Bought an Albino Bunny

[Mike]

wait.. that list is crazy.

jaguar? bmw? mb? audi? all near the top?

[Apoc]

wait.. that list is crazy.

jaguar? bmw? mb? audi? all near the top?

ZOMG!

[HAULN-SS]

wait.. that list is crazy.

jaguar? bmw? mb? audi? all near the top?

owners too proud to take them back for the repairs

[BLAIR]

i guess its just people complaining about waring lights.. but you have to know if you have a VW you have to ignore those

[BLAIR]

warrenty baby.. and out of anyone here i have deff owned the most vw's 12-14ish and never had one ever leave me stranded :o

they don't leave people stranded, but everything inside them goes doodoo.

get some wheels on that thing, please.

not sure what you all are talking about or what you know? but ok?

i'm pretty sure i know what i'm talking about: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.volksbloggin.com/2006/11/14/consumerreports-vw-still-among-the-least-reliable/">http://www.volksbloggin.com/2006/11/14/ ... -reliable/</a><!-- m -->

and i didnt say YOU dont know what you are talking about.. i said I dont know what you are talking about

pretty much all my friends and family has VWs. dont really know of any problems unless its warning lights. I guess anyone can read stats about people taking their car in for service but everyone here knows more than those people that done know anything about cars. mostly warning lights but most people just know it comes with the territory. Anyone into thier car would know exactally whats going on.. shit. get on vwvortex. the info on their is more than any VW dealer could ever give :!:

[Mike]

most people don't want cars with warning lights... your typical car owner is not smart or an "enthusiast."

[.RJ]

your typical car owner is not smart or an "enthusiast."

+1

And they dont expect to have to ignore things on a brand new car...

[Apoc]

your typical car owner is not smart or an "enthusiast."

+1

And they dont expect to have to ignore things on a brand new car...

...but most of them do anyway.

[.RJ]

...but most of them do anyway.

Like your oil pressure light?

[BLAIR]

most people don't want cars with warning lights... your typical car owner is not smart or an "enthusiast."

yea but people like us and ADAM are... its all good.. screw the people who dont know and let them bring their car in for a CEL cause thair gas cap isnt tight :lol:

[Feersty]

Nice addition Adam. Looks good in white.

[Apoc]

...but most of them do anyway.

Like your oil pressure light?

Exactly!

[ViPER1313]

Everyone else writes reviews of cars so I'll give one of the Rabbit. First off I'll start with a little background. I was looking for a cheap economy car that had a warranty and good fuel economy. Had to be a 5-speed, have ABS and a CD player. I also needed a car with lots of leg room (I'm 6'3) that wasn't a complete bore to drive. In my search for a decent economy car I drove:

07' Toyota Corolla - Decent interior and known reliability but was slightly too small inside and had 0 power at all, not to mention I was not impressed with the shifter - it just felt rough between shifts and didn't want to go into 1st while coming to a stop. Bland style and expensive too. No features for the price. But they are reliable.

06' Mazda 3 Hatch - Good shifter, GREAT brakes (best of all the cars I drove and better feel / firmer than the Rabbit's), decent power and a nice interior but price was more than I was willing to spend. I would have had to buy a used model to match the Rabbit, and I didn't like the clutch and shifter as much. Also the reliability is a mixed bag according to consumer reports. Just wasn't worth it for the price IMO, but a nice car overall.

05' Saturn ION - Drove one of these back in the day and hated it. Who the hell puts the gauges in the center of the car. And a shift light that comes on at 3000rpm - bleh.

05' Focus - Cheap looking interior, dated design, no resale value, no fun factor.

07' Honda Fit - I didn't Fit.

07' Suzxki SX4 - Actually not a bad deal - AWD, 143hp, power everything, all for 14,999. 100% built in Japan. I could have looked past the styling for the 4wd, but I couldn't look past the clutch - rubbish. Engaged at the VERY top of the pedal, no feel, non-linear and the gearbox wouldn't let you put the car in first without a hassle at anything over 5mph. Just horrible. That was the deal killer for this car - was sweet on paper and I was seriously considering it over the Rabbit until I drove it.

I didn't look at Civics (too much money for the car and I was afraid of theft issues) or the Cobalt (cheap interior and all used models are rental cars - depreciation is horrible on them too.) I considered buying a newer Taurus (hella cheap and decently reliable) but I didn't want an automatic or a 3rd Taurus. I do have some standards. The Mazda 3 and the Corolla were the front runners for a long time. I wasn't even going to look at a Rabbit (thought it was too small for me to fit in) but Blair told me to go take a look.

