Today I decided to take a break from studying and just wandered around town. I wanted to go to a computer store on the other side of town so it was a bit of driving. I get there and find out the store is closed on Sundays. Great. I drove out here for nothing. Then I spied a VW dealership next door. I thought, “I haven’t done this in a while” so I walked over and looked at a few cars. They didn’t have a large used selection (a ‘98-’02 Grand Marquis and a ’05 Focus stood out in my mind) so I looked at the new cars. A red two-door Rabbit caught my eye so I wandered over to it. I looked inside and looked at the sticker. It was an automatic so I wasn’t really interested in it (I can’t even afford a new car at the moment anyways). So I look at a few other Rabbits hoping maybe they have one with a stick-shift. There was a light gray two-door that had a stick-shift. I quickly glanced at the specs: 150 hp 2.5L I5 and the price was $17k. It seemed a little high, but then again it had a lot of stuff.

At that time, a salesman came over and greeted me. He asked me if I wanted to look inside. I told him “sure” so he got the key and opened it up for me. It was really nice inside. The seat was a little stiff, but supportive. He showed me how to adjust the seat, which was different from other car’s I’ve been in (a pumping handle to raise and lower the seat and a knob that adjusts the seatback). He goes on about how the engine is the same engine that came in the Audi 5000. I’m thinking “Wow, that car came out about twenty years ago; I hope VW has revised it since then.” So I asked him if I could pop the hood. Went out and took a look. The engine bay looked full with that giant cover on the engine, but there was ample room in front of it. It was nice because it looked like the headlights look extremely easy to change with no header panel blocking it. I commented about it and he told me about how the VW New Beetle has the worse headlights to change and VW actually listened when they designed this car.

So I close the hood and I check out the hatchback area. I liked the full-size spare. The space in the back looked decent enough (not as huge as my cavernous trunk). I didn’t try out the backseat though. It didn’t look like there was a lot of room. So it came time for the question: “Can I take it for a spin?” He said “Sure, lemme make a copy of your license. Here’s the keys so you can adjust the settings.”

So I hop in and play with the seat and the mirrors. The headlight switch only has two positions. On and Off. No parking light selection. That struck me as kid of odd. He comes back and I tell him I haven’t driven a stick in a long time (it’s more like a year, but that’s more than enough to get rusty since I drive a slushbox daily). He told me they had automatics if that would be better, but I told him no I’m tired of automatics. I go to start it and it doesn’t start. It was in neutral, what gives? Then it hits me: new cars have a neutral safety switch on the clutch and brake. I keep forgetting that. Ok, I hit the clutch and brake, starts right up. I put it in first, release the clutch and raise the RPMs and BAM! Stalled it out. Ok, no biggie. I apologized for stalling and started it again. Foot on brake, foot on clutch, shifter in neutral, and turn key. It doesn’t start. I’m like WTF? He tells me that VWs have a safety feature where if a kid is fooling around with the car and they manage to get it started and then stalls out, the car will not start again when the key is cranked to start. The trick is to turn it back to off and then start it again. Good tip to know as it’ll come in handy later.

I start it back up, and pull forward. The way this parking lot is designed, I have to make a 180 and go down an aisle of cars, make another 180 and go down another aisle to the street. Also with the way the car was parked I had to make a three point turn. So I get it moving in first harshly and tried to put it in reverse. I couldn’t get the stick to move out of the first column of gears. The salesman tells me I have to push down on the shifter. Another safety feature. So I get it in reverse and start backing up. He tells me to stop as I’m about to hit another Rabbit (it didn’t look that close in the mirror) and I stalled it again. I try and start it by cranking it and then realize it needs to be turned to OFF first and then cranked. OK. I manage to get out of the parking lot and onto the street.

We drove around the back road and he talked to me about the options. It has an A/C glovebox with adjustable temperature control, 4-wheel disk brakes, traction control, DRLs, power windows, power locks, electric power steering, MP3-CD radio with speed sensitive volume, cruise control, side curtain airbags, and cupholders everywhere. It has a diffuser on the defroster so it doesn’t dry out your eyes if you wear contacts (which isn’t a big deal to me since I wear glasses). The power windows have auto-down as well as auto-up which was pretty cool. The plastic was pretty nice quality. It looks like the same plastic they use in Ford and GMs, but it’s a lot softer and less reminiscent of a Coleman ice cooler. The radio looked simple to operate as was the HVAC.

