The Jetta died an honorable, VW death: a turbo bearing blew, it needed a new transmission, and the catalytic converter developed a giant hole in it. So, Asgard apparently decreed that I needed a new car.

Similarities to the Jetta:

• German;
• not RWD;
• manual transmission;
• turbo charged;
• blue.

Differences:

• 300bhp at the axle;
• a twin-turbo inline-six instead of an anaemic 1.8 turbo four;
• HOLY JESUS DOES GOING FROM 5th TO 4th MAKE THE MAGIC HAPPEN;
• rear-biased all-wheel drive.

Some notes:

• The clutch travel is quite a bit longer than on a VW;
• having 6th is really nice;
• all mod cons really make a nice difference, and I’m not just talking about sat nav;
• getting it into reverse is significantly more difficult than I’d like;
• iDrive is not nearly as terrible as advertised, although I’d like a little more common sense (menu should toggle your position in the menu system, not just dump you out into the cold).

OK, I admit: I’m a BMW fanboy. But it’s a German made wagon with a big motor (still under warranty, and then there’s a trip to Dinan scheduled to see what we can do), a manual transmission, and a lovely interior. Too! Hill assist! This makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE! WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED EARLIER?

I’ll take some pics tomorrow; it didn’t show until well after sundown, even as they said to be home by 10am. Worse than Comcast? Well, I like this car a whole shitload more than I like the hideous quality low data-rate streams Comcast shoves down my throat, so yes, it was worth the wait.