Quote:
Originally Posted by Baldeagle
a GTI is precise, peppy and fun. Like your Mazda, it can also carry bikes. As I’m sure you know, the GTI is still one of the few cars that offers a 6MT. With its 6MT, the GTI cranks about 1,850 - 1,900 rpm at 60 mph. 85 mph is less than 2,800 rpm.
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Those highway RPM’s do sound livable, and the GTI would check a lot of boxes; particularly small-ish, fun to drive and can carry stuff (like bikes!)
We’ve had two GTI’s BITD, 1986 and 1989, plus I had a modded Rabbit well before that. Very useful and got great MPG’s, but…
…and YMMV…
...we had horrible reliability issues, mostly engine management, that could and did leave us stranded (like 200 miles from home in a nearly new car, on the side of the road, in the days before cell phones). So, unlikely even this many years later, to reward VW with my dollars again (or Chrysler but that’s another story) when there are other options. Sadly, 2-door “sporty” hatchbacks are thin on the ground, so the Toyobaru seems to top the wish list unless something new pops up in the next 20 months or so.