Two VW's, Islands Away: To Nantucket, On Nantucket

by SARAH MANDATO · August 21, 2009

You forget sometimes that Manhattan is an island. Probably because, like us, you rarely leave it. Outer boroughs? What are those? Well, last weekend we hopped to another isle, Nantucket, to mix things up from the usual Hamptons tripping. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the brand new Volkswagen CC we were so generously loaned to make the drive to Hyannis, was the fresh meat to the island car we hopped around in while on ACK, also a VW. Two VW's, islands away. Let's take a look at the old and the new:

The old: old has such a sad connotation. I think of someone that can't imagine why anyone stays out past 2 in the morning, and thinks Barney's Co-op if for punk rockers, whatever those are. So let's go with "classic." Cute, little, red; somewhat reminiscent of Kelly's red BMW from 90210, but not bimbo-ish. This is the perfect little lady bug: buzzing around to all the parties, stopping at Murray's, the beach and back; the sports gear and sand strewn across the backseat just so - full of character and stories, very Jimmy Buffet. Speaking of which, the bug only has (not 100% sure what you call this) a tape deck. And there's only one tape. Not sure what it is? Let's just hint, "Searching for my lost shaker of salt." Top down, sun streaming, wind kissed: old? Sure, but also kind of a dream.

The new: well, we'd never complain about air conditioning. And Sirius radio. And, you know, space. It comes in handy when you're weekend warrior-ing with people that pack for any season or event, regardless of the time of year or planned itinerary. Cup holders - we're all big coffee drinkers. We love our cup holders. And it's new. New is fun. And smells nice. The drive was smooth, and the GPS system got us where we needed to go.

So between the two Car of the Day candidates (we're straight stealing a feature from the sis site, gofghamptons), we can't really decide. There's something perfect about Jimmy-only, cramped weekending. But then again, who doesn't like a brand new smooth ride.

The verdict: When bee-bopping around Nantucket, the old VW is the perfect ride. When driving 5+ hours on I-95, not so much. The smooth VW CC kept us happy...also, there's only so many hours of Jimmy Buffett that one can take.