I just purchased a 2007 VW Rabbit to do the bulk of the daily driving bacause my BMW is an old lady now (1991 with 230,000ish on the clock). I drove the car for just 1 day, and i can tell you that its a very fun ride. Its a super solid car, not all plastic like alot of the new cars. It has a decent amount of low end power (i think its 170ft/tq) and can chirp 3rd easily ( i know its the break in period, but i cant help it!). ITs a 2.5 liter 5 cylinder engine, its like the same as the jetta. HP isnt bad either, it picks up really quick. Very responsive steering, little bit too fat of a steering wheel for my likeing, but its not bad. Has a nice throw, not real short like an evo or STI, but not too long like a lot of the BMW's. Very quite engine, almost hard to tell how much the revs are before shifting cause you really dont hear the engine at all. And the sound system in it is pretty darn good, plays MP3's stock, which is great for me, thats like 100+ songs per CD! Lots of back seat space, and front seat space, it looks small on the outside, but feel like a big car, feels a lot bigger then my E30. Its cheap too! Its starts at like 15 grand, and the base model has like a million options, its great! The only 2 complaints is that there is no armrest (i mean, come on, i NEED an armrest!) and that its FWD. Besides that, its a great car that i plan to keep for a very long time! If you are looking for a good daily driver, id recomend this over any civic or mazda 3 anyday.

thats cool, I was wondering what they were going to be like. A friend of mine is starting to do all kinds of mods to his car, and he was looking for a daily driver because his now rides really harsh.

Post some pics of the Wabbit!

Post some pics of the Wabbit!

Will do, ill take some pics later this week of my 2 cars

Isn't it the same exact thing as golf? I heard that they just changed the name for '07

Isn't it the same exact thing as golf? I heard that they just changed the name for '07
Yup, they just hadn't brought the "new" Golf to US yet except for the GTI.

I think there sweet little cars! I saw one in the readers ride section of eurotuner with a votex body kit and some 18 inch rs6 reps and it looked amazing.

Oh ps, cool fact, the head on that 5cyl is taken from the labo gallardo. how cool is that?

They're awesome looking cars... Just need to improve performance. At the track, there was a few of them last time I went - The MKIV Golf R32 were killing them, badly. They were pretty much one of the slowest cars out there (I never got passed by one, took one, but he was even slower than the rest of them)

I like the Rabbits but unfortunately my past experiences with VW/Audi has steered me away from the company forever until they get their act together.

First, I leased an '00 Jetta vr6 for MY WIFE..ie she does not drive it hard, nor far. Anyways within the first 10,000 km the tranny died, then 2,000 km more and the ecu computer system failed, then only 1,000km later the hvac unit died, THEN near the end of the lease (about 2 weeks before we were supposed to give it back) in '03 with close to only 35,000 km on the clock, car had a total electrical failure. I gave the car back 2 weeks early on a tow truck.

Anyways we figure hey maybe we got a lemon, so in '03 we get another Jetta but 1.8t this time. Well lets see this list gets pretty long but we had 2 tranny replacements, 3 electrical system malfunctions, airbag unit failure (then it was called out to a recall), yep an ecu system replacement, replaced the headlight bulbs about 13 times, and the final straw was a problem with the engine misfiring, not to mention about 4000000004903924032 rattles. Again, car had about 19,000km in '05 on a 3 year lease but we gave it back to them on a tow truck. They then felt sorry and offered us a good lease on the Audi's...

SO, February of '05 we get a brand spanking new Audi A4. WELL anyways my wife is on the highway a couple months later with only 3,000km on the clock and all the lights on the display start flickering. So my wife was in the area of the dealership and asked them to take a look at it. Anyways, the dealer says everything is ok and my wife drives off. 20 minutes later on the highway the car dies and she coasts to the shoulder, calls a towtruck and they tow it to the dealership again. Turns out the WHOLE ENTIRE ENGINE needs replacing due to a cracked cylinder block? :mad I was too furious at the time to remember intricate details of the problem. It was under warranty so the dealer paid for the labour and parts and as soon as we get it back we sell the lease.

I WILL NEVER ever buy either of the 2 brands based on my experiences, and plenty of other experiences that seem common with them. I thought that because the A4 wasn't made in Puebla, Mexico like the golf, rabbit, jetta that it would be a superior car but honestly they've all put several years of frustration into me. I am sure that the S4, RS4, A6, S6, S8, etc are superior cars but it would be very very hard for me to buy one.

They are no doubt nicely styled and nice driving cars, just poorly made with issues that they cannot seem to distinguish.

My wife liked the Mazda 6 Hatch so I got that for her afterwards and so far it's done really well and it surprised me how nicely built it is. I would take a Mazda 3 anyday over a vw, especially since the 3's are made in Japan...they are solid cars.

