2008 Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5

February 1, 2008

Test Drive: 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5

2008 Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5 four-door, five-speed manual. Click image to enlarge

Four-door, five-speed manual

Review and photos by Greg Wilson

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2008 Volkswagen Rabbit

North Vancouver, British Columbia – Though it was completely redesigned for the 2007 model year, the Rabbit (formerly the Golf) has received a horsepower boost for 2008: the standard 2.5-litre inline five-cylinder engine now has 170 horsepower, up from 150 in 2007; and torque is now 177 lb-ft, a slight increase from 170 lb-ft. Next to the Dodge Caliber R/T, the Rabbit is now the most powerful compact car in its class under $25,000.

Other changes to the 2008 Rabbit include new style 16-inch alloy wheels as part of a Rabbit option package, optional Sirius Satellite Radio, and optional "shark fin" antenna replacing the whip antenna.

2008 MSRPs have gone up slightly: Rabbit two-door hatchbacks are now $20,175, up from $19,990; and four-door hatchbacks are $21,675, up from $20,990. As well, the combined Freight and PDI charge of $1,335 seems a lot higher than last year's $695 Freight charge.

All Rabbits use the 2.5-litre DOHC 20-valve inline five-cylinder engine with a standard five-speed manual transmission or optional six-speed automatic with 'Sport' mode, and Tiptronic sequential manual shift capability.

2008 Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5 four-door, five-speed manual. Click image to enlarge

Standard equipment in the two-door Rabbit is generous for the base price of $20,175: front, side and curtain airbags, air conditioning, 15-inch tires and steel wheels, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, traction control, dual chrome exhaust pipes, heated outside mirrors, power door locks with keyless entry and folding key, alarm, CD stereo with 10 speakers and auxiliary jack in the glovebox, six-way manually adjustable driver and front passenger seats, 60/40 split folding rear seatbacks, tilt and telescopic wheel, variable intermittent wipers, rear window wiper and washer, anti-theft alarm, cruise control, and cloth seat fabric.

The Rabbit also has a longer standard warranty than many of its competitors: 4 yrs/ 80,000 km on the whole car and 5 yrs/100,000 km on the powertrain.

Other than the extra two doors, the four-door Rabbit adds a few more items of standard equipment: soft velour seat fabric instead of cloth, a folding front centre armrest with covered storage, eight-way manually adjustable driver's seat, armrests in the rear door panels, and a rear centre folding armrest with pass-through to the trunk. As well, four-door models are available with optional rear side airbags and optional lumbar adjustment on the front seats.

2008 Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5 four-door, five-speed manual. Click image to enlarge

Other options include power sunroof, 16-inch tires and alloy wheels, six-CD player, heated front seats, floor mats, and electronic stability control.

My four-door Rabbit test car had $4,000 worth of options, including an option package with 205/55R16-inch tires, alloy wheels and six-disc in-dash CD player ($975); heated front seats and heated washer nozzles ($275); power sunroof ($1,400); Sirius satellite radio w/three-month subscription ($450); electronic stabilization program ($450); and rear side airbags ($450). With Freight and PDI of $1,335 and A/C tax of $100, the as tested price came to $27,110.

Interior impressions

When the Rabbit was redesigned last year, the wheelbase was increased by 67 mm and the body width by 24 mm. As a result, the Rabbit is much roomier than the old Golf without being a lot bigger on the outside. Most adults will find plenty of headroom and legroom in the front and rear seats of the Rabbit, and the four large doors make getting in and out easy.

I particularly like the comfortable, supportive front seats in the Rabbit. They are manually height-adjustable and have optional lumbar adjustment, and the side bolsters provide good support when cornering. I'm not a fan of soft velour seat fabric in the four-door Golf, but it has a well-made appearance and feels warmer in winter. The optional variable-temperature front seat heaters are well worth the money.

2008 Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5 four-door, five-speed manual. Click image to enlarge

The Rabbit's standard tilt/telescopic steering wheel helps the driver find a good driving position within easy reach of the pedals and controls. A large flat dead pedal to the left of the brake provides a handy place to rest your left foot. All in all, the Rabbit has a surprisingly comfortable interior.

A thin strip of metallic trim on the dash and doors adds a classy touch to a generally good-looking plastic dash. I liked the simple round gauges and blue backlighting at night, and the central digital display showing the odometer, outside temperature, and clock. The centre stack has red backlighting for the radio and heater controls, and a large LCD display to show radio and CD functions. One change for 2008 is that the "Economy" button above the fan control has been renamed "AC".

2008 Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5 four-door, five-speed manual. Click image to enlarge

Storage areas in the cabin are numerous: an open bin on top of the dash, a small bin with a 12-volt outlet at the bottom of the centre stack, a covered, folding armrest/bin between the front seats, large front door pockets, a larger-than-average passenger glovebox with a an auxiliary music player jack inside, two cupholders between the front seats, and a flip-down coin holder near the driver's door.

The rear seat is split 60/40 and includes a folding centre armrest/pass-through for skis and such. Unlike the City Golf's folding rear seats, the Rabbit's are easy to fold down. Just pull up on a lever on top of the seat and pull it down - the head restraints don't have to removed and the seat cushion doesn't have to be raised. However, in the Rabbit, the seatbacks don't fold down perfectly flat.

