[David McLaughlin]

But will it last?

My old (and still somewhat missed) 95 GTI VR6 was a blast to drive but in the end started to cost me upwards of $600 every month or two in repairs. While my 96 Passat TDI is still on the road it's needing more and more to keep it there. I like to keep my cars a long time but I hate the high dollar repairs as they get older.

That said, after dropping off my Passat for a $2000 exhaust and intake repair I tool the base model Rabbit out for a drive and was really impressed. For $16000 you get a car with almost 200hp and a real hoot to drive. Screw the Mini I was looking at, I can almost buy two Rabbits for the money.