So the reasons I bought the Rabbit / things I like:

-Front seat room. Think Mazda 3 except bigger. I cant even drive it with the seat all the way back - it has more leg room than my SHO, GL or my fathers Mountaineer.
-Torque. Lots of torque. 170lb/ft of it. The 5-cylinder in it isn't a powerful motor up top but I don't have to downshift to climb a hill. This car just doesn't feel stressed like its 4 banger brethren when you open it up either. Sounds sweet to boot.
-Interior fit and finish. Everything has a high quality feel to it. The doors are heavy, the switches are well damped. And the blue/red lighting is beautiful.
-Clutch and shifter. The Rabbit shifted better and had a nicer feeling clutch than anything else I drove. Clutch is light but has an incredibly smooth engagement point right in the middle of the pedal. There is never any resistance putting the car into gear (unlike the Corolla and Suzuki I drove) and the throws are crisp if not the shortest in the world.
-The handling. The only other car that felt as composed on the road was the Mazda 3. Decent grip, communicative steering thats nicely weighted, minimal body roll.
-Standard Features. 8 speakers, 4 wheel discs, traction control, ABS, power windows/locks/mirrors, remote keyless entry, cruise control. Then there is the little stuff - AC in the glovebox that will keep a drink cold on a long trip, locks that relock the car after 30 seconds if you don't open a door, balling red lights that light the center console at night (but aren't distracting) so you can read CDs without turning on the interior lights. Tons of other little touches, all for $14,999msrp.

Now the faults with the car:

-Electronic throttle. gayest. feature. ever. You don't notice it 99% of the time but if you stab the gas a let off you can feel the lag by a fraction of a second. Stab it quickly enough and the car wont do anything. I don't understand why most car manufacturers don't use cables anymore - just seems stupid to me.
-Large blind spots. Thats why they invented mirrors.
-It's a VW so it has electrical issues. Already. Airbag warning light came on at 300 miles. Its one of about three issues that are known about on the car at this point and there is a TSB on it. Electricity > Germans. Its got a 4yr/50000 mile warranty bumper->bumper so I don't really care - yet.

So far I love the car and don't doubt I'll be keeping it for a while. Not the sportiest car but it offered the best compromise of what I wanted in a car. Planed mods: none. Sorry folks its staying stock - it's not a race car and I want to keep it that way. Wheels included. So there you are, hope you enjoyed the read.

[.RJ]

Nice write up

-It's a VW so it has electrical issues. Already

el. o. el....

MFR's use electronic witchcraft throttles to help with emissions and fuel economy. Probably a marginal improvement, and I'd rather have cables.

[BLINGMW]

-Electronic throttle. gayest. feature. ever. You don't notice it 99% of the time but if you stab the gas a let off you can feel the lag by a fraction of a second. Stab it quickly enough and the car wont do anything. I don't understand why most car manufacturers don't use cables anymore - just seems stupid to me.

I would guess two answers:
Fuel economoy
Emissions

The good news is that it's probably tuneable. The ECU is working against you right now, but with the right software, it will do anything you want.

*edit* lol, got beat to it!!! :oops:

[Jeff]

Neon has a real throttle cable... :lol:

[CaptainHenreh]

06' Mazda 3 Hatch - the reliability is a mixed bag according to consumer reports....

....It's a VW so it has electrical issues. Already.

This was "teh" funniest part to me. You were concerned about reliability (totally justified coming from a SHO)...so you bought a VW.

But right on man, I'm glad you like it. The 2.5 5 banger is an interesting choice for VW to put in the Jetta/Golf but I think it suits it well.

You really should reconsider about those wheels, tho. I mean, just when the tires go out, right? When you need new tires, get some nice GTI 17's.

And I feel you on the electronic throttle. It wouldn't bother me so bad if the throttle pedal to throttle plate relationship were 1:1, but it ain't. I think electronic throttles are all in vogue so that manufacturers can add cheap traction and stability control, I think ignition timing control would be more important for fuel economy and emissions.

But whatever, it's a nice car. We need more and better pictures. Daytime ones.

[Andy]

Good writeup, Adam.

I'm with you on the Suzuki. It's pretty much the only car that is keeping the cheap hatchcrap lineage alive.

[ScottyB]

nice little review.

how was your dealership experience? i hear it can be a mixed bag.

[ViPER1313]

Update: Airbag light was my own fault - I pushed on the seat trying to make the airbag activate - curiosity killed the cat (all 4 sensors in the seat must activate or it thinks its broken.) BUT:

4000k miles and its going back for some more repairs And this time I'm pissed.

This time its the transmission. Its leaking at a seam / drain plug at the bottom. With 4000k miles on it. Still shifts fine, would never have noticed it if I hadn't changed the oil. My 164k mile, gear grinding, 3rd gear asplodin SHO transmission doesn't leak a drop. Say it with me: HECHO EN ARGINTINA :roll: .