......but I will be waiting till VW Canada gets its act together on the exchange rate and convince myself that the engine will run reliably for 10 years (300,000 km).
Exchange rate? Sure, wait till Canada has a recession and the loonie will fall. 
Will run reliable for 10 years? Sure, Rabbit Girl or I can post a review in 10 years time! 
JSCC - I spend my days making money correcting moronic statements. If you want me to explain how wrong your remarks are you'll have to put your poms poms away, read up on macro economics and then pay me.
For others reading this forum, who are not employed to sell you something, here is some potentially helpful information.
There's no need to wait for Canadian VW dealers to stop gouching you - simply buy the car in the US. Many people have figured this out - and there are a growing number of people doing it.
For a VW Rabbit you will need to pay 6.1% excise tax, $200 RIV fee, and maybe another $1-200 to have the car certified. However, you'll still save at least $1500 bucks plus tax (more if you have some options)
You might even get one of those electric guitars too - but I'm not sure - you'll have to ask the US dealer about it.
In summary - you will pay less for the car .. and, subsequently, less GST and PST.
If your considering other cars, consider this: if the car is built in Canada or the US then the excise tax is waived. This includes some Hondas, Toyotas, and Subaru's. (I think the Civic, Matrix, Camry, RAV4, Tribeca ... and a few others are built in NA - no 6.1% tax)
I guess that would mean you might even save more buying a Matrix or Civic
Do your homework. Its only a minor inconvience and probably the easiet couple of thousand dollars you'll ever save. If you want some details pm me.
The nice thing about VW's - VW Canada honours the US warranty - phone them and ask - I did
Some Japanese manufacturers try to wiggle out of it - again - do your homework.
As far as the I5 engine - I'll let others take the chance. Personally, I would choose to save a little more for a GTI or wait for a TDI version - the engines are proven and can be serviced by someone other than a VW dealership.
By the way .. you'll save $4-5 thousand dollars Canadian by buying a new GTI from a US dealer. I think most people would call that a deal.
If I remember my numbers correctly .. I think the difference in price between a similarly equipped CDN Rabbit 2.5 and US GTI is about 4 thousand CDN. I think an extra 4 thousand is worth it.
I sincerely hope those looking to purchase a new car don't believe me. I hope they go to the websites in the US and Canada, get the exchange rate, and compare the prices and options. If they do - I'm sure they'll be looking into it further.
Here is some homework - try googling these keywords (RIV, North American Automobile Association). They're good starting points.
Class dismissed.
R.
