C.H.
That doesn't mean that an equally reliable car can't be somewhat involving to drive while still being practical. (and that's what I don't see on the market today.)
I'd say those both qualify, although I don't know that current offerings from either company would. That's the whole problem as I see it.
Abuse is entirely possible, but for a vehicle that has a huge segment of its target market being fleet use, you'd think that there would be a little more designed-in abusability. Perhaps a police-package car might be a little more acceptable, but it's difficult for a regular consumer to purchase one, at least new.
No, I don't. The NB is ugly compared to a Golf-Jetta-GTI which has a nice upmarket feel, especially with leather. However, it looks very similar to the interior in my brand new Impala...
Hmm, I just sold last year a Scirocco 2 (second iteration of the original watercooled VW, same chbuttis as the Golf 1) with 240K miles, bought it with 180K and drove the wheels off of it, only repairs in my care were a suspension rebuild, conversion to 16V brakes (no need to, I just wanted them) and a junkyard transmission after the original wore to the point where the output shaft seals wouldn't seal anymore at about 200K miles. I also replaced the original exhaust system at about the same time. The A-C never worked in my care, but that was primarily due to a replacement condenser being difficult to obtain (at the time, it was definitely one of the older vehicles still on the road in daily use.) The new owner was more than happy with the car, by the way, and I noticed no rust on the car. The original engine was still in the car and had received only routine maintenance while I had it.
That car certainly qualified as the kind of car I'd like to see on the market today... simple, durable, economical and yet still fun to drive and easy for an owner to maintain himself.
nate
