I had a 2002 VW GTI. I liked that car very much and it is still in the family. My brother now drives it. It's the last generation Golf, but should still be relevant.GiLLT wrote:How do you guys feel about VW?
Price wise, it is a little more expensive than Japanese cars by about 1 tier. That is, a Golf or Jetta, which is the same size as a Civic or Corolla, costs as much as a Accord or Camry. However, the car is very well contented. All the features I wanted came standard. The only options were leather, sunroof, larger alloy wheels and heated seats.
The powertrain is the highlight of the car. Mine had the 1.8T engine, which was on Ward's Auto 10 Best Engines list since 2002. Last year it was displaced by its successor, the Audi's 2.0T FSI engine. The turbo engine has more power than the base when you get on it, and achieves better fuel economy when you can manage to stay off the go fast pedal. 1.8T was rated at 24/29mpg and I frequently got 34 mpg on highway trips, better than what I am getting on Versa.
Comfort wise, the driver's position sits lower and feels smaller. On two door models, the rear seat access is terrible and the rear leg room is virtually non-existent. I never had any rear passenger so it was not a problem for me.