Sadly yes.
The fact of the matter is that NA cars need to rev A LOT to get any
semblance of power. For those NA cars with high power/torque like
Hondas and BMWs, the basic engine has been tweaked to deliver cam
phase/change etc and/or with huge engine cc.
You can spend tonnes of dosh on the car to get it up to scratch but
with only minimal gains. Here are some of them (not all are
necessarily legal!)
Air intake mods
- Cold Air or Short Ram
Exhaust mods
- free-er flow muffler... I'd recommend Supersprint to Remus based
on feedback from most owners. Not too sure if ABT/Oettinger exos
have been approved by LTA
- extractor (equal length better breathing)
- sports catalytic converter
Transmission mods
- if you are using an Auto transmission, try looking for a torque
converter with higher stalling speed.
Engine block mods
-port polish
-reinforced pistons
-valve springs
but these should be added in conjunction with an ECU upgrade
(preferably programmable)
Since you are a Volks owner, try heading to VAGSG.com. There's a
wealth of expertise in VAG cars there.
To be honest, it may be more cost effective changing the car
Keeping it in the
same family, you can look at the A3 1.8T, the Golf 1.8T (Mk IV) or
the upcoming Golf V with 2.0FSI Turbo 
