Helloooo….Wabbit!

July 4, 2006 – 7:19 pm by Matt Radel
Filed under Featured, Volkswagen Rabbit

So the folks here at VB have been excited about the new Rabbit. Well, mayhaps that’s a bit of an understatement, kinda like saying “The Phaeton might not have been the best choice to release to the American market (insert snicker here)”. Seriously though, we have been evaluating our current car situations, life plans and finances in a feeble attempt to justify the purchase of one of these hot little beauties. No luck though…so far. But when VW finally pulled the trigger and released the Rabbit to the wild, we hopped (sorry for the pun) over to the new site to start building our own…ya know, just in case.

Sizing the little guy up, I have to say I’m really diggin’ on the overall look and feel of the car. It seems sturdy, and it doesn’t look as “dumbed down” as the base Golf looked next to a GTI. The Rabbit stands out with it’s own style in a way the Golf didn’t. I do have some reservations about the plastic side moldings though – I can’t say I’ve dug those on any car I’ve come across. I can deal though. But let’s evaluate the features against something within the Rabbit’s class. VW likes to use the Honda Civic:

Whoa. Power everything! Intermittent wipers, security system, ABS…for 15k?! Looking at this comparison, I’m taken back to the days of my intemperate youth when I visited a Honda dealer about a Civic. They actually offered me one without air conditioning and floor mats! Ugh. I’ve always considered VWs to be somewhat feature-rich, but never really looked at a side by side comparison such as this. And as for what really counts, a 2.5L 150hp engine with 170lbs-ft of torque gives this little guy some serious getty-up.

And the new site rocks! Built in a similar fashion to the new GTI site, you can build your Rabbit by choosing your color, transmission, wheels and interior. Anyone care for a built in iPod adapter? How about a two screen DVD voyager? This experience is fun enough, but hit “breed my Rabbit” once you’ve finished crafting your beauty. You’re prompted to “Choose a mate” for your Rabbit. Upon doing so, you’re treated to a groovy little video of your Rabbit zooming along and dancing with it’s mate on their way to the parking garage, where they…um…ahem…let’s just say that you’re shown your new family tree upon completion of the video, complete with little baby Rabbits!

You can even breed your Rabbit with a real one…verrrryyy interesting. But if you think about it, this puts a whole new spin on communicating the sex appeal of a car. Very clever.

All in all, I have to say I’m very impressed with the Rabbit and it’s ad campaign. Being a Golf driver, I’m very happy to see it’s successor have so much character and snazz. Given the somewhat luke-warm reception the Jetta seems to have received and the popularity of the GTI, we could see the U.S. market tipping a bit toward the hatchback crowd. That’s right – hatches for everyone!!!

Helloooo….Wabbit!
July 4, 2006 – 7:19 pm by Matt Radel