Behind the rear seats, the entire cargo area is lined with carpet to protect against scratching and there's also a privacy cover, tie-down hooks, and a 12-volt power outlet. A full-size spare tire can be found underneath the cargo floor but if you order the optional 16-inch tires it doesn't appear that the 15-inch spare is upgraded to a 16-inch.

The rear hatch can be unlocked with the remote key and the VW badge on the trunklid acts as a door handle to open the hatch. This can be done with one hand when you learn the technique. The hatch opening is large and the loading height is low.

Standard safety features include driver and passenger front airbags, side airbags in the front seats, curtain airbags for both rows in the ceiling, and optional rear side airbags. There are also five three-point seatbelts, five height adjustable head restraints, and rear child seat lower attachment points and top tethers for rear outboard seating positions.

In crash tests, the 2008 Rabbit received a "Good" rating in frontal and side impacts from the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (see www.hwysafety.org) and four stars in frontal impacts and five stars in side impacts from the NHTSA (www.safercar.gov).

Driving impressions

The revised 2008 engine develops more horsepower and torque, but at slightly higher revolutions: 170 hp @ 5,700 r.p.m. vs 150 hp @ 5000 r.p.m., and 177 lb-ft @ 4,250 r.p.m. vs 170 lb-ft @ 3,750 rpm. That means you have to rev a little higher to extract the extra power, but compared to most four-cylinder engines, this is a low revving engine with generous torque and responsive throttle at low and high speeds.

2008 Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5 four-door, five-speed manual. Click image to enlarge

With leading horsepower and torque, the Rabbit is quicker in a straight line than most of its competitors - last year's Rabbit did 0 to 100 km/h in 8.7 seconds according to independent tests conducted by AJAC (www.ajac.org) and with no increase in curb weight, the new one is quicker by at least a couple of tenths.

However, power comes at a price. Though official Energuide fuel economy figures are slightly better than last year (10.8 city/6.9 hwy with manual transmission), during my week of driving a Rabbit with a standard five-speed manual transmission, I managed only 12.2 L/100 km (23 m.p.g. Imperial) in mostly urban driving.

There's plenty of torque below 4,000 r.p.m. (max 170 lb-ft @ 4,250 r.p.m.) and the engine is quite responsive when pulling away from a traffic light and when passing even though it never really works too hard. At a steady 100 km/h in fifth gear, the engine revs at 2,600 r.p.m.

As I pointed out last year, the Rabbit's fuel economy is not as good as most of the other cars in its class, all of which have smaller four-cylinder engines with less power. The buyer has to decide what balance of performance and fuel economy is satisfactory for their needs.

The Rabbit has great brakes: with standard four-wheel disc brakes and ABS, electronic brake differential, and Brake Assist, braking from 100 km/h to zero takes just 38.7 metres (127 ft.) according to AJAC.

2008 Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5 four-door, five-speed manual. Click image to enlarge

With the introduction of a new independent multi-link rear suspension and a stiffer body in 2007, the Rabbit offered an improved ride and better handling than the Golf. Indeed for a small car, the Rabbit has a smooth, vibration-free ride on the highway, and soaks up road cracks and bumps without harshness. Its Bosch electro-mechanical variable-assist rack and pinion steering is a bit heavy at slower speeds, but is responsive and accurate, and the car's turning diameter of 11 metres (36 feet) is tight. The five-speed manual shifter has an easy, fluid feel while the clutch pedal effort is light.

The Rabbit's stability at high speeds, balance and poise in the corners, strong brakes, and torquey engine gives the driver a feeling of confidence unmatched in other compact hatchbacks - which also makes the Rabbit a fun car to drive. I would recommend the optional 16-inch tires for extra traction - they're a good deal with the alloy wheels and six-CD changer for only $975.

Optional stability control is available - a safety feature that automatically compensates for loss of directional control if the car starts to spin. This might be a good idea if you live in an area of consistently poor winter weather conditions, but with a good set of snow tires, the front-wheel drive Rabbit is normally very capable in the snow.

Speaking of safety, I should also mention the Rabbit's excellent visibility makes lane changes easier and driving safer. I found the rear wiper with a fixed intermittent wiping setting very useful in clearing the rear window of ice and snow.

If I had one complaint about the Rabbit's driving experience, it would be that there is some tire noise coming from the rear of the car on some road surfaces - not an uncommon complaint in a hatchback.

Verdict

A premium hatchback with class-leading power and torque, the 2008 VW Rabbit is comfortable, practical and fun to drive, but its fuel consumption is not as good as many of its competitors.

Pricing: 2008 VW Rabbit 2.5 four-door

Base price: $21,675

Options: $4,000 (16-inch alloy wheels, $975; Cold Weather Package: heated front seats, heated washer nozzles, $275; power sunroof, $1,400; Sirius satellite radio w/3-month subscription, $450; electronic stabilization program, $450; rear side airbags, $450)

Freight: $1,335

A/C tax: $100

Price as tested: $27,110 Click here for options, dealer invoice prices and factory incentives

Specifications