars. However, if you're buying a TV or something of that size or bigger, get a friend.
Hope you get what you want. Good luck!
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Stillen Intake, ARK Exhaust. Hopefully in the near future
: Tanabe GF210 Lowering Springs, Hotchkis Sway Bars, Motordyne M370 Intake Manifold.