A few weeks ago, my older daughter, Abbie - who inherited an interest in cars from me - bought a new VW GTI with a 6-spd manual tranny. On Father's Day, she and I (along with my wife and son-in-law) gave it the full treatment of wash, polish and wax. Here are a few pics of the finished product.

I've never been keen on the "feel" of FWD cars and it's been literally decades since I drove a VW, but I have to say this little guy is an exceptionally satisfying drive - accurate steering, crisp turn in, no torque steer and nicely controlled body motion - and the 2.0 L turbo 4 is very smooth and quick.

Jer

[Bob Harris]

Nice lookin' ride buddy, it is certainly not the VW that I remember.

[tim60]

I prefer picture 1 - the other two make it look like there is a tree growing out of the car.


When I first drove a VW my response was: "How do you write a requirement: 'Shall be refined'." It was different model but I understand your comments on the feel. That one looks like one of my friends o/s bought for his sons.

[eaglem]

She should be happy with that one and a nice colour as well.

[rayallen]

Nice car. The GTI goes really well. But that is only from road tests that I have read. I have not driven but I would like to.

[Sailor]

Nice lookin' ride buddy, it is certainly not the VW that I remember.

It's a pretty cool little car, brother Bob - I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy it. Also, Claire likes it!!

Jer

I prefer picture 1 - the other two make it look like there is a tree growing out of the car.


When I first drove a VW my response was: "How do you write a requirement: 'Shall be refined'." It was different model but I understand your comments on the feel. That one looks like one of my friends o/s bought for his sons.

I tried my damnedest to move that tree but it wouldn't budge. A good thing really, my wife would have been irritated.

Jer

She should be happy with that one and a nice colour as well.

I think she will, EM. It's a fun little drive.

Jer

Nice car. The GTI goes really well. But that is only from road tests that I have read. I have not driven but I would like to.

Ray, I was surprised at the smooth responsiveness of the motor - very impressive, especially for a relatively inexpensive car.

Jer

[Bob Harris]

It's a pretty cool little car, brother Bob - I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy it. Also, Claire likes it!!

Well if Claire likes it, you know it's OK. She's seen plenty of top cars over the years.

[lesmore49]

Very nice car. Your daughter chose well, in her selection of a motorcar. A friend of mine lives in New York state, has a VW GTI mit standard transmission.

He's an old guy like me and says his sports sedan V Dub, is wonderful on the winding back roads of upstate New York. Nothing quite like a good handling, responsive sports sedan on a challenging road.

Takes me back to the '60's. My first car was a '61 VW beetle. Unfortunately nothing very sporty about it. But I experimented with improving the handling, by changing the front-rear weight distribution, with what I thought was judicious placement of sandbags wrapped in denim (old jeans).

On Sunday mornings I would take my long suffering Beetle out to the snow and ice covered store parking lots and practice throwing the car into drifts and hopefully steering out of these sometimes lurid slides. Back then in the '60's, there was no Sunday shopping and the large store parking lots were empty. After about 15 minutes of drifting, I would move on to another parking lot, just in case someone called the police.

After awhile, I would determine where best to place the sandbags (in the front trunk by the spare tire) and have a better handling VW.

Fortunately your daughter's GTI comes from the factory with all the 'engineering' done.

BTW, I like all the photos, particularly the first one...nice angle for the shot.

Also, happy July 4 th to Americans. Speaking as a Canuck, I find we are very lucky to have America as our neighbours.

[Rupert]

Great lookin' ride! Congratulations to her on an excellent choice! I test drove a new Audi TT a few weeks ago, which has a lot of VW parts in the engineering and drive train, and it was sweet...except for the auto transmission which I was not fond of. Still waiting for Mrs Rupert to retire before I make a decision, but I've been so pleased with my little silver TT it will most likely be a VW or Audi product I purchase....or to be more accurate...Mrs Rupert purchases!

Regards!

[Sailor]

Well if Claire likes it, you know it's OK. She's seen plenty of top cars over the years.

Yup, old buddy, she knows her cars!

Jer

Very nice car. Your daughter chose well, in her selection of a motorcar. A friend of mine lives in New York state, has a VW GTI mit standard transmission.

He's an old guy like me and says his sports sedan V Dub, is wonderful on the winding back roads of upstate New York. Nothing quite like a good handling, responsive sports sedan on a challenging road.

Takes me back to the '60's. My first car was a '61 VW beetle. Unfortunately nothing very sporty about it. But I experimented with improving the handling, by changing the front-rear weight distribution, with what I thought was judicious placement of sandbags wrapped in denim (old jeans).

On Sunday mornings I would take my long suffering Beetle out to the snow and ice covered store parking lots and practice throwing the car into drifts and hopefully steering out of these sometimes lurid slides. Back then in the '60's, there was no Sunday shopping and the large store parking lots were empty. After about 15 minutes of drifting, I would move on to another parking lot, just in case someone called the police.

After awhile, I would determine where best to place the sandbags (in the front trunk by the spare tire) and have a better handling VW.

Fortunately your daughter's GTI comes from the factory with all the 'engineering' done.

BTW, I like all the photos, particularly the first one...nice angle for the shot.

Also, happy July 4 th to Americans. Speaking as a Canuck, I find we are very lucky to have America as our neighbours.

Thanks, Les, for the kind words and the great recollection.

Jer

Great lookin' ride! Congratulations to her on an excellent choice! I test drove a new Audi TT a few weeks ago, which has a lot of VW parts in the engineering and drive train, and it was sweet...except for the auto transmission which I was not fond of. Still waiting for Mrs Rupert to retire before I make a decision, but I've been so pleased with my little silver TT it will most likely be a VW or Audi product I purchase....or to be more accurate...Mrs Rupert purchases!

Regards!

Thanks Rupert. We spent the weekend with the "kids" and I drove the car again this morning - an impressive little devil for sure.

Jer

[volley]

No doubt, VW has developed some nice cars during the last years, and that one is just great!
I'm sure everbody will love this ride!
Take care Jer

[charliezap]

A snazzy looking ride there Jer and a great job of presenting it.---capn zap

[luftfluss]

Good pics of a hot compact.

The Yo! MTV Raps shirt gives me a twinge of nostalgia - even though I've never liked rap music

[Sailor]

No doubt, VW has developed some nice cars during the last years, and that one is just great!
I'm sure everbody will love this ride!
Take care Jer

She's certainly excited about it, Norbert. Thanks for looking, buddy.

Jer

A snazzy looking ride there Jer and a great job of presenting it.---capn zap

Hey, Capn, I appreciate it - as always.

Jer

Good pics of a hot compact.

The Yo! MTV Raps shirt gives me a twinge of nostalgia - even though I've never liked rap music

Thanks much. I didn't even notice the shirt ; I don't think she's a fan of rap either, so I don't know what the shirt's about.

Jer