I am driving a VW Golf TDI right now as a rental car while the beast is in the shop. It is a 5 speed, but this beyatch will absolutely fly! I filled it up and have gone 504km (315 miles) on a half tank!

 

I've got a 2004 VW Jetta TDI and drive the hell out of it. These cars handle like unreal and yes it gets 40 mpg in town and 50 on the highway. It's nothing to run 85 mph and still get mid 40's. The car has 114,000 and runs like a top. The diff with german cars is that you have to keep the maintenance up.
Mine is a 5-speed GL model. I didn't buy the car new but I bought it from a friend who did. I've actually put 14000 miles on it myself. Coolest thing is that even though you have to run fully synthetic oil, it only needs changing every 10,000 to 15,000 miles.
As for the VW bashers on here, don't knock it until you try it. I have driven about every brand of car and none of them can compare with the german sedans. This car is exponentially more quiet and comfortable than the Tercel that I had. It gets better fuel mileage than most of the newer cars. It looks classy. The difference between what I say and what the nay-sayers, is that I have experience to back me up.
If you ever drive a VW and take care of it you'll never go back to the other foreign cars.

 

VWs are extremely nice and comfortable, but that doesn't change the fact that they have electrical problems. They may only be minor some of the time, but some of the time they are catastrophic and extremely expensive to fix. I've never owned a VW for that reason. I have 4 friends who own VWs; 2 jettas, 1 passat, and one GTI... all have had electrical problems to some extent. The passat had the entire electrical system got to crap... all dash lights, all power windows... it was going to cost a few thousand dollars to fix. One jetta was brand new and had constant electrical window solenoid problems. It was under warranty, but who wants to have their brand new car in the shop all the time.
All I'm saying is educate yourself about the car before you buy it because it's "comfortable" and gets good gas mileage. If you can over look a persistent electrical issue then I say go for. Hopefully the one he buys won't have any significant issues, but it would always be in the back of my mind.

 

Now thats sexy!

 

Super sexy!!

 

My parents have a 06 Jetta TDI with the tiptonic 6spd auto. Mom said that she averages 43-44 each tank running to/around town. I took it on a 700 mile highway trip to help more my sister-in-law in at college 2 years ago and we got 49mpg running 75mph with a car full of stuff and 2 people in it. It is a great car, it rides better than any other vehicle that I have been in, even better than a buddies 04 C-serie Benz.

We were thinking about buying a TDI this spring, but with diesel prices being $1.00/gallon more than gas here and also the fact that most 06 TDI's with 40,000 miles are less are still bring in around $19,000 we are just going to wait and see what happens. Otherwise the options that we are thinking of are a Fusion, GXP or G8 GT.

 

a guy here in my town has one that he brews biodeisel for in his backyard. $1.60 a gallon.....not too bad in my book. His bumper sticker says "your funnel cakes, my fuel. Biodeisel"

 

well, for the money you will take a very long time to pay for it with diesel prices. Between the higher initial cost of the car, and the higher fuel price, I would look for something else. I drive my 2005 focus ST for a commuter. I have gotten 36 mph hiway. The thing is a blast to drive. Like a go kart. It is pretty quick too. I have put 70,000 miles on it with absolutly no problems with it. Front brakes at 65,000, rear disks at 45,000. $15 per rear rotor.... do that with any import. You can find ST's all day for a lot less than an import. I have never regretted getting mine.

 

tdi's are also fun to drive... 99hp but its the torque that gets you.

im planning on getting one later on... Bigger injectors and some tuning and you got around 160hp and around 250tq from 177 stock, then you start playing with the turbo and all that and your still getting good mileage

check out how fast it pulls away around 45 sec :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75P_H...eature=related

 

I wouldn't trust any Hyundai period.

 

OK, I had to fill up the rental I have (Golf TDI).....I went a total of 794km on a tank (approx 496 miles) and it took 50 liters (I had to push it in) to fill it up (approx 13 gallons)......which is a little over 38 miles per gallon! And let me tell you, I easily go 180-200kph on the autobahn.....

38 miles per gallon sure beats my 17 miles per gallon in the beast....but I miss her and can't wait to have her back. I may not be the fastest in the F-150, but don't let me catch you....I'll drag you down the road while you're screaming like a little girl.


Not a bad car at all in my opinion.

 

I have had 2 of the new beetles or should I say my wife has. They are great cars in ways like handling,room and mpg's. Never had electrical probs in either but they do have problems. Most of it sensors and switches which are a snap to replace. Biggest quirk is cooling system failure. Pump goes down and breaks the belt(bad news) or the head gasket blows. Coolant is 12 bucks a quart and is a dealer item like everything else on them cept maybe brakes or battery. If u have a dealer close by then you're good. Got rid of ours cause last time was on a trip the radiator cap came apart. Had to get a room till UPS could get me a cap from nearest dealer. 3 days. That was the last straw for me.