1987


By Warren Brown
The Washington Post
May 8, 1987


THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS quit in a downpour on a Northern Virginia highway. They stopped in mid-stroke. No amount of jiggling the control would get them going again.

Cursing and fuming, I eased the 1987 Volkswagen Fox to the roadside. My anger was sharp, and I thought it would be everlasting. At least, I thought it would last until I finished this column. But that was several days ago.

In the interim, I fell in love with the Fox. Such an aptly named little car. Quick. Nimble. Cute, despite its rather boxy lines.

There's something else: This front-wheel-drive car talks. I that comes from some Chrysler products, none of that "Your door is ajar" jazz. The Fox has an aura, karma, or something. It's like Shirley MacLaine is in the engine giving driving instructions:

"Cluuutch, shiiift, cluuutch, hummmmm." A mantra in four-speed. And the Fox responds. The wipers still don't work. No matter. Driving the Fox in dry weather gave me peace and joy. Those wipers are forgiven.

Other complaints: Flimsy plastic fingertip switches mounted on an equally flimsy plastic control panel. The wiper and turn-signal levers are of similar quality.

And this: No right side-view mirror. Some automakers still treat a right-side mirror as optional equipment. That's goofy. That mirror helps to avoid lane-change accidents. It should be standard on all cars, along with air bags, anti-lock brakes, rear-window defoggers and a couple of other safety items now sold as "options."

Praise: The Brazilian-made Fox is an absolute joy to drive. That's "joy" versus "fun." Fun is transient. It leaves no lasting impression. Joy is something you get when this little rascal scampers through city traffic and darts along the highway. Exemplary econocar competence on the road. Also, although the switches and control panel evoke memories of dime-store toys, the rest of the Fox's interior is truly decent. Particularly the seats. No backaches here, and no fatigue after a few hours behind the wheel.

Engine, ride and handling: Power comes from Volkswagen's trusty 1.8-liter, four-cylinder, fuel-injected engine, basically the same used in VW's Golf and Jetta. In the 2,150-pound, two-door test car, the engine produced 81 hp at 5,500 rpm. Quite good for law-abiding drivers. Ride and handling are among the best, if not the best, of any subcompact economy car I've driven. Kudos to the people who did the suspension on this one.

Head-turning quotient: Attracts smiles without wolf whistles.

Sound system: Bravo! Volkswagen finally has realized that people want good car stereos. Four-speaker AM/FM stereo radio and cassette. Excellent small-car sound.

Mileage: About 28 to the gallon (12.4-gallon tank, 350-mile range), combined city-highway, running driver only and with climate control system off most of the time. The test car was equipped with a standard four-speed manual transmission. Hey, VW, how about adding an overdrive gear to increase fuel efficiency?

Price: $7,165 as tested, including $650 for air conditioner, $505 for the sound system and its accompanying fixed-mast antenna, and a $320 destination charge. Base price on the two-door test model is $5,690. The dealer invoice price is $5,156. The base price of the four-door Fox is $6,490, with a dealer's invoice price of $5,779.
Tip: Because the dealer margins are relatively small, and because the Fox represents terrific value, don't expect too many price breaks.