The cockpit's been spared, kinda
Cost-cutting measures obviously have to be made to offer a low base price. Yet the living quarters of the City Golf remains a nice place to spend time. The dashboard and instruments still look and feel VW-grade, although you can't get a centre armrest, which I really do miss.

Cost cutting measures do not affect the quality interior.

The seat material looks a little cheap, but seat comfort is still one of their strong points. For shivery people, I strongly recommend opting for the heated seats, which are an inexpensive option. You can see the car's painted metal frame when you climb into the back seat, which looks low-rent.

The City Golf comes standard with 8 speakers and a CD player that reads MP3 and WMA files, which is much appreciated. I just wish the radio was mounted higher on the centre stack, as there is an empty space there anyway.

There's a lot of cargo space in the Golf when you fold down the rear seats; that's the advantage of throwing a compact in a subcompact arena. However, the rear hatch on this test model has to be slammed with a very good swing, like when you spin the big wheel on The Price is Right.

So how about that marketing strategy?
In March, 455 City Golfs and 290 City Jettas have been sold. Total sales for 2007 might end up being slightly below VW Canada's 12,500-unit target of City models. However, I'm sure a lot of people would rather been seen in a compact than in a dinky subcompact. And finally, some can now afford themselves a Volkswagen, something they might have been dreaming of doing for years.

For now, VW's City models seem to be a clever idea. In a couple of years, though, it will be interesting to see if the company will develop a true subcompact for North America to replace the City duo. In Europe, there are two models that are smaller then the Rabbit: The Fox and the Polo.

The car is now assembled in Brazil, so how's its build quality? My test car exhibits no squeaks or rattles, and nothing fell apart. Apart from the paint job that looks a little thin, there's not much to complain about. Auto123.com's forum members reported some minor problems, but that's nothing new for Volkswagen.

An interesting compromise if you want to get into a German car.