Don't mind me though I'm old and grumpy. :D

Good Luck

I like the Rabbits but unfortunately my past experiences with VW/Audi has steered me away from the company forever until they get their act together.

First, I leased an '00 Jetta vr6 for MY WIFE..ie she does not drive it hard, nor far. Anyways within the first 10,000 km the tranny died, then 2,000 km more and the ecu computer system failed, then only 1,000km later the hvac unit died, THEN near the end of the lease (about 2 weeks before we were supposed to give it back) in '03 with close to only 35,000 km on the clock, car had a total electrical failure. I gave the car back 2 weeks early on a tow truck.

Anyways we figure hey maybe we got a lemon, so in '03 we get another Jetta but 1.8t this time. Well lets see this list gets pretty long but we had 2 tranny replacements, 3 electrical system malfunctions, airbag unit failure (then it was called out to a recall), yep an ecu system replacement, replaced the headlight bulbs about 13 times, and the final straw was a problem with the engine misfiring, not to mention about 4000000004903924032 rattles. Again, car had about 19,000km in '05 on a 3 year lease but we gave it back to them on a tow truck. They then felt sorry and offered us a good lease on the Audi's...

SO, February of '05 we get a brand spanking new Audi A4. WELL anyways my wife is on the highway a couple months later with only 3,000km on the clock and all the lights on the display start flickering. So my wife was in the area of the dealership and asked them to take a look at it. Anyways, the dealer says everything is ok and my wife drives off. 20 minutes later on the highway the car dies and she coasts to the shoulder, calls a towtruck and they tow it to the dealership again. Turns out the WHOLE ENTIRE ENGINE needs replacing due to a cracked cylinder block? :mad I was too furious at the time to remember intricate details of the problem. It was under warranty so the dealer paid for the labour and parts and as soon as we get it back we sell the lease.

I WILL NEVER ever buy either of the 2 brands based on my experiences, and plenty of other experiences that seem common with them. I thought that because the A4 wasn't made in Puebla, Mexico like the golf, rabbit, jetta that it would be a superior car but honestly they've all put several years of frustration into me. I am sure that the S4, RS4, A6, S6, S8, etc are superior cars but it would be very very hard for me to buy one.

They are no doubt nicely styled and nice driving cars, just poorly made with issues that they cannot seem to distinguish.

My wife liked the Mazda 6 Hatch so I got that for her afterwards and so far it's done really well and it surprised me how nicely built it is. I would take a Mazda 3 anyday over a vw, especially since the 3's are made in Japan...they are solid cars.

Don't mind me though I'm old and grumpy. :D

Good Luck

A friend of mine had the exact same nightmare with both an A8 and Turbo version of the S4. While my benz isn't shy about throwing the occasional "Visit Workshop", the Audi/VW cars are unreliable on a whole other level. I wouldn't go near one either.

I like the Rabbits but unfortunately my past experiences with VW/Audi has steered me away from the company forever until they get their act together.

First, I leased an '00 Jetta vr6 for MY WIFE..ie she does not drive it hard, nor far. Anyways within the first 10,000 km the tranny died, then 2,000 km more and the ecu computer system failed, then only 1,000km later the hvac unit died, THEN near the end of the lease (about 2 weeks before we were supposed to give it back) in '03 with close to only 35,000 km on the clock, car had a total electrical failure. I gave the car back 2 weeks early on a tow truck.

Anyways we figure hey maybe we got a lemon, so in '03 we get another Jetta but 1.8t this time. Well lets see this list gets pretty long but we had 2 tranny replacements, 3 electrical system malfunctions, airbag unit failure (then it was called out to a recall), yep an ecu system replacement, replaced the headlight bulbs about 13 times, and the final straw was a problem with the engine misfiring, not to mention about 4000000004903924032 rattles. Again, car had about 19,000km in '05 on a 3 year lease but we gave it back to them on a tow truck. They then felt sorry and offered us a good lease on the Audi's...

SO, February of '05 we get a brand spanking new Audi A4. WELL anyways my wife is on the highway a couple months later with only 3,000km on the clock and all the lights on the display start flickering. So my wife was in the area of the dealership and asked them to take a look at it. Anyways, the dealer says everything is ok and my wife drives off. 20 minutes later on the highway the car dies and she coasts to the shoulder, calls a towtruck and they tow it to the dealership again. Turns out the WHOLE ENTIRE ENGINE needs replacing due to a cracked cylinder block? :mad I was too furious at the time to remember intricate details of the problem. It was under warranty so the dealer paid for the labour and parts and as soon as we get it back we sell the lease.

