Oh yeah, I think I PM-ed you once asking how VWoA bought your car out from you because I wanted to get rid of mine, lol. I drove the Jetta GLI VR6 once with the 6-speed manual and it was a lot of fun to drive...really fast car, the engine is really fun. I would say it is, unfortunately, easily faster than a 325i Auto.
But yeah, I got rid of my Jetta GLS 2.0 for a G35 Coupe 6MT. I had to pay $3,366 to get out of my Jetta lease, but it was worth every penny.