I have a 2lt manual, done 170k km now and its been super reliable, never left me on the side of the road.
V5 arent the fastest of cars, but should keep up with traffic no worries.

While the 1.8t are usually pretty good. Id be staying with NA car rather then the 1.8t, adding turbos into the mix is just another bunch of things that COULD go wrong if you are on a tight budget