Adrian,
I'll tell you a little story about how I came to own a CC;
Two years ago I started my current job which required me for a short while to take several trips up and down the M6 from West Cumbria to Surrey every month, I didn't own a car at the time so plumped for something that would get the most MPG and be comfortable at the same time, this car was a 2008 VW Passat highline which I hated the look of as it reminded me of something my old man would have, although it came decked out with everything, Sat Nav, leather seats the lot, and the best thing? It returned 60-65 MPG on long runs. Perfect. That was a 2.0CR 140 model. I bought it for 10K with 30,000 on the clock.
Now, fast forward to February this year, I still hated the looks of the car, but I had literally fallen in love with how nice it was to drive and how cheap it was to run. In the 14 months I owned it, I had put nearly 35,000 miles on it (unbelievable right?) and managed to do 1000 miles to a tank on one of my trips from West Cumbria to South of France, I did this trip a few times and only managed it once, but still! In my time of ownership, I had one service and one failed rear parking brake, aside from insurance, fuel and the other little bits, the car cost me just over 800 quid in nearly 3 years worth of average mileage.
I decided that although I'm nearing 30 faster than I would like, I wanted something that I liked but I was very reluctant to give up the running costs of the Passat, so I started looking at alternative, I looked at the Golf GTD, but something didn't quite click with me and then I decided on the CC, practical, (I have a 7 year old) same engine as the Passat, I preferred the idea of the 170 to the 140 but was happy to settle with the 140 as I was planning on a remap anyway, and I knew the exact spec I wanted so I played the waiting game and just checked the VW used website on a weekly basis, I had already set my budget, which was 10k plus my car, which was worth about 5.5 to 6.5 depending on the dealer.
One afternoon of searching I found the car I purchased now with everything I wanted, 170 engine, GT spec which adds adjustable suspension, rear tinted windows and a few other small things, alacantra sports seats, the upgraded Sat Nav unit, bluetooth cruise control, the works. It was a 2010 model which was slighter older than I wanted however it had 17,000 on the clock. Perfect.
Went to see it the next day at VW Guildford and bought it on the spot, it was flawless, full service history, not a mark inside and everything I'd hoped.
After a fair bit of negotiation, (Without sounding big headed, a strong point of mine and I was prepared to walk away if need be) I managed to get the cash price down to 6k between haggling up and down between my car and the new one, so there are good deals to be had just require a little patience is all.
Ownership-wise I haven't had a problem, the garage I bought it from is awful to be honest, no after sales service to speak of, however it's not detracted from the car which I think it brilliant, obviously this is personal but I love it. Currently on one of our French runs, and since a week last Thursday I've covered 1600 miles at an average of 57MPG. Yes it down a bit, but really I can live with it. In regards to performance, it sits at 80MPH on the French motorways all day with no issues, and the pickup is great, obviously it's not immensely fast, but it's quick enough, I believe it's around 8 or 9 seconds to 60, but I don't rag about like I used to when I was 17 anymore, and it's nimble enough in the corners and I'm fairly confident in it whilst driving, a couple of times I've questioned whether I'm going a bit too fast, however it's never come unstuck yet. The adjustable suspension does make a difference with both a comfort setting, which makes it a bit wallowey which is great for long distance cruising you can't feel a thing and a 'sports' mode which tightens everything up and makes everything sharper for a hoon around the Lake District on a Sunday afternoon.
I'm booked in next Wednesday for my remap which as I said before is meant to take it to around 210BHP, I'm not that fussed on PHB to be honest (Pubtalk horse power) however it's supposed to add a significant amount of more torque which by all accounts transforms the experience of the car but maintains the economy.
If it gets anything close to these claims I'll be a happy man, I will report back once it's done!
Anyway, essay over. I hope it's helped because although it seems a long saloon sort of car, I couldn't recommend it more. Love mine.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask, I believe you're on the north east? If you're ever in the lakes give me a shout and I'll be happy for you to come have a go.