VW vs Toyota for reliability?

Old thread, I know, but I've recently found myself in the same quandary...

I'm a current VW owner (3rd one, actually) and I've been considering jumping ship to a used 2nd-gen Prius. I actually started a thread on this a couple of days ago (thanks for all the replies and advice everyone, BTW!). Generally speaking, I have a love/hate relationship with VW. I absolutely LOVE how the cars drive, but they can be very frustrating to own.

My first VW was in high school - a '72 Super Beetle. It had its share of problems over the 3 years I drove it, but thankfully, the parts were cheap and the car itself was super easy to work on. I also drove my dad's F-150 pickup when the Beetle was out of commission (more than a few times).

In college, I moved up to a 1997 Golf Jazz 5-speed - essentially the same thing as the base GL model, but with a power sunroof, upgraded stereo and 14" alloy wheels. It handled pretty well, but it was also somewhat slow and heavy (2.0L 8V 115 hp 4-cyl pushing almost nearly 2,800 pounds). I bought that car used at 50k miles from a high school and college buddy. I practically drove that car into the ground (finally parted with it at over 200k miles) because I went to college in-state and chose to live at home with the folks (55 mile round trips to campus 4-5 days per week). That car had problem after after problem. Stuck sunroof motor (twice), bad mass airflow sensors (twice, at $300 a crack), two A/C compressor failures (around $600 both times), broken shift linkage at 85k miles (a $700 repair because nobody in town but the dealer would touch it), broken throttle body at 90k and various annoying electrical problems (like the power door locks developing a mind of their own). Needless to say, it wasn't the most pleasant experience for a broke college student with a part-time retail job.

About 3 years out of college I was in a better financial position, so I decided to take the plunge for my first brand new car. This time around, I wanted a sporty car with more power and creature comforts. I researched extensively and test drove about a dozen cars, but I kept coming back to the 2007 GTI. I fell in love with it and I still own it.

The GTI hasn't been without its problems, either. But thankfully, the majority of them have been covered under warranty or manufacturer recall. From the top of my head: sunroof got stuck once, airbag malfunction light on FOUR occasions (recall repairs), blown diverter valve (it's a turbo car), bad ignition coils (recall), funky problems with the nav system a couple of times (fixed with a software update). Most recently (last night, in fact), one of the gas struts for the hatch failed and now it won't stay up when open, just 6k miles out of warranty. A replacement strut is around $50, but I might as well just replace both.

VWs (like just about any other German vehicle) are over-engineered and at times poorly designed in certain areas. While they do build very good looking cars with almost impeccable build quality inside and out, they tend to cut corners in areas the more reliable manufacturers don't. VW has the cheapest price of admission if you really want a German car, but frankly, I think I've had enough.

The economy has taken a pretty big toll on my industry (freelance video editing) over the last couple of years, so naturally, I've taken a pretty steep hit on income. I'm a bit afraid that the GTI may turn into a proverbial nightmare like the Golf was, so I've been giving lots of thought to selling it while I can still get halfway decent money. This is why I've been looking at the Prius. I know it's not sporty and it's no speed demon, but frankly, it's starting to not really matter to me anymore. The excellent fuel economy and Toyota reliability are looking very attractive to me now.