I WILL NEVER ever buy either of the 2 brands based on my experiences, and plenty of other experiences that seem common with them. I thought that because the A4 wasn't made in Puebla, Mexico like the golf, rabbit, jetta that it would be a superior car but honestly they've all put several years of frustration into me. I am sure that the S4, RS4, A6, S6, S8, etc are superior cars but it would be very very hard for me to buy one.

They are no doubt nicely styled and nice driving cars, just poorly made with issues that they cannot seem to distinguish.

My wife liked the Mazda 6 Hatch so I got that for her afterwards and so far it's done really well and it surprised me how nicely built it is. I would take a Mazda 3 anyday over a vw, especially since the 3's are made in Japan...they are solid cars.

Don't mind me though I'm old and grumpy. :D

Good Luck

Crap, I was looking to trade my m3 for an 03 a4. Looks like I'm going to have to think this through. I know they have electrical problems but damn.

I have had the fortune of driving both a rabbit as well as a brand new GTi. My brother owns the rabbit and my best friend owns the GTi. I can just say they are incredible cars, as far as the rabbit goes it is by far the best small car on the road. The driving experience was very good with nicely weighted steering and a taut but comfortable suspension. Everything feels very solid and the engine pulls well. The GTi well is faster, better handling, and just a bit more fun. All in all great cars and highly recommended.

I have had the fortune of driving both a rabbit as well as a brand new GTi. My brother owns the rabbit and my best friend owns the GTi. I can just say they are incredible cars, as far as the rabbit goes it is by far the best small car on the road. The driving experience was very good with nicely weighted steering and a taut but comfortable suspension. Everything feels very solid and the engine pulls well. The GTi well is faster, better handling, and just a bit more fun. All in all great cars and highly recommended.

Does your friend have the 6 spd or the DSG in his GTI?

Yeah, the rabbits are great cars. I am thinking about getting one to bum around in.

i had an 01 jetta vr6

the number of problems i had with that was insane + about 5 coil packs

they are built very very poorly
i totalled it, i was sick driving home and i passed out

i think it was a blessing to get rid of that damn thing

yeah they are quick

http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/02/26/vw_recall/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

i think for the price it's the best car you can get.. as soon as my lease is up on the cheap ass scion in about a year i'll be pickin up a white or red one with the factory lip kit.. though i hear from my vw friends that it's not going to be in production for too long and vw is moving up to mark VI asap since the mark v cost too much to produce.. hopefully i can pick one up before it's too late.. congrats on the purchase though

My girlfriend just bought an 04' Golf and within the same week the radiator fan died and it overheated.

I can honestly +1 on the Mazda. Of the last five cars my wife has had, three were Mazdas, one was a Maxima and one was a Corrado(still amazed I slipped that one by her). The first two Mazdas went 200,000 miles each without missing a beat. The Nissan and VW were nothing but headaches. She was recently rear ended and her car is at the shop now. When we get it back, we are going straight to the dealer to get her a new Mazda Speed6. We all ready have it picked out. 1.9 financing for 36 months. Looked at Altima 3.5, Evo, Sti, and VW: she wants another Mazda.

I haven't been able to drive the new Rabbit, but my '01 Golf is awesome. I've had it 3 yrs and have had no problems at all (surprising for a dub). It's very comfortable, looks good and has tons of room for what it is. Only disappointment is the power. Jesus that car is slow... In all honesty, I've been owned by beat up gardener pickups :( Still, it's my daily, so I don't need it to be a powerful car. The one thing I love is just setting the cruise control at 60mph, relax and enjoy 34mpg :buttrock

I've had one CEL 17,000 miles ago for a temperature sensor and the head light bulbs do burn out too often, but other than that its been great over the course of 61,500 miles. The 02.5-up fixed a few of the problems of the earlier ones, and the VR6 is consistenly more reliable then the 1.8T (NA vs Turbo, Timing Belt vs Timing chain, etc.... I have no complaints and expect to use this car as daily transportation for quite some time.

I have owned mine since Jan 1 and this is what I have noticed...

Winshield washers SUCK. Anything below 30* and they don't operate; I have strong anti-freeze fluid in them and the dealer can't fix it.

Design of windshield is so that all fluids come down the sides of the car onto the windows either when raining/ wiping or when using the washer system.

No armrest.

awesome, i was wondering how these were going to turn out. Bringing old back into new can unfortunately be very bad sometimes.

meh. i have (well, the ex-wife does now) a '98 vw cabrio. never had any problems other than the clutch going out at 110k. we got it at 50k. Was a fun little girly car and reliable for us. I guess with VW, you either get a lemon or you get something super reliable. Doesn't seem to be a middle ground with them