2008 VW Rabbit in RI
 

New member here, I've got a 2008 VW Rabbit. I've already entered my detailed complete gaslog dating back to when I bought the car in February.

I don't have and don't plan any significant modifications to my leased car unless they can pay for themselves before I return it and can't cause any warranty or lease problems. I considered tires but they won't pay for themselves. I am probably going to get a ScanGauge II, though; it will probably pay for itself, and even if not it's still something I'd really like, and I can use it on other vehicles too.

I've mainly modified my driving habits. For years I've already minimized braking, and I've always preferred low shift points for the lack of commotion of a high-revving engine. With my first manual transmission, now I'm able to experiment more with shift points and throttle. I've beat the EPA rating from day 1.

One strategy I discovered recently was maximizing the use of DFCO. I didn't know it exists, but now instead of shifting to neutral as soon as I know I'm going to stop, I ride my current gear as long as I can. I've decided that DFCO happens on this car at 990 rpm; I can feel the engine kick in just as the needle edges below 1000. So, if I know I'm definitely going to have to idle at a red light, I immediately brake down to 1200 rpm and stretch the amount of time above 1000 rpm as long as I can. I sometimes downshift (non-rev-matched; don't need it when the difference is only 200 rpm) to keep it above 1000.

My commute is 60% town/country, 40% freeway. It is 38 miles each way and approximately like this:
17 red lights / stop signs
0 to 5 stops behind left-turning cars
14 mi 20-60 mph (country roads)
16.5 mi 70-85 mph (this is the freeway portion)
7.3 mi 40-60 mph
1 mi 20 mph (my neighborhood and the long driveway at work)

WOW goes to show you how much mileage has improved with the "Rabbit"! My 1980 Rabbit 1.5 liter 4 speed CIS injected car used to get a very consistant 27mpg until I modified the injection system and added Slick50 engine treatment and Gear treatment and Amsoil to the tranny. Got the miles up to about 38mpg after than. Here it is 28 years later and you are getting the same mileage!

Welcome to GasSavers!

Heheheh...my 2008 Rabbit weighs almost as much as my 1980 Buick LeSabre. I could park three Rabbits in the LeSabre -- one in the trunk, one in the cabin, one under the hood. OTOH, I could drive the Rabbit across the country and back in half the time it would take the Buick to get across once.

Modern cars are heavy and powerful...so IMO it's great if a similarly-sized car gets the same mileage.

WTF? A VW Rabbit only get's 27mpg?!!

Take it back.

Yeah 170 HP they keep making it faster and faster 5 cylinder is a big thing with VW for some reason . . . I guess I need to look at a crank in that engine to see what makes it so great.

The EPA rating for the 2008 Rabbit is pretty lame by your standards: 22/28. I'm here to learn, ask questions, and observe; but fuel efficiency shares the top spot in my priority list with comfort, and I'm comfortable in the Rabbit.

Really, I didn't expect to be comfortable in it, either; it was a pleasant surprise when I test-drove it. I thought I was just going to have to continue driving my 16mpg V8 full size pickup. I spend nearly two hours per day driving, so it's a major quality of life issue for me.

Gas engines in VWs haven't been that great for MPG for years. The city Golf they've been selling up here is a bit better though I think.

I just thought of another reason why the mileage isn't so great. They've concentrated on low emissions so much that they're even willing to burn extra gas to purportedly avoid emissions. The reason I think this is due to one driveability complaint I have: Rev hang. Once the engine is warmed up, taking your foot off the gas pedal does not result in the engine slowing. It usually takes 2 to 5 seconds. If you're in gear, this means the car keeps maintaining its speed instead of immediate coasting/engine braking. If you're shifting, it means you have to come off the clutch extremely slow and expect the car to surge forward.

It is a common complaint with the Rabbit's 2.5, and reportedly it is done to burn off gasoline that may otherwise find its way into the exhaust, or some dumb thing like that. I think it's bull and annoying.

Should've got a TDI. My friend always get at least 42mpg in his and 53mpg strictly highway. Completely stock except for tuning box.

I'm curious why the OP leased a 2008 VW Rabbit.

