17 Votes

Boost it!

Car and Driver Compares Eight Small Cars in their May Issue

TurboSpyder submitted on 4/17/2008 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 1:13:40 PM

21 user comments | Category: Reviews | Source: www.autospies.com


Results - Points Out of 250

1) Volkswagen Rabbit - 212
2) Subaru Impreza 2.

5i - 193
3) Toyota Corolla - 191
4) Saturn Astra XR - 190
5) Mitsubishi Lancer GTS - 189
6) Suzuki SX4 Sport - 179
7) Scion xD - 165
8) Ford Focus SE - 162



http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3793868

About the Author

TurboSpyder

Bilstein "DampTronic" traitors! http://www.oobject.com/category/top-10-soviet-technology-ripoffs/

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)


User Comments

_43LE

The Rabbit's a nice car. I think that they should have also thrown in the Civic and the Mazda 3. They would also have done well in this comparison.

— _43LE (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 3:24:23 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

TurboSpyder

Car and Driver did that comparison last year (Dec. 2006 actually)



Sensible Shoes - Comparison Test

Sixth Place: 2007 Nissan Sentra 2.0S
Fifth Place: 2007 Toyota Corolla LE
Fourth Place: 2007 Hyundai Elantra SE
Third Place: 2006 Honda Civic LX
Second Place: 2007 Mazda 3s Touring
First Place: 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit


http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/sensible_shoes_comparison_test/2007_volkswagen_rabbit_comparison_test

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 3:29:57 PM | | Votes: 6   

S4cabriofoxone

Wow, they really like the Rabbit.

Understandable--sporty, fun, stylish, well-built.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 4:02:39 PM | | Votes: 3   

_43LE

I just had a Jetta as a rental and it's certainly a nicer drive than the Civic.

— _43LE (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 4:20:58 PM | | Votes: 3   

tattedtwice

"Car and Driver did that comparison last year (Dec. 2006 actually)"

Different comparison. This one is in the latest issue (May).

— tattedtwice (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 5:14:12 PM | | Votes: 1   

Audiphile

They did not include the Honda and Mazda in this comparison because the winner of the last comparison is compared with the newcomers. The Civic Si and Mazda 3 finished second and third in the last comparison, thus they were not automatically included in this comparison.

However, you are right that such nice cars as those two should have been included. Perhaps they should have expanded the field to 10 cars.

— Audiphile (View Profile)

Posted on 4/18/2008 2:33:12 PM | | Votes: 1   

groucho

Not really a surprise... its the most upscale car of the group. Neatly packaged, well built, fun to drive, nicest interior, good performance. What's not to love about the Rabbit. I'm just shocked the Corolblah beat out the Lancer and Astra.

— groucho (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 4:12:32 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

tattedtwice

Agreed, I'm surprised the corolblah wasnt last place where it rightfully belongs.

— tattedtwice (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 5:12:39 PM | | Votes: 0   

rallyss

astra should have won

— rallyss (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 6:35:55 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Rupert

No we have the Astra in Europe and the Rabbit has always been better.

— Rupert (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 6:59:39 PM | | Votes: 2   

tattedtwice

Not sure why, it's not like toy's are known for winning comparisons or like they deserve to.

— tattedtwice (View Profile)

Posted on 4/17/2008 10:04:50 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Audiphile

Guys, I subscribe to Car & Driver. I read that review not too long back. VW came out on top in that comparison, but it was the GTI that was tested, not the Rabbit.

— Audiphile (View Profile)

Posted on 4/18/2008 2:24:04 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

TurboSpyder

No. This latest comparo is from the May 2008 issue of Car and Driver and includes the five-cylinder Rabbit S.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/8027/1207242160so1.jpg



The previous Car and Driver comparison where the 2007 Rabbit beat the Honda Civic and Mazda 3 was from December 2006.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/sensible_shoes_comparison_test/2007_volkswagen_rabbit_comparison_test



What you're referring to must have been a different comparison where the GTI won or maybe it's from Car and Driver's ten best list.

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 4/18/2008 4:30:53 PM | | Votes: 1   

Audiphile

You're right, Turbo. I did read a recent comparison where the GTI won, but I can't locate it now.

— Audiphile (View Profile)

Posted on 4/18/2008 7:44:55 PM | | Votes: 1   

huu76

Anyone notice the Wabbit was the only car without a 4banger? It's almost one of the most expensive cars tested ($20K Canadian, $4500 more than the Corolla)

Apparently the Rabbit has a larger trunk than the Corolla, which is amazing considering the VW doesn't have a trunk (of course, they must've put the VW's back seats down for that comparison).

Once again, C&D piles on the subjective and "don't matter" points. Rabbit wins the "Gotta have-it" handidly.

Did Toyota (and everyone else) stop advertising?

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/18/2008 10:18:44 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

TurboSpyder

"Anyone notice the Wabbit was the only car without a 4banger? It's almost one of the most expensive cars tested..."



Wrong. The "as tested" price for the Rabbit in this comparison was less than all of the other cars except for the Corolla which was $275 less expensive than the Rabbit.

http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1207242210.jpg


And as you can see from this chart the Rabbit (by far) won the most categories in the Vehicle, Powertrain and Chassis sections.

http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1207242177.jpg

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 4/19/2008 1:32:43 AM | | Votes: 1   

ktu01

The Astra (given that it's from Opel) would've given the Rabbit a run for the money. The 1.8 engine for the US market is one of the base engines in Europe, whereas if they had used the 1.6 Turbo (180 hp, which would be comparable to Rabbit), or even a 2.0 Turbo.

All in all, GM had a great car on their hand that would've performed a lot better with a different engine.

— ktu01 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/19/2008 1:13:44 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Rupert

But the Astra isn't as good to drive and the interior isn't as good. It generally feels quite a bit cheaper than a Rabbit. It is cheaper, but still the Rabbit is the better car.

— Rupert (View Profile)

Posted on 4/19/2008 8:54:52 AM | | Votes: 1   

autopro

VW is junk,but they drive great!

— autopro (View Profile)

Posted on 4/19/2008 5:44:32 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Add your Comments

Images hosted in your AgentSpace can now be posted in the comments section using the following syntax (case matters): [img]IMAGE URL[/img]
Example: [img]http://agent001.myautospies.com/images/sample.jpg[/img]