I have to say I really like that car. It has the 2000 1.8T 5-speed. It took me a while to get used to the light clutch pedal and the brakes, but it is a really fun car to drive. I didn't romp on it too much as the owner was sitting right next to me, but the engine seems pretty linear for a 4-cylinder turbo. I had to pop the hood to make sure there was a turbo in there.
I kinda glad he was there, because there was some knucklehead in an Civic Si irritating me.
About the only thing I don't like is that it's FWD.
I vonder vat kinda aftermarket they have. :D
You'd be astonished.
They make peak torque from 1250 rpm to redline, that's why it was so linear. A complete plateau in stock form.
There is CRAZY aftermarket for the 1.8T
I'd love to have a Mk1 Rabbit with a 1.8T as a daily....
i drove one but it was the vr6 gulf. the thing deffinetly scooted. sweet little rides..
Youd be more astonished if you saw the turbo on them...super tiny.
I'd trade my Volvo for a Golf or Jetta in an instant. I'd prefer the TDI, though, since gas is about $4.50/gallon here again, and the T-Bird will eventually be for "go fast". 50 MPG for my twice weekly 80 mile commute would be good :D
VW really shines in interiors though - they are baloney cars with top sirloin interiors.
The Volvo has a flat torque curve, too - the 200-ish lb-ft "peak" is from 1500-5000 RPM. It's got a tiny turbo (Volvo calls it the "Light Pressure Turbo") making only about 8PSI of boost, hence the lowly 190-horse rating from a 2.4 liter twin-cam, 20-valve 5-cyl engine with variable valve timing. The R-models have a bigger turbo and make somewhere around 270 horses from a 2.3 liter version (smaller bore for durability) of the engine.
VW are a major pain in the ASS to work on though. It's almost like they are engineered backwards. I've been dubbed.....ha...."Vdub guy" at work and I don't much care for it. Nothing is easy to get to...even the air filters. Their electrical problems make you nuts 4 times over. They are good looking cars inside and out, but I'd never own one because of how difficult they are to fix. The guys at work say when working on them..."you know why Germany lost the war right?.....All the tanks had check engine lights."
Yea I had a nice looking, leather interior '93 VR6 passat wagon. Water pump was toast, went through 5 hours of hell. Took it out for the test drive, romped on it and the frigg'n "crack pipe" cracked. I ended up sping it :D
Edit: I forgot to mention, last week over spring break I rode (with 3 others) in a 2000 TDI Jetta for 30hrs strait. I was definitely all around impressed.
I learned how to work on cars with a VW Fox. I'd work on a VW and let someone kick me in the face over trying to fix a Toyota. :punchballs:
I hear that....I did valve cover gaskets on a 93 Camry with a 3.0L...on Wednesday......my back still hurts....and I didn't do any lifting.......stupid Toyota.
Meh i hate VW, i dont personally like VW, porsche or Mercedes Benz, not really into war profiteering.
Because the Big Three would never do such a thing. :rolleyes:
Slaves i think not, also i believe the workers of the big three actually get paid ;)
I've also driven a TDI, infact I test drove about 10 different VW's and also considered buying them strickly because of the fuel mileage of the diesel. I drive about 40,000 a year, so I use quite a few $ of fuel. My consensions is, they are not a car you want to buy used! They are generally very good cars, but it seems a few real lemons exist, especially w.r.t. electrical problems, and Timing belts on the pre 03 modles. Also prices seem to be greatly inflated around here, because of a lack of supply. (We have one VW dealer in the entire province.) But they really drive nice, and get better than rated mileage in the summer.
The other thing that detered me, which probably won't affect anyone else, is they will not start without much assistange in the cold winter months, and VW advises against extended idleing. Infact you can end your warranty through hours or miles in Canada so if I left in running all the time (like I do with my tempo now) I would void the warranty.
I've also driven a TDI, infact I test drove about 10 different VW's and also considered buying them strickly because of the fuel mileage of the diesel. I drive about 40,000 a year, so I use quite a few $ of fuel. My consensions is, they are not a car you want to buy used! They are generally very good cars, but it seems a few real lemons exist, especially w.r.t. electrical problems, and Timing belts on the pre 03 modles. Also prices seem to be greatly inflated around here, because of a lack of supply. (We have one VW dealer in the entire province.) But they really drive nice, and get better than rated mileage in the summer.
The other thing that detered me, which probably won't affect anyone else, is they will not start without much assistange in the cold winter months, and VW advises against extended idleing. Infact you can end your warranty through hours or miles in Canada so if I left in running all the time (like I do with my tempo now) I would void the warranty.