CD Article: 2007 Volkswagen City Golf & Jetta

[onearmed]

 - A light in the rear cargo area would be handy.  (I'll have a look to see if there is a stub of a wiring harness back there somewhere.)

I think the rear light in the cargo area was one of the cost reduction bits as my GTI has a light in the rear cargo area.  Other than that, good list and great update.  Good luck on the next 100000km

[sirAQUAMAN64]

walter_wpg, like your avatar 

[MisterP]

No armrest was a major turnoff, mainly because of my driving habits and positioning, if anybody has bought the ones off ebay and can provide feedback it would be appreciated.

I bought one of the ebay armrests. Visually, it's pretty much identical to the VW part. A closer inspection reveals a cheaper finish, but I guess that's to be expected. Be warned - installation will not be easy for the average owner (the eBay parts do not come with installation instructions). I was lucky enough to have a contact at a dealership who installed mine for me. It took him an hour and he knew what he was doing. It fits, but loosely. Not what I'm used to, but at least I have an armrest. A better solution might be to do what walter_wpg did and get an actual VW part from a wrecking yard. But make sure you get all the mounting hardware (nuts, bolts, washers, etc...).

Another question, while I have no problem turning it in at end of lease and walking, does anybody know how reasonable the 50% residual is? Could I turn around and sell it, pay off my lease and make a profit?

Probably, yes. I bought my 2003 Golf at the end of its lease, then sold it to a friend for cost, so didn't make any money. But my buyback price was $2K to $3K lower than comparable cars were going for, so I could have made a few bucks.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Do the new 2008MY City Jettas look like this now?

I thought they would remain the same for 2 years or so. Me no likey this old B5.5 Passat inspired redo. But apparently 6spd TipTronic Auto now.

[Mr KO]

Thanks for the response Mr P. I went ahead and ordered the console from ebay, sounds like i will definitely let somebody install it.

So I took delivery last week, and like winnipeg walter, on my honeymooon period. Things I like...fuel economy, I'm not used to a small car, the VW is far from best in its class but a 2 hour trip for a litre of milk and the gauge barely moved. Seems silly to have 1/1 as symbol for full.  Like the blue dashboard display, wish the radio was the same, its pretty unreadable in the daytime, plus its insane to have radio down there with nothing on top of it....I  understand a few cutbacks for cost but it wouldn't have cost them anything to have an insert in dash for cd storage.
 Like the pickup although it will take some getting used to gearbox. Last car I had rarely took it out of 4th gear except for long trips of highway driving, this time 5th gear is a must for regualr highway driving.
One of my dislikes is quality of switches, not smooth at all, may as well just throw in some ancient toggle switches instead.  These cruise control seems to be worst of bunch.
Anyway, I'm sure I'll have lots of other observations along the way. One thing that did make me feel better about my decision of getting Golf was I rented a Hyandai Santa Fe for a day....this is pretty nice I thought, but then I realized that interior lights didn't work along with radio and the door locks unless the key was in the ignition....of course the car did have 190 miles on it when I picked it up, so things were bound to go wrong.

[rsxca]

Do the new 2008MY City Jettas look like this now?

I thought they would remain the same for 2 years or so. Me no likey this old B5.5 Passat inspired redo. But apparently 6spd TipTronic Auto now.

Yes I drove by a dealership the other day and saw the new city jetta.  It looks a more bland now than before.

[Mitlov]

Wow, looks are subjective, I don't like the City Jetta at all compared to the 2004 Jetta.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Do the new 2008MY City Jettas look like this now?

I thought they would remain the same for 2 years or so. Me no likey this old B5.5 Passat inspired redo. But apparently 6spd TipTronic Auto now.

Yes I drove by a dealership the other day and saw the new city jetta.  It looks a more bland now than before.

Took photos of it here http://www.canadiandriver.com/forum/index.php/topic,54461.msg437196.html#msg437196

Don't care for the front at all. It used to be simple-stylish-timeless, but now it looks totally overdone. Rear I could live with - that misaligned 'CITY' badge would have to be removed or placed elsewhere tho. Rear logo opens hatch like the Rabbit/GTI. Really they should have just stuck the revised interior and 6-spd Tiptronic into the current version.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Yikes.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/071002-5.htm

[walter_wpg]

Yikes.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/071002-5.htm

Ugh!  I guess one can't really judge until we see them in real life, but my first impression is not that positive.  And what's with that silver trim on the dash, around the air vents?    I, for one, am very glad I bought my 2007 model!

