Overview & Reviews

Volkswagen's compact Rabbit receives a welcome infusion of power for 2008, celebrated with a modified moniker as it's now called the Rabbit S.

• Roomy and upscale cabin, comfortable ride, high crash test scores, impressive build quality.

• Well-equipped four-door has high base price, a bit too vanilla when compared to sleeker rivals.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 91.00

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  VW Golf after eight years & 110K - 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit
  By Craig m - May 30 - 2:30 am

  This body style is now called the Golf, but a decade ago it was called a Rabbit. I liked the car, and it put up with a lot of careless use. I use my cars for short hops, pickup truck-like hauling, and 2000 mile cross-country trips. I do NOT baby them, and the Rabbit took it all like a champ. Buyers should be cautious to make sure they are happy with the fit of the drivers seat with respect to the controls, because I experienced a tendency to find myself feeling off-center on long trips. That is, I didnt feel I was sitting directly in line with the middle of the steering wheel. I think that was because of a combination of leg length and the rather tight console tunnel placement. This is designed as an inexpensive VW, so dont expect the best of anything - but I am sure that todays Golf offers some improvements over the rudimentary radio/CD player the Rabbit came with. The big attraction back then was the Electronic Stability package, which VW was the first to offer at this price point - and that worked great! If you are a believer in dealer servicing, be prepared for high routine maintenance costs, and be aware you cannot even change the air filter on this car yourself. My particular car had a few gremlins in it: the cruise control would sometimes not come on unless I re-booted the car...and I was never sure whether my interval wipers were stopping because the German engineers wanted them to, or because a gremlin wanted them to. (It didnt make much sense to me that I didnt need a clear windshield if I was stopped at a traffic light, but they quit working nonetheless.) I considered these all to be minor annoyances, though. The plastic frame that supports the radiators, headlights and sheet metal at the front end of the car can be broken in very minor collisions or road debris encounters. Thats an expensive fix, and constitutes a real design flaw. But I suppose other cars of this type have similar drawbacks. The hatchback would admit an insane amount of cargo, and the car handled great in deep snow as well as deep water and misty-slick pavement. No engine issues at all. Tranny required work after 105K of hard use.

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  Nothing but Problems - 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit
  By gobills - October 1 - 9:33 pm

  It started out being a nice car, but since then it has been nothing but headaches. It seems like one thing after another something goes wrong. 1st off the power windows quit working, and now the check engine light keeps coming on and VW doesnt no how to fix it. All in all this is my 1st VW and it will be my last.

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  I hate my rabbit - 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit
  By NMW - July 16 - 10:13 am

  I have a 2008 rabbit and it only has 11000 miles, in one year i have taken my car to the dealer 5 times and each time for a different cause. This has been the most disappointing buying experience in my life, I have tried to lemon my car and the dealer has been very unhelpfull, I also had a factory person come to see my car and they just keep on making excuses.

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  Not an economy car - 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit
  By paul - July 15 - 1:53 am

  The Rabbit is fun to drive and inexpensive to purchase. Handling is very good. Acceleration from the 170 horse 5 cylinder is vastly better than the approx 120 horsepower and 4 cylinders of most cars at this price point. Interior space is good compared to the small exterior. From its price and size you might think it is an economy car but it is not. Gas mileage is poor (pathetic 22 MPH after 4 tanks). Dependability ratings are not nearly as good as an Asian car either. If you think of it as an inexpensive sports car you will be happy, if you think of it as something in the class of a bullet proof Honda or Toyota you may be disappointed. Overall I am neither very happy or unhappy with it.