Dear VW. Why do your new cars handle like a #@&% 1972 Buick??? | Page 5 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Dear VW. Why do your new cars handle like a #@&% 1972 Buick???

Continental DW tires/non all season tires will solve all your problems if you have a separate set of winter tires/rims.
 
Now that we're talking about winter tires....just an fyi....I ordered the generic black winter rims couple months back. There was a fitment concern so the shop guy mounted a bare rim to the front spindle for a look/see. A quick spin revealed a substantial run out. The tech said "ok, we'll have to mount that one at the back" I said maybe we should check all 4 on the balancer. They were all way out of China. He would have installed them if I hadn't caught that.
 
Steel wheels for my car were cheaper from the FiatChrysler dealer than anywhere else I could find. Same with TPMS.
 
Is there a regulation pertaining to winter tires and their compounds? Is there a measure where at x temp the rubber is y pliable?

I notice that some tires labelled winter/snow are hard as hockey pucks when it's cold, which is more dangerous than an all season that does not turn into a full hockey puck.
 
Steel wheels for my car were cheaper from the FiatChrysler dealer than anywhere else I could find. Same with TPMS.

small caveat (probably not for you Brian, but others reading) , you can get aftermarket rims and TPMS from the dealer that are not OEM parts. Be sure of what your buying.
 
Yes, it's possible. These have the OEM part numbers stamped into the rims and in the sensors.
 
I notice that some tires labelled winter/snow are hard as hockey pucks when it's cold, which is more dangerous than an all season that does not turn into a full hockey puck.

Compound properties are not relative to durometer. Observed trials tires have a high durometer rating, yet grip rocks like leaches.
 
Hmmm....getting myself a Golf sportWagon mk6 at the end of the year (2013)... good read here as i don't know much about the v-dubbs.

*sigh* family responsibilities
 
Hmmm....getting myself a Golf sportWagon mk6 at the end of the year (2013)... good read here as i don't know much about the v-dubbs.

*sigh* family responsibilities

golf sport wagons are pretty nice.
 
Hmmm....getting myself a Golf sportWagon mk6 at the end of the year (2013)... good read here as i don't know much about the v-dubbs.

*sigh* family responsibilities

Which engine ...

Most of the VW Jetta/Golf wagons had the TDI (diesel) engine, and all of those 2009-up are subject to the emissions scandal. They're getting bought back in the USA, but no one knows what is happening here yet.

The 2.5 5 cylinder gas engine is not affected by this. The 2.5 is a pretty unremarkable engine (the 5 has the power of a 4 and the gas mileage of a 6 being the main problem) but they are pretty bulletproof. The 1.8 TSI engine didn't show up in Golf wagons until the last year or two.

If you want a "car", a.k.a. "wagon", and not something taller that they call a "CUV/SUV", there are slim pickings in the market, the Golf wagon being the only one in that size class that I can think of that isn't ancient.
 
I have a 2011 Golf Sport line. It has the 2.5 l 5 cylinder engine with the upgraded sport suspension. I find the power more than adequate, 170 hp non turbo. That's more than most 4 cylinder engines without any turbos. And the torque numbers are decent also. 177 ft/lb. I average around 7.2 l per 100 kms combined. So although it's no GTI I find the performance good enough. I came from a Supercharged Mercedes Benz 2.3 l engine and I don't really notice much of a difference. Now the reliabilty has been the best out of any car I have owned. I have almost 160,000 kms on the car, and all I've done in the 5 years of owning it from new are the regular oil changes every 15,000 kms and sparkplugs every 60,000. I'm even still on the original breaks with over 60 % of the pads left.

So although the car may not excell at anything. In my opinion it's more than adequate as a dayly driver. But so far the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned.

Now having said that. I'm not sure how reliable the current generation cars are with the 1.8 l turbo engines. Which have close to the same performance but I believe slightly better mileage.
 
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7.2 average is good. If yours is manual, that will help.

The Fuelly (www.fuelly.com) average for Jettas and Golfs with the 2.5 seems to have most people using high-7's to low-9's L/100 km, which agrees with my limited rental-car experience (Beetle autotragic in cold conditions). The Fuelly average will most certainly be skewed towards automatics since the 2.5 is a US/Canada only in that car.

Driving with some care can pretty easily put you towards the better end of the Fuelly range, given that most drivers are driving automatics and don't know how to drive for economy, or don't care. My current car (fiat 500 non-turbo, manual) is using around 5.8 L/100 km and the common range on Fuelly is 6 to 9 L/100 km. How someone manages to use 9 L/100 km in that car unless they are flogging it, I don't know.
 
If you want a "car", a.k.a. "wagon", and not something taller that they call a "CUV/SUV", there are slim pickings in the market, the Golf wagon being the only one in that size class that I can think of that isn't ancient.

Subaru, Mercedes, Audi,and Mazda all make wagons. An E63 AMG is my dream car, so sexy. I'd settle for a Subie though .
 
My car is the 6 speed Auto. The gear ratios are more biased towards fuel economy. The auto has the car in 6th gear even when I'm doing only 40-50 km/hr. That's why most people get the impression the performance is not that good. The car takes forever to drop a gear or bring the revs up when you need to accelerate quickly. For city driving I just leave it in regular auto. When I need more performance I'll put in sport mode. In that mode the mileage is closer to what you noted. Mid 8.5 l/00 kms. When I want to pass someone on the highway I'll use the manual downshift -up **** on the gear selector. This way I get the best of both. Good mileage for most of driving and decent passing and acceleration when I need it.

Those Fiat 500 look like really fun cars to drive. Hows the handeling.?Those cars bring back memories when I drove the original 500 in Rome. Fun little cars. So maneuverable and surprisingly quick in the small tight roads back in Italy.
 
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Agree. Suburu one of the best looking Wagons around. Probably more use able space than most mid sized SUVS also.
 
They seem to be really well done cars. The one thing a buyer must accept is that Subaru is doing well these days (selling more cars than they expected ... for a reason obviously), so MSRP is pretty much what you pay. My understanding is that if you get 500$ off you are doing well ...

I like the Outback, but you will be +40K OTD by the time you are done, regardless what trim you choose ... I was surprised when I first time looked into those cars. I also was mislead all those years thinking that Forester is their largest model, while the Outback is.
 

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