i test drove some diesels yesterday

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GregGreen

Golden Member
Dec 5, 2000
1,688
5
81
even if diesel is like 20 cents more... you get between 35-55mpg with the vw tdi's
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,084
15
81
fobot.com
Originally posted by: PorBleemo
Don't the TDI Passats have close to 400 Lb. Ft. of torque? :D

i don't know the spec, but it drove nice
i accelerated up an incline/on ramp to the highway very nicely with my wife and the (big) sales buy in the car. our combined weight would have been about 1000 pounds
 

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
Honestly, I'd wait it out till Honda starts selling a diesel Accord AFTER low sulpher diesel is introduced in the US.
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,084
15
81
fobot.com
Originally posted by: klah
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Originally posted by: klah
Wait 9 months until ULSD becomes mandatory.

Universal LSD?

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/ulsd/chapter5.html

I would wait. Read lots of horror stories when Aussies switched over in 03-04 with seals, fuel pumps and wear due to less lubrication.

that page is a bit out of date. perhaps reading the current annual reports would be more timely

Page last modified on Mon, 06 Aug 2001
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,084
15
81
fobot.com
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Honestly, I'd wait it out till Honda starts selling a diesel Accord AFTER low sulpher diesel is introduced in the US.

it won't be that soon for me. i have some buget issues to resolve before we purchase a car. i just wanted to get an idea of size and drivability
 

DivideBYZero

Lifer
May 18, 2001
24,117
2
0
Originally posted by: forrestroche
Originally posted by: aidanjm
it's not going to save you money. diesel is more expensive than regular in australia, europe, it's only a matter of time before that happens in the usa. face it, suckers, your love affair with the automobile is over, time to get a bicycle

That's wrong. I live in Europe and diesel is much cheaper here. Diesels are highly desirable cars here for that reason (and the lower consumption).

Australia I don't know.

Wrong. I live in the UK and diesel is more expensive than Petrol. It depends on the country you fill up in.
 

forrestroche

Senior member
Apr 25, 2005
529
7
81
Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Wrong. I live in the UK and diesel is more expensive than Petrol. It depends on the country you fill up in.

UK is not really Europe.
 

dug777

Lifer
Oct 13, 2004
24,778
4
0
i'm quite glad aidanjm got banned if that's his usual standard of posts on AT...
 

Mark R

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
8,513
16
81
ultra low sulfur diesel = most of the engines available today won't comply and will have to be re-eingineered or completely pulled

Shouldn't be much of a problem for European cars. ULSD has been the only diesel fuel allowed for road use in Europe for 4 years.
 

Future Shock

Senior member
Aug 28, 2005
968
0
0
Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Originally posted by: forrestroche
Originally posted by: aidanjm
it's not going to save you money. diesel is more expensive than regular in australia, europe, it's only a matter of time before that happens in the usa. face it, suckers, your love affair with the automobile is over, time to get a bicycle

That's wrong. I live in Europe and diesel is much cheaper here. Diesels are highly desirable cars here for that reason (and the lower consumption).

Australia I don't know.

Wrong. I live in the UK and diesel is more expensive than Petrol. It depends on the country you fill up in.

But it's only five pence per liter (roughly $0.40) more expensive, for nearly double the mpg...

FS
 

Future Shock

Senior member
Aug 28, 2005
968
0
0
Originally posted by: Future Shock
Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Originally posted by: forrestroche
Originally posted by: aidanjm
it's not going to save you money. diesel is more expensive than regular in australia, europe, it's only a matter of time before that happens in the usa. face it, suckers, your love affair with the automobile is over, time to get a bicycle

That's wrong. I live in Europe and diesel is much cheaper here. Diesels are highly desirable cars here for that reason (and the lower consumption).

Australia I don't know.

Wrong. I live in the UK and diesel is more expensive than Petrol. It depends on the country you fill up in.

But it's only five pence per liter (roughly $0.40) more expensive in the UK, for nearly double the mpg...

FS

 

Calin

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2001
3,112
0
0
Originally posted by: forrestroche
Originally posted by: aidanjm
it's not going to save you money. diesel is more expensive than regular in australia, europe, it's only a matter of time before that happens in the usa. face it, suckers, your love affair with the automobile is over, time to get a bicycle

That's wrong. I live in Europe and diesel is much cheaper here. Diesels are highly desirable cars here for that reason (and the lower consumption).

Australia I don't know.

Living in Europe also. While diesel fuel is cheaper (not much cheaper, just some 10% cheaper), diesel engines have excelent torque, and the feel is of a much greater gasoline engine as long as you don't revv it very much. Also, turbo helps alot at higher rpm.
While the diesel is not so cheap compared to gasoline, the fuel efficiency of diesel is better by a long shot, and there is confort in driving them economy style (lots of torque).
Another reason: smaller engines are cheaper to insure and have lower property taxes
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,954
7,410
136
I don't know if I'd do business with VW again. I prefer dealing with the people at Saturn because of the different corporate mentalities. My wife and I leased a 2005 VW Beetle this summer and it was such a headache to get. However, the car is wonderful. Plenty of room inside, corners like a race car, has acceleration up the kazoo, and there aren't any sharp edges inside. It has a few quirks but overall I'm impressed. This is our first VW. The ride is so-so. It's fairly quiet and nice, but you have to almost stop to go over speedbumps. You really feel the road and all the bumps when you're driving. It does it gas though, and it's the non-turbo, non-diesel version. Overall, pretty fun car, but don't think I'll be doing business with VW again.
 

remagavon

Platinum Member
Jun 16, 2003
2,516
0
0
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Honestly, I'd wait it out till Honda starts selling a diesel Accord AFTER low sulpher diesel is introduced in the US.

God I hope they do.:thumbsup:
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
Wow. I just did some quick research on that Accord diesel. That would be very cool if Honda could bring it over.

9.1 second 0-60, 250 ft/lbs, 43 MPG on the highway. Not bad! Not bad at all!

Now if only they would put that in the LX trim, offer it for 22k, and keep a test mule on the lot for people to test drive and prove that a diesel doesn't suck :)

They'd never be able to fill the demand. The waiting list would be years.

Not that 9.1 is quick, but it's certainly not that much worse than any other economy 4 banger. Plus the torque and low end grunt from the diesel makes in town stop & go easy to live with.

You can kiss VW's TDI sales goodbye if Honda broke into the market. :eek:
 

SuperSix

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
9,872
2
0
Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
Originally posted by: cjgallen
Brother in law had a TDI Beetle, now has a TDI Jetta, had no problems with either (besides the window defect, but that was fixed).


The window, and the sunroof, and the battery, and the headlights, and the center console, and the seat rails, and the AC compressor and the......

Great drivetrain and fun to drive though! :D :D :D

Gotta love that German quality!

OP - do some research on VW's recent reliability ratings - yhou may think twice.