I follow the break-in recommendation most of the time. I'll get on it every now and then, you know, to truly "vary" the RPMs
. But for the most part and 99% of my driving till I hit the 1200 mark, I'll drive mellow. I did the same thing when I bought my gti new back in 07. I was all "gonna follow the break-in perfectly!" But every now and then I'd romp on it.
I certainly wouldn't autocross it before the break-in, which is why I passed 1200 miles on my way to my first autocross in the gti. Haha.
I got a few months till ill take my 328 to an autocross event. So its all good.
I don't go for either romp on it from the start or baby it, I do a mixture of both. Cause that's how I drive normally.