Driving a Corolla as I am at the moment due to the demise of the Jetta has made me aware of the things we tend to take for granted in our VWs, for example:-
Automatic rear mirror dimming when a car behind has poorly adjusted lights. I’ve never really noticed this in operation but now I don’t have it, I realise how well it works. Driving the Corolla I’ve noticed many cars with badly adjusted headlights following me in the last few days.
The smooth and continuous power delivery of the 2.0 TFSI engine. The Corolla really is lacking in this department, I find I have to pedal much harder and even then it is pretty slow. The car has an additional brake facility too, it is called the air con switch, turn it on whilst moving and you almost go through the windscreen, it sucks out an enormous amount of power.
The fantastic performance of the DSG transmission, it really is different to a conventional automatic. Seamless virtually instantaneous changes Vs slow and jerky changes.
The incredible combination of the engine and gearbox, the VW just surges away, the Toyota accelerates off the line OK but just dies when it hits second gear as if you’ve fallen into a big hole. Increasing pressure on the throttle does nothing, it just drones away, increasing pressure some more, same result, eventually with enough throttle pressure it will throw itself back to first at redline revs!
Fuel consumption, I topped the Corolla up yesterday, it is using about 10 litres/100 KM which in similar usage conditions is about the same as the Jetta. Admittedly it is running on 91 octane so fuel costs are lower but I really would have anticipated better fuel consumption from a small car such as this with limited performance. It's the old story, you have to push it hard to get it going whereas with the Jetta light throttle achieves the same or better results.
Rattles and squeaks, I’ve seen plenty of posts about these in MK Vs but mine just didn’t have any. Let me assure you, this Toyota (with 16,000 KM on the clock) has rattles galore, it drives me nuts.
Climate control air con, I’ve become used to setting and forgetting, having to manually adjust temperature and fan speeds is something I never do any more.
I could probably write a book on this subject and before you all point out to me that I’m comparing against a car that is a fraction of the price, the point I’m making is not that the VW is better than the Toyota (even though it obviously is) rather that we become so used to the features that we tend to forget that they are there. When we get into a lesser car the benefits of those features just become so obvious.
Cheers
George
Automatic rear mirror dimming when a car behind has poorly adjusted lights. I’ve never really noticed this in operation but now I don’t have it, I realise how well it works. Driving the Corolla I’ve noticed many cars with badly adjusted headlights following me in the last few days.
The smooth and continuous power delivery of the 2.0 TFSI engine. The Corolla really is lacking in this department, I find I have to pedal much harder and even then it is pretty slow. The car has an additional brake facility too, it is called the air con switch, turn it on whilst moving and you almost go through the windscreen, it sucks out an enormous amount of power.
The fantastic performance of the DSG transmission, it really is different to a conventional automatic. Seamless virtually instantaneous changes Vs slow and jerky changes.
The incredible combination of the engine and gearbox, the VW just surges away, the Toyota accelerates off the line OK but just dies when it hits second gear as if you’ve fallen into a big hole. Increasing pressure on the throttle does nothing, it just drones away, increasing pressure some more, same result, eventually with enough throttle pressure it will throw itself back to first at redline revs!
Fuel consumption, I topped the Corolla up yesterday, it is using about 10 litres/100 KM which in similar usage conditions is about the same as the Jetta. Admittedly it is running on 91 octane so fuel costs are lower but I really would have anticipated better fuel consumption from a small car such as this with limited performance. It's the old story, you have to push it hard to get it going whereas with the Jetta light throttle achieves the same or better results.
Rattles and squeaks, I’ve seen plenty of posts about these in MK Vs but mine just didn’t have any. Let me assure you, this Toyota (with 16,000 KM on the clock) has rattles galore, it drives me nuts.
Climate control air con, I’ve become used to setting and forgetting, having to manually adjust temperature and fan speeds is something I never do any more.
I could probably write a book on this subject and before you all point out to me that I’m comparing against a car that is a fraction of the price, the point I’m making is not that the VW is better than the Toyota (even though it obviously is) rather that we become so used to the features that we tend to forget that they are there. When we get into a lesser car the benefits of those features just become so obvious.
Cheers
George
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