Year around driving..

[Snowdance38]

We have had our 06 Jetta 2.5 w/5 speed std a while.. So here are some things I have noticed..

Our car came with 17 inch wheels.. Great looking but we can not chain them..

I picked up 16 inch spoke dealer take off wheels and tires.. And run them in fall and spring as we can chain them.. They ride better and better fuel mileage than the 17's

Also picked up 15 inch steel wheels and std caps that we run traction tires w/studs in winter.. The traction tires we run on our cars make a lot of noise and the steel studs make it worse but they make winter driving easy.. Yesterday morning we had frozen rain with snow over it.. The 06 got around with no problems. I had no real traffic to deal with as it was a holiday here.. So really had a chance to see how the ABS, locking drive axle, ESP work.. I was pleased to be able to slam the throttle in the ice and not spin the tires.. And still be able to steer when hitting the brakes because the brakes did not lock.. Over all its far nicer to drive in ice and snow than our 02 Bora wagon w/2.0 is..

I still chuckle when its raining and the wipers are running then you come to a stop and the wipers stop and run part time.. Then speed up when the car goes again.. Nice but who thought of that???

I have been a VW owner from 1957.. They have come a long ways.. I can find nothing about our 2.5 that I do not like.. We sold my wifes Mercedes 320CE and she drives the new Jetta all the time.. Says it rides better and is much more user friendley, Quiter in side.. Who would have ever thought a VW would ride better than a Mercedes??

[Boardboy]

A relative has a lovely old Merc estate. A great workhorse and not a bad ride. Well I'm glad your wife is happy with the Jetta. Life is always good when the lady in your life is happy!
We put rock salt down when it snows(rare, but it does happen) here in Blighty. The snow melts then freezes again the following night! If we have another snow fall we have ice covered by snow which makes for intresting driving!
I think a propeller is more of a requirement at the moment here than studded tyres. It does not seem to stop raining!!! And always when i'm outside working.
Regards Boardboy

[adamss24]

Man, that some nice places you been to ! Love your bikes and your transporter too ! There is no much snow in England during winter but will try my a4 2.5 tdi quattro soon in Europe, as i am going away for X-mas. Will see what the old girl can do on snowy roads...! About Benz, there been some issues with models from 98 to 2001 since the fussion of the Daimler-Benz, but its regained its status back. The mercedes dealers ustomer service sucks overhere and vw isnt far either ! Did not drive the new Jetta/Bora/Passat yet but there are few people on this forum that had some issues with them ! Keep up the good work and welcome to our forum. Enjoy your vw's ! Amen !

[Snowdance38]

I had a 85 Mercedes 300 TDT Estate for many years.. But a couple summers ago I came around a corner at the top of the Siskiyou pass and found a large deer standing facing me.. Nothing I could do but brake and hope he did not come thru the windshield.. There was an 18 wheeler diesel beside me so I was stuck in the lane.. I got him head on.. Totaled the car.. But we were lucky as he did not come thru the windshield and other than glass flying around the inside no one was hurt..

Spent some time looking at newer Mercedes.. Could not find any thing I liked. The quality of the new Mercedes has fallen way off.

But a call from a friend that workes at VW made me try the 02 Bora Estate with only 11,000 miles.. I liked it more than the others so its now my main ride.. The 06 Jetta was for me.. But I lost it when my wife drove it home..

You are right.. When my wife is happy life is good.. Guess I am lucky she has seldom been unhappy in the last 38 years.. And insist she is the most spoiled lady in the country.. Not sure thats true but would think its close.. Grin...

[Snowdance38]

>>>Man, that some nice places you been to ! Love your bikes and your transporter too !<<<<

We do like to travel.. And put on lots of miles.. And we love to use our 71 Combi for summer camping.. But we do love camping.. The Combi is not to good for long trips so just local stuff..

>>> There is no much snow in England during winter but will try my a4 2.5 tdi quattro soon in Europe, as i am going away for X-mas. <<<<

I do like the Audi but no dealers in our area.. Think the nearest is 350 miles north.. VW dealer is only 50 miles north..

Also we have to buy cars that run on reg fuel.. As many of our fuel stops are reg. or diesel.. No high test.. So the turbo engines are out.. That is why we have the 2.5 non turbo and 2.0 non turbo engines.. None of the German 4 wheel drive cars I can find are reg fuel.. And California has a no diesel car thing going on now so we can not bring them into the state..

>>The mercedes dealers customer service sucks overhere .<<<

Much worse in our area I would bet.. They are also a Ford dealer.. And any Mercedes service comes after the Fords.. So they will just let your car stand if they find a Ford to work on..

Our VW dealer in Medford Oregon is small but is part of a large company owning many brands and dealerships.. And is run to please customers as much as they can.. So usaly treat you right.. I choose who works on my car.. and the cars come with a life time oil and filter service for free.. Both mine are 3 months or 3,000 miles whitch ever comes first.. So we keep tabs on whats going on with the cars as they also do a complete inspection too.. I know its not common to find dealers like that.. It is part of the reason I buy cars from that company.. If I have a problem with the work from one person I just have another do it from then on.. Also the dealership wants to know why I changed.. And once after showing them why.. The guy was not there the next time in.. So they do try..