Volkswagen introduced its mini Fox sedan in January, 1987, the Fox wagonin April of that year.
We test-drove the 1988 wagon and found that in function, the vehicle ishard to beat. Great interior room. When you fold the back seats down, thecargo-carrying capacity rivals cars twice the size.
Where the wagon falls short is in performance. The 1.8-liter 4-cylinderis teamed with a 4-speed manual transmission only. No 5-speed. No automatic.It begs for a fifth gear. You spend most of your time in third because onceyou reach fourth it feels as if the parachute deployed.
The Fox wagon boasts 25 miles per gallon city and 30 m.p.g. highway. Ifyou`re looking for a high mileage hauler, it serves the purpose. But when out in real world traffic, the underpowered engine leaves lots to be desired.
Fox is offered in two-door sedan at $6,590, four-door GL at $7,640 andwagon at $7,770. A new midyear GL sport four-door sedan starts at $8,115. The sport has a 5-speed transmission, as will the `89 model, but none of theothers.
The speedometer on the Fox wagon reads up to 120 m.p.h., which must be areference point for what two, combined, can reach.
One other drawback is the steering system. You supply the power. For such a small vehicle-92.8-inch wheelbase/163.4-inch overall length-it`s cumbersome. Of course, if you add a bigger engine, 5-speed manual transmission andpower steering, you no longer would have a low-cost mini-car.
