91 vs. 96 Jetta, suprised me.

Yup!

That's why I'm spending $1500 on the body on my Jetta, and not buying a New Jetta...

Yep. A friend of ours had a '95 Jetta with the 115hp 2.0 and automatic. My '91 GTI has 105hp and a 5-speed. While I expected the automatic in the '95 to sap some power, I figured that the extra HP would make that part a wash. And the A3 Jetta is probably a little heavier too than my A2 GTI. So the end result is I expected the A3 to feel a little sluggish. Well, it felt a LOT sluggish. It was miserably unresponsive when you stepped on the gas. The 2.0 also doesn't rev as nicely, quietly, or smoothly as the old 1.8 does. Even the current 1.8T engine to me doesn't sound as sweet as the old

1.8. The A3s also have rather poor interiors IMHO. The A2s weren't high quality either, but the A3s seemed to have more shiny plastic and they're definitely more creaky/squeaky and things break easier on them. The exterior was also rather crappy too...with body molding that came unglued and a grille whose fragile clips broke right off the day I had to replace a headlamp unit.

Bottom line is the A2s really were great cars and still are. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the A3s did improve on them in styling in terms of being more comtemporary and interior space was probably a little better as well (not that the A2 is bad either). The A3s were also a little softer and more refined, but some folks say it's at the expense of the sportier A2's handling and feel.

I think the A2s had a higher quality interior than the cheaped out A3s....

Well, much love for the A2's here! I have a 87 Jetta GLI 16v I bought in 94" and it still looks pretty darn good w/ original paint/engine/etc. The ODO went out at 146K and that was at least 150K miles ago. So, it's at about

300K and the engine runs stonger then ever with 170 psi in every cylinder. Also, I agree that the (Some) A3's look better and have a more comfortable interior but at the expense of the nimbleness of the frame that the A2's have. Go A2/MKII

I love my A2....that's the reason it's had almost $9000 dumped into it over the last few years. It is a GREAT car....I can see myself buying a new car in a few years, but I can't imagine getting rid of the Jetta...It is just an incredible car!

- Peter

Agreed. My friend's A3 Jetta had a broken air vent in the dash not only because of the cheap plastic it was made from (the connecting piece between the little flaps had broken and then the flaps fell out) but when I went to remove/replace it, it was a 45 minute ordeal because of the way the vent snapped in...unnecessarily complicated. The vent didn't just snap right out like it does in my A2 (or in my T4 Eurovan either). Almost broke a bunch of other stuff trying to get it out.

NO DOUBT!! I have a 1991 "Wolfy" and although its been giving me trouble this year, I plan on holding onto it. It handles better, better fuel economy, the gear ratios are spot on and I still get great acceleration after 260 K kms. Simply put, these engines age beautifully.

I am comparing of course to our 1997 Jetta. We just bought a 2004 Jetta Wagon for my wife to drive and she thinks I should dump my Wolfy.

No way!

Yeah, my wife recently owned a '96 VW Golf (UK MKIII - I guess the A3)

1.6CL - what a load of pants! The engine seemed willing enough, if a little asthmatic at higher revs (just had to work the gears more) but the suspension / chassis was the most sluggish, uncommunicative piece of outright boredom that I've come across. Even my old 1970 Triumph 2.5 saloon (sedan?) handles better.

I guess they stiffened things up a bit for the GTi - but I was suprised at how poor the 1.6CL handled - too much weight, too little damping and mental understeer. My wife's not a keen driver but after borrowing my '92 Scirocco

1.8 GT2 for a week she soon put the Golf up for sale. 'Nuff said.

-- Ken Davidson DocDelete

in article sJjzb.16221$ snipped-for-privacy@wards.force.net, DocDelete at snipped-for-privacy@thehomeofnospam.org wrote on 12/3/03 6:22 AM:

Agreed. At the instigation of my wife and in-laws, who were worried about us driving such an "old" car, I traded in my '87 GLi for a 97 GLS. The older car was better in every way: Better looking, nicer interior, faster, more spacious trunk, lots more creature comforts, and it was more reliable than the newer car.

Eric

Well, the only thing I disagree with is the trunk size and the looks...The A3s I think were nicer looking, and they did have a bigger trunk than the A2s....

- Peter

The looks are an individual matter. I like the leaner lines of the A2 better than the fuller look of the A3.

The trunk space, however, *is* larger on the A2:

There is 16.6 cubic feet of space in the A2, vs. "only" 15 in the A3:

(A2) (A3) I had already researched this, because we had been considering buying a small station wagon instead of the A3.

Eric

in article X%wzb.11719$ snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com, Peter Cressman at snipped-for-privacy@sympaticos.ca wrote on 12/3/03 9:31 PM:

From:

That's one of my favorite features of the car. Since there is no ACC, I just need to barely insert my key and bam, radio works. Not to mention headlights automatically turn off

And my $0.02 in this thread: I just did valve stem seals for my A2, got new spark plugs (old ones were oil fouled) and got it properly timed (no more of this "by ear" stuff). The damn thing Is a whole new car. Pulls strong. I even got it to chirp the tires on a dry day with new tires just by flooring it in 1st gear. (Previously losing traction required rain, bald tires and dropping the clutch.) Not to mention the body is in mint condition. Paint could use some work. Once I get out of college and I'm actually making some money rather than go blow $20,000 on a new car. I might strip it down, repaint it, get some nice shocks, maybe it'll be time for a rebuild on the engine, and keep the car for long enough to get "Vintage" plates :)