First, I'm a fan of VW, so I'm not just here attacking them. I had an
87 Fox I used my last 2 years of college, and it's one of those cars I'm sorry I ever got rid of. I MAY be in the market to replace my current ride (a focus), and the new Rabbit has caught my eye... reminding me of the days that I loved driving my first VW.I was doing some research last weekend, and I'm shocked. I know they've been moving VW upmarket for years, and honestly the rabbit seems a much better buy than the Golf was...
but the kicker is that the VW gets (with the base gas engine) *terrible* gas mileage when compared to it's peers. The civic is also brand new and gets much, MUCH better gas mileage. I don't like the corolla, but it's a mileage champ too. I love the Mazda 3, and it gets comparitively terrible gas mileage when compared to the honda and toy., but still better than the VW.
I could go on (my ford gets better mileage with an auto tranny)... but I wonder WHY? Anybody have a feel for it.
(I'm basing this on EPA estimates, as a standard for comparison) JP