Test drive: 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit

I understand your complaints about the fuel economy. Here in Japan we have a new option. It’s the TSi engine which as far as I can figure out is a 1.4 litre supercharged and turbocharged engine that has a much better fuel economy rating and I think it has even better performance than the car you tested. This also comes at a cost of course. It is about $2000 more than the GLi vehicle here (which by the way is still a 2.0 litre car), but I guess you have to pay for all the extra engineering. Not sure if this is an option over there yet, and it is still very new here.

Name change is a bad idea and probably counter productive since the old rabbit wasn’t nearly as good a car as the Golf and had no viable performance variant (GTi).

It is time for a small cheap to buy an operate car. The more you engineer it, the more it costs for insurance too. Having had a old Rabbit, and a new GTI, I liked the old one better for saving $$$. Both were and are fun to drive, but even the tires on the GTI cost near $250.00 apiece. They can’t handle rain, ice or snow well either.

I normally find myself in agreement with Aaron, but not this time. I think the Rabbit is an excellent vehicle for the money. With a fairly low base price, and a TON of standard equipment, the Rabbit is ready to go right out of the box. Sure, a Sentra or a Civic have more gadgets for the money, but I would much prefer to drive the more attractive, better driving Rabbit.

Had a Rabbit: Superlative fuel injected engine coupled to a mess of electrical components which failed one by one. Best re-sale to original price paid ratio of any car I ever drove. But…that was years ago.
Son’s Golf: Identical experience to the rabbit except the car no longer retained value over time. Most every electrical item melted away in our unkind winters.

Bottom line: A rabbit is a golf is a rabbit. I love to drive them but they don’t, at all, compare to my present least expensive car, a manual 4 cyl LX Accord (has anyone else actually tried this power-train combination on good tires (40 -42 MPG actual highway)), which only cost a couple of bucks more than VW prices (or Civic). Maybe I should paint the “H” yellow and add blue lights? – Naw – it would still look like the sensible family sedan everybody thinks it is.

I love VWs but I didn’t buy one. Have you looked at their reliability ratings? One of the Jetta’s I test drove in November has serious electrical issues and the throttle didn’t work smoothly and this was a car I was test driving.
If VW could get the price down to a Honda and the quality up to a Honda they would have a world beater.
Heck if they could get the quality up to the Ford Fusion they would have a world beater. Thought I would give Ford little plug. They have started to make some good cars.

I had my 07 rabbit since August and haven’t had any problems and the 6 speed tranny (tiptronic) is really fun to drive with. Engineering has really improved since they are built in Germany not across the border (I was told)and had a Golf not too long ago. I would give it a much higher rating than a Civic, Mazda 3 or a Scion.

Rabbit, Golf,… how about a new name for a change? Seriously, how about something cool, a bit more agressive and carnivorous (not a herbivore practically on the bottom of the food chain), easy to spell, and not challenging to pronounce (learn from Touareg?). Plus: I have rabbits running around the back yard all the time. They eat my wife’s garden and leaving little presents all over. I’m not a big fan of the name.
We should take a poll for new car names and submit them to manufacturers. It seems their creativity departments have hit a mental block.

Back to the car. I agree with Aaron on the fact that it defeats the purpose of the ‘economy car’. A standard 5-cylinder engine? How about a standard 4-cylinder with great economy, a TDI (even better economy), a mid-range engine (queue the 5-cylinder), then a performance variant GTi (BAM!).

A 5-cylinder engine that delivers the performance of a 4, the lousy gas-mileage of a 6, and more noise and vibration than either.

To start, Volkswagon isn’t known for their quality built cars. Reliability is still a big issue for them. My wife had a Beetle Conv. (her dream car) and it just wasn’t that great of a car, especially for the CRAZY price we paid for it.
That brings me to my second point. VW’s are WAY OVERPRICED. Who do they think they are. This is a tiny little car and people can get better quality with a lower price from a handful of other car companies. I’m guessing that people who are looking for performance won’t buy this, only people who want a little car. So why pay more for a name that isn’t good when there are so many better alternatives??

Shopped between the Rabbit and a Suzuki SX4 – almost identical dimensions, gas mileage. Bought the Suzuki – got more car, for less money and a biggie in the Northeast – all wheel drive + ESP. Dealers far more willing to work on price than VW dealers.

As an economy car the Rabitt is not the least expensive, nor the most economical, nor the most reliable. There are plenty of other cars that are more suitable for that.

The performance versions GTI and R32 have a cult following and are highly desirable for the Tuner Crowd because they are light, handle very well, and there are many aftermarket parts availlable for them. They are looked as the cheap man’s Porsche.

I have seen an R32 (the higher performance version of the GTI with all wheel drive) with a turbocharger and intercooler kit putting out 600+ hp. It also had larger vented brakes, body kit, updated clutch etc… to be able to handle all that extra performance.

I also commonly see these GTI “v-dubs” at Auto-X events beating most of the competition in their category.

The name “Rabbit” was a very popular and successfull name in the US. That is why it was brought back (similar to Taurus for Ford).

