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Hatchbacks Volkswagen Rabbit Volkswagen Rabbit
693 messages, Last post on Nov 28, 2009 at 4:29 PM
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shirotori & gogirlgo: totally agreed! I drive on the highway A LOt and encounter huge trucks all the time and it simply does not phase the rabbit at all. Great to hear about your mpg gogirlgo, i'm taking a long trip this weekend, so when i get back i'll report my mileage. (your reasons for buying the rabbit were great ones!) |
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Did any of you guy get the extended warranty? How much did you pay? thanks
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Replying to: inajoong (Jun 11, 2007 9:23 am) |
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Replying to: eldaino (Jun 06, 2007 7:17 am) For those who claim the Rabbit is heavy: 1) The tiny Scion TC weighs just as much as a Camry does (and it too has the Camry engine) Thats the price you pay for putting a big engine in a little car. Weight goes up. Also, with regard to weight issues: Honda's are light weight cars... They truly are. BUT, they have the most thin sheet metal, the most thin paint (that is constant need ot paint chip repairs), and the most thin glass of any car on the North American roads. I own an Accord, a full size family car, and the doors feel so light that I have to worry about closing them too hard... Look around at all the Accords in the parking lots at malls and grocery stores... They all have dings in them like crazy! Thats the price you pay for building a light car: you get thin easily dented metal, and thin easily chipped paint. There's a lot to be said for have some steal in your car. Ever seen a Honda Accord or Civic in an accident... even just a mild fender bender? They are totalled! Thats the price you pay for being light weight. And I don't know how anyone in their right mind can compare the Rabbit to the Scion Xb.... You're going to compare a car with barely 100hp/100torque (or something close to that) to a car with 150hp and 170 foot-pounds of torque?? A car that also isn't just a thin skinned tin can of a car that would be totalled in a simply 5mph crash? You're going to compare the meaty Rabbit to that kinda' car? Also just wait 1 more month, and then you're going to see a 170hp and 177 foot-pound of torque with a higher redline on the road. My god, the last Civic Si was only 160hp and like a 130 foot pounds of torque.... By that standard the Rabbit as it is today is better then the higher priced Civic Si was before the current generations Si. Oh, and the current Si, has a puny 140 foot pounds of torque.... Come on! Sure its light weight and thats why its a fast car, but then you have to worry all the time about the poor paint quality, and the thin easily dented and dinged sheet metal... Who wants to deal with that crap? Then in order to get any speed out of that Si you have to rev the living hell out of it at a stoplight to avoid being beaten by the slow and heavy SUVs. I drive an Accord, and I have to rev that 4 banger at every light to keep pace with other HEAVIER cars and trucks. Even the 205hp TSX I drove, my god, I had to rev the sh*t out of that car just to avoid being passed by Explorers and and Jeeps at the stop lights. No the Rabbit isn't a car that weighs 2600 pounds, and than god it don't because all that "extra" weight will save your butt in an accident, and you car won't be dented and dinged by simply leaning on it and your paint wont need to be touched up every 2-3 weeks. This car for 2008 is going to a whopping 177 foot-pounds of torque plus 170hp; couple that to a MT, and if VW alters the gearing a little bit, that car will be one hell of fun car to own. Plus there will be no turbo lag, and added expense of repairing a turbo when they go bad. Add a couple of bolt ons, if someone comes up with a header, add a CAI, and an aftermarket muffler... You're going to have an awesome car for very little money. I only hope that the 08MY cars will have a redline of over 6200rpm... Able to do the 0-60 dash in around 7.5 seconds... If so, then I'm going to put in my order once I learn what the "S" version is. This car reminds me of what the CRX was 20 years ago, but with better performance and comfort. I can't speak for reliability on this VW, but in every other aspect, this car stomps all over the Civic's and Scion's. Those are fine cars for what they are, but god help you if you ever hit a pothole (you can blow your struts in the Civic) or ever get into a fender bender. Every single Honda or Toyota I've seen in an accident was an absolute wreck of twisted metal, while the other car may only have a cracked bumper or something minor. There's a lot to be said for a little bit of weight to your car! |
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Replying to: 1000hours (Jul 07, 2007 4:46 pm) Toyota must have heard you. They've super-sized the xB for 2008--up about 25% in weight, with a much more powerful engine (the I4 from the tC and Camry). |