About the tenth time I stalled it out, I realize that the key doesn’t feel very solid when cranking (it’s one of those switchblade keys) and the clutch is super grabby (most likely because it’s new). Once I got the hang of it, the clutch was smooth as butter (although it seemed to be missing the engagement feel in the pedal). I was trained to drive a stick by ear and feel (’81 Escort) so I would try and hear the right spot to shift. It was hard because the engine was extremely quiet at idle and it would love to rev up to 5k RPMs without sounding like it was straining. I eventually coordinated my shifts to the tach since it was just easier that way on this car. I know different cars drive differently when it comes to a stick. I don’t drive stick daily so I don’t have the chance to perfect my skill.

The brakes were quite touchy. They aren’t as bad as the ones on Hondas where it’s full force at the slightest tap, but they aren’t as mushy as a 20 y/o Oldsmobile either. It felt about the same as newer Dodges. The salesman mentioned that it was because of the 4-wheel-disk brakes and how there are larger brakes up front. The backroads we were on had some mild turns and I hit them higher than the posted speed limit of 25 and it held it’s ground. Very little body-roll, but not as stiff as a sports car. The power steering was perfect. If he hadn’t told me it was electronic, I would have thought it was a regular hydraulic system. It turned very smoothly and won’t try and fight back too hard.

The gearshift had short throws which was nice. The engine was pretty torquey. Not as torquey as my Sable, but it’ll pull in the right gear at the right time. It actually pulls in all the gears, but my timing is just off. I think I was in the wrong gear when going up the on-ramp because when I floored it, the engine felt as anemic as my old Lancer. Once I got on the highway and was cruising in fifth, the car passed everyone else like a champion. I think it’d be awesome if it had a diesel option. I had the window open and I was surprised by the low wind noise at 70 MPH. I rolled up the window and it was so quiet. The guy told me to watch my speed as it was easy to speed in these cars (I was approaching 80 already and the speed limit is 65). It handled the expansion joints pretty well (but then again we were on a new part of the highway) and it was smooth.

I noticed the console had grab handles. The salesman told me it’s there for the passengers in case I get a little carried away. The console was really wide. My right leg was right against it most of the time. It would be better if there was more room. The left dead pedal seemed far away from the clutch which I didn’t like (but then again I’d probably be on the clutch most of the time in city traffic anyways). I didn’t like the cruise-on-a-stick although I didn’t use it. The light on the dash that says “DRL” was constantly lit which got annoying. I thought the pillars were really big initially, but I eventually got used to them.

Of course it came time to talk about money. He told me that the car would be going for $14k since it’s a base model. I was shocked! It came with so many standard features and it was that inexpensive?! He asked me what I was driving and I told him and he responded “Is that the one where they’re still sort of boxy or the rounded ones?” I told him it was the former and he told me he used to have a ’98 Sable and he liked it. I find that a lot of car salesmen have had a Taurus or Sable and really speak positively of them. But that’s beside the point. He suggested that I should sell it privately instead of trade-in since it won’t net much (I already knew that; I also don't plan on selling my car any time soon either). So we return to the dealership after our little ride. By the time I got back, I got used to the clutch. This always happens when I go on a test drive. He congratulated me on mastering the take-offs now.

It was a nice car. It really impressed me and made me reconsider Volkswagens. The last Volkswagen I rode in was a ’73 Beetle when I was in high school. I was a backseat passenger so it wasn’t exactly a pleasant ride. There was a lot of thought put into that little Rabbit. I would now consider one over the other small cars available. I’m not a big fan of contemporary hatchback designs though. The dealership was cool too. The salesman didn’t pressure me to buy it and he talked like he actually knew his stuff. He was really nice when I stalled it out multiple times and he didn’t freak out when I grinded first gear (isn’t there something that prevents the shifter from engaging in 1st when the engine’s RPMs are up?). All in all, it was a pretty good test drive. I didn’t plan on doing it, but spontaneity is fun.