[mmret]

Yikes.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/071002-5.htm

Perhaps VAG decided that the MK4 was just too...old school?

I rather liked the MK4 Jetta looks though.

[whimsy]

Yikes.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/071002-5.htm

Blech I do not like the new styling.  My '07 City Jetta wears its Mk IV lineage proudly and doesn't try to pretend it's a Mk V.

[2hondas1BMW]

The styling of the 08' City Golf isn't bad...the Jetta, is a different story. 

[whimsy]

The vw.ca website now lists the new City Golf and Jetta models, and allows you to build 'em up.  Some highlights for the Jetta:

- The colour selection is different (no more Spice Red on Jetta).
- New colour offerings are Tornado Red, Tossa Blue Metallic, Wheat Beige Metallic.
- Base MSRP is up from $16,700 to $16,900
- Cold Weather Package is up from $205 to $275
- Alloy Wheels are now grouped with "Comfort Package" (i.e. power windows and cruise control) but the option is now priced $975 (was $540 last year without alloy wheels).  I guess the wheels cost $435 then.  I probably would have opted for alloy wheels when I bought my '07 but they were bundled with the sunroof package (which I didn't want, as I am quite tall and need the extra head room).
- Front Side Air Bags are included
- Side Curtain Protection option $410
- Air Conditioning option is still same price
- ESP still same price

[whimsy]

MSRP was $20,370 for my '07 City Jetta.  Bottom line, to build an '08 with same options as my '07 would be $21,695 and include alloy wheels and key opening and closing feature for power windows.

The '08 City models don't seem to be quite the obvious value that they were for '07, especially considering the even stronger Canadian Dollar.

[raylpc]

My City Golf is 3 months old and only has 1880km on it. It's a stick. Now I have got an intermittent problem - the reverse gear can't slot in: I depress the shift knob and push to the left but it just doesn't go to the reverse position at all, like it's stuck on something. Do you have any ideas?

I went to Volkswagen Villa at Yonge and Steeles. They asked me to authorize a $841 diagnosis fee in case it's not covered by warranty. Does that sound fishy? I think the warranty covers the diagnosis fees, right? Please help!

[AVToller]

My City Golf is 3 months old and only has 1880km on it. It's a stick. Now I have got an intermittent problem - the reverse gear can't slot in: I depress the shift knob and push to the left but it just doesn't go to the reverse position at all, like it's stuck on something. Do you have any ideas?

I went to Volkswagen Villa at Yonge and Steeles. They asked me to authorize a $841 diagnosis fee in case it's not covered by warranty. Does that sound fishy? I think the warranty covers the diagnosis fees, right? Please help!

What in the world? I've never heard of anything like that in my 38 years of owning new cars.    As to problem, welcome to the wonderful world of owning a VW. I had my Golf for 6 years, and while I liked it a lot (and kept it longer than any other car), I did tire of the constant visits to the vets shop. Have you tried shifting into 1st then reverse? It sometimes helps. 

[walter_wpg]

I managed to pick up some used alloy rims this summer (only $50 each!), the same size as the steelies that came with my City Golf.  I've now installed new snow tires on my steel rims, and moved the all-seasons to the alloy rims.  Here's the result:



I like the look. Okay, not as eye-catching as some of those $500/each chrome "bling" rims.  A more understated look, with a reasonable amount of caliper showing.  Plus, the price is in keeping with the City Golf's economy price.  I'm happy, and will be happier next summer when I can drive with them on.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Looks good Walter. On the surprisingly cheap too! 

Diggin' the mud flaps too. They're actually designed to protect the car much more effectively than many others I've seen.

[Mitlov]

I managed to pick up some used alloy rims this summer (only $50 each!), the same size as the steelies that came with my City Golf.  I've now installed new snow tires on my steel rims, and moved the all-seasons to the alloy rims.  Here's the result:

Very nice rims.  A lot of aftermarket wheels look overdone and don't actually work with the lines of the car.  These could be stock on an upper-trim-level Golf.