I agree that the GTI and R32 have their cult following (Euro Tuners), but ‘poor man’s Porsche’? *cringe* I have to disagree with you there. Porsches are in a completely different class altogether. There is no such thing as a poor man’s Porsche except for an older, used Porsche. There is absolutely nothing Porsche about the Rabbit, no matter how extremely you pimp it. Plus – the ‘poor man’ can’t afford a new (overpriced) VW either.

Back to names: With the names, consumers tend to also remember the bad more than the good. In my opinion (and that of my gear-head friends), the Taurus and Rabbit (the Tortise and the Hare) don’t really make a good impression, or come across as something new and fresh. It is not too difficult to cook up a fresh new name for a new car.

Let’s have fun and give VW a few suggestions for their next car name.
I’ll start:
1. Vortex

… your turn!

I’ve had 11 VW’s now. Rabbits, Golfs, Jettas, GTIs even two sciroccos. I loved them. I have a ‘01 Jetta (2.0L)now. It is the most over weight, slowest slug I ever drove. I had a couple of old rabbits, they were great. When the new rabbit showed up at the dealer, I had to drive it. It’s slow, loud, and the MPG of the old rabbit are gone. The price is a joke too. The old rabbit was a cheap econo box that was fun to drive, VW is really missing the mark once again. I know my next car is going to be a domestic. The parts and repairs are cheaper.

The name change is idiotic on an otherwise neat and well thought out car. I’ve owned 3 generations of Golfs (which includes 1 original Rabbit)…..the name once again is cute in an era where cute is to be avoided, and the comments on reliability are out of line (not you –the comment posters) on a car which has no history in present form — its a new model! My mk3 Golf has been insanely reliable and problem free. The others not as much, but man, the asian stuff our family also drives are just as “bad”. Which isnt very bad at all.

I have a 07 rabbit and like the car, its more solid than the hondas of which I drive two. The milage is hard to gage because its so much fun to drive and I tend to keep it in the lower gears. I did get 30 mph on a long trip by getting it in 5th as soon as possiable. I also looked at the sx4 suzuki which I feel is a very good car, I’ve had three suzukis and loved them all. I also like the Rabbit, its loaded with equipment air bags etc and if you start looking at other cars and add up the options to get to what the vw has you will spend thousands more.

Anyone know if they will be making Rabbit Convertibles????

the83 gti beet the 82 porsche in a 700 ft slolom by 3 seconds i had three the top speed was slow but in real world driving conditions it could leave people w/ much faster cars scratchig there heads it was like a 2 stoke mottocross bike w 4 wheels

the funnest if notscariest car youll ever drive oh yeh the porsche was the82 911sc its great vw ’s answering economy w/ performance its a rabbit cause its smaller and back to what it should be fun quick special if the civic si ’s 197 hp isnt as over rated as most jap. cars im a green been vw seeminling uderates there h.p. and has been ex. claiming the 1.8t made less then it did cause americas would rather have a vr 6 for 3000 more

vw has had to live up to relliability standards they never earned there not toyotas never were but the far from bad consumer reports are peoples opinions of there cars people buy vws expecting toyatas still vws will run as long engines as any car and like the abuse thy drive like german cars should a passat vs a cammery or accord forgett the #S there just way more fun and more geared towards car lovers

Problem is.. most of the VW that people drive in North America, were made in Mexico .. these Rabbits are manufactured (body/frame AND engine) 100% Germany .. so.. comparing the rabbit to older models isn’t fair. Rabbit is still the golf in Europe.

Just picked up a 2007 Rabbit. I test drove a few vehicles in the same class, and came away impressed with the VW. Very spacious on the inside, and everything laid out simply and logically. The engine has got lots of torque for urban driving (170 compared to 130-150 for others), and runs at a low 1800-2000 rps at 110km/hr. The bumper-to-bumper warranty is 4 years, compared to 3 for most everyone else.
The gas mileage is not as good as some of its competition, but we’re talking 5-10 percent less here. A trade-off for the power that the engine has, I guess.
All in all, I am pleased so far. The true test will be in reliability as the years go by.

I have a 07 Rabbit that I have put 15000 miles on already and love it. Its a solid and tight driver for its class and I have been puting it to the test ever day (city,hwy,and,dirt). So far for what I got its been the best mony I have spent on a new car . 6 air bags life time oil changes full road side and up graded 100,000 mile coverage.

3 months ago, my young wife bought her first VW rabbit 4dr and she was soo trill about it, still is, but after driving the rabbit for awhile discover that her foot sometime hit accidentally the gas pedal while trying to applied the breaks!! It has happened to me as well, I wonder if both are just too close or are both having big feet. Any feed back?
Thanks

I bought an 07 rabbit in April. All is great except for the annoying noise from the vibrating dash vent, left side speaker, and rear door panel. I get an off and on vibrating noise from the vent up top on the dashboard. The only time there isn’t a noise is when I am driving on super smooth streets, and there aren’t a whole lot of those in Seattle. When I don’t want to hear the vibration from the dash vent, I turn up my radio, but that causes the other vibrating noises! The back door panel behind the drivers seat vibrates when I turn my radio up, also the small pasenger side speaker inside from the side mirror vibrates against the speaker housing when the music is up. I’m gonna see what the dealer can do about it.