Yes great engine and a pretty good tranny. I have 190,000 some km, I run 5-30 full synthetic and it goes about 7500km between oil changes, and that's me changing it. I've gotten it well over 8000km before the oil change light comes on. Still uses about a quart between changes. Not a big deal though.
And yes as others mention it sounds AWESOME when the tach gets up to 6000rpm

Too bad it has a 180km/hr fuel cut off!! I drive the car like a manual most days (2nd and then shift it to 3rd and 4th) and it feels great. It could have used a 5 speed to knock the rpms down further on the highway, but I can still get about 7.8L/100km (almost 30MPG) if the speed is kept around 105-110km/hr. People complain (not just on this site) about the problems they've had with the 4T65-E transmission, but I haven't had any.
The water crossover gaskets like to leak, and mine started to this winter. The 3 gaskets are cheap but I was told its about 7-8 hrs of labor to change them because the space is so tight and lots has to be removed. There are quite a few forums on the site about this. Along with the crank position sensor (which mine needs), and the right wheel hub/ABS sensor.
But I think its a very cool motor and I even bought another that had a blown head gasket for $150 just so I could tear it apart and rebuild it. The only thing I hate is how expensive engine parts can be. Filters and belts are cheap, but anything internal seems to be priced like its gold plated.
It definitely doesn't drive like my Audi 90 Quattro did, but I'll keep this car until it up and quits
