seriously......you want me to red line it?!?
I was up bright and early, with only 3 hours of sleep, and off to the Volkswagen dealership in Georgetown. I called because I was going to be a few minutes late and Russell (VW Internet Sales Manager) said he already had the car parked out front for the test drive. When I arrived I looked out front expecting an '03 GTI 1.8T but it wasn't the ordinary one. This was the 20th Anniversary Edition (specs here) which basically has a lowered suspension, 18inch z-rated tires,bigger brakes, Monsoon 8 speaker audio, Recaro racing seats, brushed aluminum trim, and a golf ball shift knob. Needless to say it was stunning with the "black magic" paint job and tinted windows. Although I was chomping at the bit to drive I was patient and interested as Russell did a run down of all the features of the car. Then we took it out.
The 1.8 Turbo engine had significantly more power than I expected in the lower gears and the shifting was smoother than any other vehicle I have driven. He gave me the go ahead to red line it and next thing I knew we were at 80mph on the service road. Being up in Georgetown there were some really nice backroads they had mapped out for testing. I was taking bends in the road at 65mph with ease, something the Mustang dreams about. The best part was when he asked me to pull in the center lane and slam on the brakes at 60mph. The car came to a smooth stop - no sliding, no questions, just stopped. We took it back to try out a VR6 engine. They didn't have a GTI VR6 so I drove a Jetta GLX instead. The car was automatic and not I didn't like the interior nor did was the VR6 as smooth; but then again it was automatic. The drive was shorter and we went back to run the numbers. The '03 GTI 20th Anniversary Edition was 20K and out of the price range but I still want it. I let him know that I like the dealership there much better(they would give me 5k for the Mustang) it's just a matter of cost. He looked at some new shipments and found an '04 Jetta 1.8T for 16.5K which is about the golden price. After driving that I was firmly convinced that I would like the 1.8T engine better, not only for the speed but for the economy as well. The Jetta was also a company car so it only had 11K miles on it and all the maintenance was done through VW at all the regular intervals. The downside was that there was no sunroof, only 15inch wheels with no rims, and no tint.
Volkswagen has a great warranty as well which only makes me want one more.So just to see I called the bank and found out how much they will loan me, now all I have to do is find the right car. If anyone wants to help keep your eyes peeled for 2002-2004 GTIs and Jettas with the 1.8T engine.
The 1.8 Turbo engine had significantly more power than I expected in the lower gears and the shifting was smoother than any other vehicle I have driven. He gave me the go ahead to red line it and next thing I knew we were at 80mph on the service road. Being up in Georgetown there were some really nice backroads they had mapped out for testing. I was taking bends in the road at 65mph with ease, something the Mustang dreams about. The best part was when he asked me to pull in the center lane and slam on the brakes at 60mph. The car came to a smooth stop - no sliding, no questions, just stopped. We took it back to try out a VR6 engine. They didn't have a GTI VR6 so I drove a Jetta GLX instead. The car was automatic and not I didn't like the interior nor did was the VR6 as smooth; but then again it was automatic. The drive was shorter and we went back to run the numbers. The '03 GTI 20th Anniversary Edition was 20K and out of the price range but I still want it. I let him know that I like the dealership there much better(they would give me 5k for the Mustang) it's just a matter of cost. He looked at some new shipments and found an '04 Jetta 1.8T for 16.5K which is about the golden price. After driving that I was firmly convinced that I would like the 1.8T engine better, not only for the speed but for the economy as well. The Jetta was also a company car so it only had 11K miles on it and all the maintenance was done through VW at all the regular intervals. The downside was that there was no sunroof, only 15inch wheels with no rims, and no tint.
Volkswagen has a great warranty as well which only makes me want one more.So just to see I called the bank and found out how much they will loan me, now all I have to do is find the right car. If anyone wants to help keep your eyes peeled for 2002-2004 GTIs and Jettas with the 1.8T engine.