1984 Volkswagen Quantum Sedan review from North America

The speedometer read 15-20 MPH higher than the actual speed.

The emergency brake cable rusted and snapped.

The gas gauge never worked.

The odometer stopped rolling at 99,000 miles.

The gears ground often going into reverse.

Headlight aiming screws cracked, it was impossible to find replacements for them. Headlights were never aimed correctly, the light beams shook all over the road whenever I hit a bump.

Very loud engine, and took a few cranks to get started.

Rusting in a few areas, mostly the front doors.

3 power window motors failed, only replaced 1 of them.

Ball joint failed at 70 mph...

_Almost_ overheats in traffic, and after idling for a long period.

Floorboards had small leaks, duct tape was useful.

Leaked oil slowly, slightly.

This car was very roomy despite its small size, and the seats were very comfortable. It seated five teenagers comfortably. Big trunk.

The instrument panel was very well designed, easy access to everything.

The manual transmission shifted smoothly, but not effortlessly.

The engine was strong and passing other cars wasn't hard, acceleration was reasonable.

I got close to 27 miles per gallon, but every long trip was a gamble with no working gas gauge and odometer!

Front disk brakes and rear drums had plenty of stopping power.

A ball joint failed at 70 MPH on the highway, and German engineering might have saved my life. The rotor didn't separate from the rest of the car and I was able to skid to safety. Later, I found that the same thing had happened to the other side of the car before I bought it. It was a good daily driver even after all of that trauma.

I'm after the 4x4 Quantum wagon.