done a about 2k miles in my gti now and had not been using water. Filled it up before a sprint and about 100 miles of driving - water had gone down by about an inch - topped it up.

Did another sprint and about 250 miles of driving - water had gone right down - took about a litre to top up.

no steam seems to coming out of the exhaust and oil cap nice and clean inside.

????

When you say "filled it up" what exactly do you mean? To the brim or to the "max" mark?

The reservoir is not supposed to be filled right up - probably not much more than about half way in fact.

When the water is hot it expands and, if too full, will simply flow out of the overflow pipe until it gets down the right level.

I doubt you've got anything to worry about if the reservoir doesn't completely empty and you're not seeing abnormal temperatures.

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