Just my $.02 worth. First I respect all of the information that Woodchuck and many others offer here, it has been priceless over the years. With that said, I have to take exception with the statement that 1 qt of oil in 3000 mile is normal. It may be common but is certainly not normal (at least not correct) , regardless of what VW says. My daughter has a 2001 NB which uses about a quart every 4 - 5 K miles, and this has been a pet pieve of mine for some time. Her last car was a 88 Cabriolet with 210,000 miles on it when I sold it to a friend and to this day it does not use a quart between oil changes. I really think that VW has screwed up somwhere in the design of this newer 2.0 and will not admit it.
I have been rebuilding engines for more than 35 years, anything from VW aircooled to 800 HP blown Big Block Chevy drag boat engines, and if any of mine were to require a quart in 3000 miles, something was wrong and it was comming apart again. I have owned a 70 Plymouth 426 HEMI since new with over 150,000 miles since the last rebuild and that may use a quart in 3000 miles, but it isn't being treated like a baby either when I drive it and somewhat expected. Out of the 5 cars that I own, none except for the NB uses this kind of oil. I truly believe that there is a problem in the design.
Although its not the end of the world, it just ticks me off knowing that its not correct, other than that it's a pretty nice car and I am thinking about getting a TDI myself. I have noticed that it seens to be getting better, maybe they just take a long time for the rings to seat as Woodchuck said, but its
45,000 miles which is a long time for Break In. Sorry to ramble on, just that you hit a sore spot with me on the oil usage on the 2.0.
Happy New Year, Thanks, Butch