Tuesday, October 27, 2020

2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI Rabbit Edition

2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI Rabbit Edition





Available in three-door and five-door guises, the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition features a few distinctive additions that differentiate it from the other 鈥渘ormal鈥?GTIs. Other changes are basically nonexistent, but one can order only four different finishes for the car - Cornflower Blue, Urano Grey, Pure White, or Deep Black. Nothing major changed on the inside either. In fact, Volkswagen was rather stingy with its interior decorations for the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition. Apart from new floor mats, and seat decoration, Volkswagen threw in a proximity key and push-button start. This package comes with LED headlights as well. Although Volkswagen did not say a thing about the engine powering the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition, I am quite sure it still uses a 2.0-liter TSI engine that develops 220 horsepower. You could probably spec it with the manual or the DSG transmission as with the standard Golf GTI. This engine, with 258 pound-feet of torque, will motivate the GTI to 62 mph in 6.5 seconds and provide enough grunt for a top speed of 150ish mph. 30,000. Of course, if it does sport the 220 horsepower engine, anyway. 40,000 for the loaded up Autobahn model. The Volkswagen Golf GTI Rabbit Edition is a nice homage to a name that clearly echoes through Volkswagen enthusiasts ears to this day. While the additional equipment added to the GTI to make it the Rabbit Edition isn鈥檛 as numerous as one may hope, limiting production to 3,000 units definitely upped the exclusivity factor of the car. This may well be the last hooray for the GTI as the car will be replaced soon after the introduction of the eight generation of the Golf. That model has already been seen in the prototype form testing in Germany.





The GTI鈥檚 physical upgrades from the standard Up! 鈥檚 lower with a bigger, racier exhaust, a roof spoiler, bigger disc brakes, bigger alloy wheels, plus, of course, the aforementioned mandatory GTI badging, go-faster red stripes (on the grille) and go-faster black stripes (on the sills). Inside, the makeover faithfully continues to pay homage to the GTI legend with the classic tartan cloth seat trim, a GTI-badged gearstick, a Golf-style, flat-bottomed, hand-stitched-leather steering wheel and shiny new red dash trim. So what happens when you turn the key? A growl. That鈥檚 what. Well, a sort of growl. More of a solid thrum. But a huge thrum as thrums go, especially considering it comes from a minuscule 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine. It is turbo-charged, however, a fact that becomes obvious the moment you drop the clutch and sense the power bubbling from deep within. It鈥檚 not as instantly nippy as I thought it might be, just like the first Golf GTIs back in the day, which always looked much faster than they turned out to be. But the gears are long and strong.





From a standing start in second, ease the clutch out ever so gently and you can hit 50mph before even thinking about changing up into third. Astonishing - and with three gears still to go! The mid-range pull all the way up the box is extraordinary for such a dinky car. Many eyebrows were raised. The chassis and suspension have been stiffened and strengthened to cope, which means a slightly firmer and noisier ride, but not to the extent of any discomfort. There is a bit of body roll, but only when cornering like a boy racer on a diet of Space Dust and Fizz Bombs. The usual attendant Up! 6ft will struggle for leg room in the back and the majority of in-car entertainment and satnav has to come from your smartphone as opposed to VW. But that鈥檚 been standard practice for all Up! 鈥檚 not been a deal-breaker. The Beats sound system might be, however, as it only comes as a 拢370 extra this time around. That particular issue notwithstanding, the big question is, would Mrs Evans and the children now trade in our Up! Beats for an Up! Answer: yes. Or at least it was until Noah threw in a curveball.





Wow, no fuse diagram in the owner's manual of my 2013 CC Sport. Uncool. Power outlets not working. Found the blown fuse, but only by plucking out each one at a time. Anyone have a diagram? I've got a 2011 CC - same thing, no fuse diagram in the manual. I don't even think there is one on the covers for the fuse box! Guess I'll ask at the dealer the next time I go in for service. At VW Vortex there was a guy who started pulling fuses out to check for the same thing, then couldn't remember which fuses went where! Had to have the car towed to the dealer cuz it wouldn't start! That must have sucked! All he was trying to do was replace the blown fuse for his power outlet! Anyway, yeah, I saw the disclaimer on my manual. Boooo. Love the car though! I've attached a drawing I made for my 2012 CC.