My passenger door was the same way, I took it to my dealers body shop and they were able to adjust it. It's still not perfect but noticeably better. The pic's don't might not show it but it is much better.
Before
After
I had a VW Golf TDI it was a good car, never had a problem with it. I was 500 miles from having to do the 40K maintenance when I came across my GT last month. I can't imagine trying to trade that car today.
When I double tap the paddle to down shift, the transmission does shift one gear at a time. It downshifts through each gear quicker then up-shifting though.