1. VW's score the worse in ConsumerReports as a company.
2. The 2008 VW Rabbit gets really bad MPG for it's class.
3. Unless the OP can write off the lease through a business, leasing a car is perhaps the worse financial decision one can make. It never makes sense.

There are many other cars that would have given you much better MPG, reliability, and value then the 2008 VW Rabbit.

So, why did you do it? Just curious ;-)

Well, to address your points individually:

1. I don't read CR. I find that its predictions rarely reflect my experiences. YMMV.
2. I wasn't comparing by class.
3. It doesn't make sense to buy a vehicle I'm going to trade in a few years (I plan to buy the new Camaro when it comes out -- and the GDI V6 ought to get EPA ratings the same as the Rabbit or better), and besides, the lease is the ONLY new car I can afford at the moment. I've always been against leasing, close-minded with the same reasoning you cited. In this case, I've found myself in a very specific set of odd circumstances where it works out just right for me. Leasing does have one saving point that most people probably don't know: You don't pay sales tax on the car's purchase price, you only pay sales tax on the lease price. It amounts to approximately one free monthly payment.

I'm not awfully worried about reliability, I won't have it when it's out of warranty.

Now, those points having been addressed, here's how I came to the decision:

1. Comfort - I spend 1.5 to 2 hours per day in it, and I am very picky about my position and the way I fit/interact with the vehicle. A seating position that I like is of the utmost importance; if I'm uncomfortable I'm bound to hate it as long as I have it and be very cranky when I think about the money I put into it. When I sat in the Rabbit, my position immediately felt just like sitting in my truck, the only vehicle I've ever been 100% comfortable in.

2. Value - Compared to the other vehicles I was considering, it offered way more equipment, way more speed/power, and the all-important comfort.

3. Acquirability - I had to stop the bleeding with my truck. It was costing me so much to gas and repair my truck that I would never be able to build up a downpayment. I need to keep the truck no matter what I drive to work daily, for other reasons. The VW was available with a $0 downpayment lease.

Other vehicles I considered as being something I could tolerate driving, EPA rated for decent mileage, and in my price range: Ford Focus, Jeep Patriot, Saturn Ion, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Dodge Caliber, Pontiac G5, Nissan Sentra, Chevy Cobalt, Hyundai Elantra, Saturn Astra, and VW Jetta.

I was able to eliminate the Honda, Toyota, and Nissan due to the following reasons: High percentage of bad reviews by actual owners, price/equipment, and the "I don't want one" factor.

The Ford Focus was uncomfortable and had little to offer, though it's less ugly than the Rabbit.

The Jeep Patriot almost beat the Rabbit. It's EPA rated for better mileage, way more practical, looks slightly less ugly, is significantly cheaper, and has cheaper insurance. However, I was not comfortable in it (the window sill was too high and the armrest was too low, IIRC), it's kinda slow, and it's severely lacking in equipment. If I was buying instead of leasing, I would have bought it, with that lifetime powertrain warranty and the dealer less than 5 miles from my house along my commute.

Saturn, Dodge, Pontiac, Chevy, Hyundai: Various reasons.

VW Jetta: More expensive and slightly slower. More practical, but I don't need much practicality for a commute car.

All in all, I highly recommend the Jeep Patriot to anyone looking for economical, cheap, practical basic transportation. If it would have fit me better, I almost certainly would have chosen it.

TheHolyCow,
I just bought a new VW myself(Jetta 5 sp manual). I couldn't be happier. Sure the FE isn't as good as some, but ya gotta love the German engineering. These things are solid. I also considered a Mazda 3, but a few of things swayed me to VW:
1. VW is more comfortable - I feel like I'm in a more expensive car.
2. safety - VW scored very high marks compared to mid size cars, whereas Mazda 3 scored only better than average compared to compact cars.
3. VW dealership is closest to my house. If I do have a dealer-required issue, it will be easier.
4. probably the most important, but least logical, I've just always been partial to VW. Farfegnugen FTW!!:)

But like you said, if you don't like the car you're in, you're going to be miserable while you're in it.