This is the first time Volkswagen has used the Rabbit name since the mid-1980s. Back then, Rabbit was the name used in North America for what the rest of the world knew as the Golf, the squared-off hatchback that replaced the old Beetle as the entry-level Volkswagen. The original Rabbit sold so well that Volkswagen became the first import brand to establish an assembly plant in the United States, at Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. By the mid-1980s, however, the Rabbit was falling behind in the sales race against rapidly improving Asian competitors, and Volkswagen closed its Pennsylvania plant closed around the end of the decade.

The Rabbit nameplate was resurrected by Volkswagen of America in an effort to re-establish and revitalize its share of the entry-level automotive market in North America. Americans bought nearly 175,000 Rabbits in 1981; in 2005, they took home fewer than 16,000 Golfs.

While the original Rabbit was offered not only as a hatchback but also as a convertible and even a compact pickup truck, the 2007 model comes only as a hatchback.

The new Rabbit looks a lot like the GTI that Volkswagen launched in the U.S. as an all-new model for 2006. It should, because both are built on the fifth-generation Golf platform. However, the Rabbit and GTI differ in some visual and many mechanical aspects.

Perhaps the greatest visual distinction is in their grilles. The GTI shows the aggressive, deep and blacked-out grille that characterizes many newest-generation VWs while the Rabbit has a more traditional grille set above the bumper and between the headlamps rather than extending down into the lower front fascia. The Rabbit doesn't look old-fashioned, however, not with three big air intakes set into its lower front fascia.

In profile, the new Rabbit isn't as squared off as earlier Golfs. It looks smoother, more well rounded, more muscular, more contemporary and even friendlier. Standard 15-inch and optional 16-inch wheels and tires lend a sure-footed aspect to the side view. A wide and dynamically sweeping C-pillar enhances the car's well-planted profile.

The rear view is dominated by large and wide-set tail lamps that, with twin tailpipes and a broad bumper, underscore a well-planted appearance.

The Rabbit is slightly larger than the previous-generation Golf, about an inch longer, an inch wider and 1.5 inches taller. Its wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles) is more than two and a half inches longer. Such a change usually means a smoother ride.