[Vwdiesel] bought a civic

[Val Christian]

>   A TDI not handle as WELL as an A2???  Here I always complained 
> that my A2's suspension is MUSH compared to my stock Rabbit, and 
> it's not one of the early "German" ones, it's an '80.
>      Loren

Loren,

I agree that Rabbits were great for handling.  77,78,79,80,84 were the
model years I've owned.  The 91 Jetta is not nearly as good, but on the 
open road it's stable.  My 03 Jetta is not stable.  The 8 degree caster 
angle aggrivates lateral instability with even moderate crosswinds.

The 91 has much less caster, and adjustable camber.  

The 03 is only adjustable toe.  Camber is fixed.  

The difference is significant and adds to fatigue on long trips.
There are comparisons in the aviation world.  For example, a
C-130 is allot easier to fly in cruise than a U-2 at altitude.
One is very stable, and designed so.  The other isn't particularily
unstable, it's just that cruise speed is close to mach, at altitude,
and also close to stall.  Get fast or slow by a couple of knots, and
things start buffeting.

In the case of my 91, on an interstate, I've played the game of "how
far can I travel before I have to readjust the steering wheel".  
Half miles are common on the 91; a quarter or less on the 03.
(On my 77 Rabbit, I once traveled nearly two miles on I81 in Virginia,
without touching the wheel.  One trick is matching your speed to
the turns.  This was concrete I-81.  Asphalt is easy because trucks
pound a groove in the road.)

The example above is perhaps impractical.  A more practical example 
is driving under icy conditions.  The 91 acts stable, and the 03 
acts like it'll let loose and slide.  It doesn't, but the feel is
still there.  

When the 03 was new, I found that the car would yaw when one wheel 
hit ice, and the other didn't.  After a couple of weeks, I had had
enough, and they did a courtsey front end alignment (apparently only
one per new car customer).  The word back to the waiting room was
that the car was "at factory specs".  Camber and caster are not 
adjustable, but in the middle of spec.  I told them to set the toe
to zero.  That made a BIG improvement.

A year later, I was still frustrated (this really annoys me when 
roads are icy).  I talked with the alignment specialist.  He essentially
confirmed that my observations are common with all A4s.  He doesn't
drive his A4 on long trips, and ops for his Lexus instead, for just
that reason.  He says that VW went to the new suspension to simplify 
repairs and keep the cost of ownership down.  (No need to set camber
after a strut replacement, for example.)  He says they went to the
increased forward caster to make the car feel more "responsive" for 
young drivers interested in a sporty feel.  My old Rabbits were plenty
responsive.  And they didn't need power steering.  

I will not own a Lexus.

Val