This Rabbit has punch

THE BASICS
Base price/as tested: $15,000-$18,000 base prices, depending on models.
Fuel economy: 25 miles per gallon overall (est.)

THE SPECIFICS
Drivetrain: Front-wheel drive
Seating: Five
Horsepower: 150
Torque: 170 lb.-ft.
Overall length: 165.8 inches
Wheelbase: 101.5 inches
Height: 58.2 inches
Width: 69.3 inches
Curb weight: 2,974 pounds to 3,040 pounds, depending on model

PHILADELPHIA -- Rabbit redux.

Sorry, but somebody had to write it.

This is, after all, a re do of the once wildly popular Volkswagen Rabbit.

The Rabbit first hopped onto highways in 1975 when Road and Track magazine labeled it the ``best sedan under $3,500."

By 1979, with soaring gas prices fueling a demand for small econo-boxes (sound familiar?) the Rabbit hit its sales peak. By 1984, like a doctor in heady times, VW had gone Golfing. The Rabbit was replaced by the oddly named Golf, which nonetheless became a huge seller.

Now, VW has reversed course, replacing the Golf with a reborn Rabbit -- a bit larger, with more power and safety features, and a finer interior -- at about the same price as the Golf. Two-door models start at between $15,000 and $16,000, while four doors jump to $17,000 and $18,000. Options add to the totals.

Our test drive out of Philadelphia and into the recently flooded valleys of Pennsylvania and its watersheds did not seem a hospitable environment for Rabbits. There were couches and chairs bobbing in the Schuylkill River as it surged into the city. Homes had been lost, roads were awash.

But we stayed away from major trouble and managed to put the Rabbit through at least moderate paces on some back roads and suburban streets.

We found its handling to be tight and precise and its revved up 150-horsepower engine adequate (compared to the Golf's 115-horse power plant). Which makes us step back, as we do with every car, to ask: Just who is it aimed at?

Certainly not the hot tuner set. When base models of Rabbit competitors pack 200 or more horsepower, that's a bridge too far for most tuners to cross as they seek higher power boosts.

No, this is meant to be marketed as ``an entry vehicle for the Volkswagen brand," according to Dave Wicks , director of sales administration for Volkswagen of America Inc.

But that does not mean there is anything wrong with this power plant. Indeed, many consumers will be taken by the interior (probably the best you will find at this price), be happy to ride in a car equipped with a solid range of standard safety gear (if only stability control had not been a $450 option), and say, ``Hey, we're out for comfortable cruising, not street racing." The 150 horsepower engine will move them just fine.

In the old days, Beetles crept and Rabbits wheezed, and their sluggishness translated into fuel savings and understated cool.

The same can be said about this car as it hops back from the past and, Volkswagen hopes, its sales multiply like, well, rabbits. (One television advertisement shows two Rabbits entering a tunnel and several emerging).

Yet this Rabbit is far more powerful than any of its predecessors and will offer an estimated 25 miles per gallon.

The Rabbit gets its power from a 2.5-liter, five-cylinder, in-line engine (the smoothest format on the planet). It produces 170 lb.-ft. of necessary torque tug, and our drive showed that torque to be available in an incredibly broad band, from below 2,000 rpms to just over 5,000 rpms.

The seating, superb in its grip, has a six-way adjustable manual driver's seat, and a four-way passenger version of same, with lumbar support. In the four-door model (a two-door version is also available), the front passenger seat folds flat. With the rear seats also folded, that creates a cavernous interior space through the rear hatch, into which a driver flying solo can load all sorts of cargo.

All seats up, it seats five in reasonable comfort.

A five-speed manual transmission is standard, with a six-speed automatic as an option. Sport mode on the Tiptronic automatic alters shift patterns for a more aggressive approach.

Outside, it will be hard to distinguish the Rabbit from the Golf.

Standard are 15-inch wheels, air conditioning, cruise control, heated front seats in the four door, antilock brake system, traction control, front side driver and passenger air bags, and front and rear side-curtain air bags.

Options include Tiptronic transmission, power sunroof, rear side air bags, stability control, and 16-inch alloy wheels.

As a plus, four-year, unlimited mileage, 24-hour roadside assistance is also standard.

Which might be enough to make you hit the road for long treks and yell (forgive me, John Updike), ``Rabbit, run!"

Royal Ford can be reached at ford@globe.com.