Anyone have a diesel car?

[Rusty Chainsaw]

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Generally, I think you are spot on with that recommendation, however my Passat was made in Germany and my Golf was made in Mexico. I'm pretty sure that my 84 Jetta was also made in Germany, as were the bugs, of course. Just goes to show that individual cars are always a crap shoot!

Cheers,
Dennis

I didn't know they ever made Golfs in Mexico, but you're right that they've ping-ponged a bit over the years, especially with the Passat. The last couple of generations of Passats, Jettas and Beetles have definitely been made in Mexico though, and the Mk5 and Mk6 Golfs have always been German-made.

VW are doing the opposite of the likes of Ford though and are making different versions of their cars for the US market, whereas Ford are consolidating their lineup worldwide. The current US Jetta and Passat are quite different cars to the Jetta and Passat sold elsewhere - they're bigger and more cheaply built, basically. The Jetta is kinda an afterthought in Europe though, as, for the most part (with the possible exceptions of Spain and Ireland) Europeans seem to prefer the hatchback bodystyle of the Golf to the sedan/saloon bodystyle of the Jetta.

 

[Simo98]

Never driven a diesel sedan or hatchback, but both our vehicles are diesels, a dualcab ute and a van. I actually haven't driven petrol cars much at all

Provided a car to you is simply a mode of transportation, I see no reason not to get a diesel. They can use as little as half the fuel, and provided they are not more than 20-30 years old and have a turbo, chances are you'll barely miss the loss in acceleration.

I mean, for people who enjoy putting their foot down and passing people on the highway, a diesel probably isn't going to work well, but for general driving they are great. Personally I love the torque, especially city driving in a manual car, you can crawl around in traffic all day and never even touch the accelerator just about.

They probably make a little more noise, smell a bit more, and start a little slow in the cold mornings sometimes, but oh well, you save a good bit on the fuel and they are pretty easy to drive, generally less to go wrong with them, plus I always liked the idea you can drive underwater. They often last quite a bit longer than petrol engines too, I know of diesels that have done close to half a million kilometers without a rebuild, granted, it was a Hilux. I imagine that the small cars with diesel motors are pretty zippy actually.

 

[N.F.A.]

Been driving a diesel VW for 11+ years now. Super reliable and it gets great gas mileage.

 

[rob72]

Yep, a 2009 BMW 320d. Fantastic car, brilliant to drive and great mileage.