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Hi Eldaino...thanks for your post. It made me feel even better about owning a Rabbit. I've really gotten quite close to shim and had a chance to drive it to Iowa last week. At 85 mph on I-80, it just purred...and that annoying passing truck wind? Nonexistent, probably thanks to the higher weight and sure-feel handling. Then, I took 2 lane roads on the way home for a change and I barely felt like I was moving, so of course, I got my first speeding ticket in 10 years! But the cop complimented the Bunny...probably had never seen one in Nebraska, huh? LOL I got 29 mpg at the slower speeds, so I'm fairly content with that. A couple questions: 1. I'm getting a free 5K oil change at the dealer...anything else I should have them check on? I'll ask them to turn that wrench light off, and they said they would program the locks to unlock when I remove the key (and get it right this time!. 2. Have you ever noticed this: You are coasting around 10 mph, and then you hit the gas and there's a really long lag of no power...just like an extended turbo lag when you hit the gas? It's almost as if it's resting between 1st and second gear, but can't seem to figure out what to do. It was a bit frightful when it happened one time I was pulling out into traffic and needed to get the hell up to speed. I just gunned it, and after a couple seconds, it finally downshifted and the power was there....but it was a bit scary. Like I said...just like a long turbo acceleration drag. Now that I know it's happened, I think I can drive it differently, or anticipate that it might happen. Maybe it's just a characteristic of this car? Any thoughts? 3. What's the new engine coming, Eldaino? The turbo? I'm keeping this car! Thanks...
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Replying to: 1000hours (Jul 07, 2007 4:46 pm) Most cars are pretty heavy these days. The Rabbit weighs about the same as several competitors, such as the Mazda3, Dodge Caliber, and Kia Spectra. Even the Civic EX only weighs about 100 pounds less than the Rabbit. The DX is another 100 pounds less than that. Looks to me like the heavyiest Scion TC weighs 300 pounds less than the lightest Camry...so not sure where you are getting that the weigh the same  . The Accord weighs about the same as many of its competitors...so not sure why you think it is particularly light weight. |
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Replying to: 1000hours (Jul 07, 2007 4:46 pm) the new xb is super heavy and has a big engine as well, so the xb commentary is out. honda still technically makes the lighter weight cars in its segment, but its still by a small margin. its not like the new civic weighs 2500lbs! what year is your accord? you should have no problems passing anyone if its a newer model, and if you do, you would experience a similar experience in the rabbit. the new si's torque does kinda stink...but you cant get that much torque out of a n/a 2.0 now can you? (nor can you get an 8k redline or 197 hp with the rabbits engine, even though they will be closer in 08.) basically, at a stoplight youll be able to overtake one in 0-30, but after that, an si would take the lead. (the previous gen is a different story though, i doubt the rabbit is slower, and come the 08 version, will be slightly quicker.) with regards to the 08, redline will rise from 5800 to 6300, so your wish should be fufilled (even if its just 100 rpms more.) the 's' version seems to be just a trim level. i'm pretty sure that all rabbits, regardless of trim, will have the 170 hp engine. they do make a cai, full exhaust, headers and now even a chip that makes about 150hp to the wheels using 91 octane fuel. my rabbits paint has scratched easily on the door sills, but overall feels better than my 06 civic, which did have a few scratches as well.
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Replying to: denverdavo (Jul 07, 2007 6:35 pm) glad to hear your mileage is consistent. i've already had my first ticket in ther too. thats one thing i don't miss about my old civic; the wind and road noise. this rabbit is almost asleep! (in a good way of course!) the 'lag' you are experiencing is drive by wire. its a electronic throttle that doesn't respond as quick as direct ones in older cars do, and sometimes it is slow to respond. (my civic had this as well.) some cars equipped with this can be reflashed or have a new program downloaded into them to take care of the lag; some dealers can do it, and if you get the GIAC chip (it replaces your ecu and also boosts hp and tq) it almost eliminates it completely. ask your dealer about it and ask them if there is a computer update that they can do to take care of it. wow a free oil change? not bad! there should not really be anything else they need to check, and when they reset the service computer, the wrench goes away. are they just giving you a free oil change or an acutal 5 k service? (this is what they charge out the ass for.) the 'new' engine isn't really new, its just tuned better; it has 170 hp (up from 150) and 177lbs of torque (up from 170.) the redline increases from 5800 to 6300, so this probably will translate into better top end power which is what the rabbit needs. all this is being accomplished by a new intake manifold and ecu change. |
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Replying to: eldaino (Jul 09, 2007 9:53 am)
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