Gas or Diesel ?

[tardis454]

VW is a very poor quality car ..very low CSI year in and out

Truth, finally.. Thank You James.. Thank You...

[SpiderGearsMan]

VW is a very poor quality car ..very low CSI year in and out
Cruze is going to use GM euro diesel
Diesel stinks ...DPF systems make diesel suck worse BUYER BEWARE

[DanStokes]

Interesting on the Cruze. Will that get an Isuzu or maybe one of GM's foreign subsidiaries?

As I said, I'm looking for ME's next ride. And does the Cruze come in a wagon? She likes her long roofs. The VW's are great but are PRICEY in the wagon style (not sure about the sedans).

Dan

[Deaf Bob]

I pulled derby cars over the mountains.. Down freeways at 85 mph.. Redwood highway with a 50/50 2- car trailer.. With a 77 chev flatbed and a Ford 7.3 turbo diesel.. Diesel wins every time! Both are dualies.. Ford's a crew cab, chevy's a 12 foot flatbed..
Ford diesel loaded is almost like the flatbed partly loaded.. 5.7 vs 7.3 is a big difference..

OH CRAP... CARS... guess that negates my comment!

[joebogey]

My Dad bought an '85 VW Golf diesel new, followed up by an '86 for my mom, my brother picked up an '84 Rabbit diesel when he graduated in '89, and I've been tooling around in an '89 Jetta diesel for the last 7 or so years. As long as you gave them clean fuel and changed the oil they'd run until there was no car left around them, my brother's Rabbit is proof as he's around 260k miles on it and the engines running strong but a good pot hole and the body's gone.

In January he just picked up a 2013 Beetle TDI, damn engine is quieter than the V6 in my Buick and I think it actually has more pick up too. Definitely worth a look, he's been knocking down around 47 mpg and that's in stop and go traffic in one direction on his commute. If you're not going to be doing the long run boogie (20+ hwy miles at a clip) you won't see the diesel benefit so take that into account as well.

As for the urea injection, a friend with a 2012 Passat TDI goes through about a gallon or so each oil change (10k miles).

Biggest kick in the nuts on the VW TDI's is to not void the warranty you must use Castrol Edge 5W-40 full synthetic.

Also, Chevy is coming out with a diesel Cruze mid-summer.

[200kss]

I was curious if passenger cars used/required DEF. I know from class 8 trucks down to pickups it's used and a hassle on the heavy truck side. DEF would be a big deterent for me to purchase a new diesel anything.

When I traded trucks a year ago, the fuel savings vs. cost per gallon was wash, not counting DEF costs.

Are passive/parked exhaust regenerations required on passenger cars? Teaching a truck "driver" who thinks he knows everything about his truck how to do a regen is challenging enough. I'd hate to try to explain the process and the need for it to the general population who think of cars as appliances.

[milner351]

Mazda is bringing out a "low compression" (14:1) Diesel sedan (626/mazda6) later this year - no exhaust aftertreatment whatsoever, and no DEF

I'm betting the aftermarket will soon have "DEF Delete kits" for "off road use only" if they don't already.

For the 6.0 Ford guys - the first right of passage is EGR delete kits which are readily available.

[BigBlockMopar]

New Diesels: OK
Old Diesels: Stink

[tardis454]

The yearly cost of Urea may negate some of the fuel savings..


Small VW's.. Jetta, JSW, Golf TDIs don't use Urea.

Bigger VW's.. Passat TDI, Touareg TDI use Urea. (approx 4.5 Gallons)

My friend at the trucking company says they go through thousands of gallons of Urea a month, that (cow piss) is expensive, & only 1 company makes it..

[DanStokes]

What I learning with my Benz Diesel is that the engine is great. It's the CAR that sucks! I'm on a Benz forum quite a bit lately as I get mine sorted and I'm finding that the "car" issues are still in place. Too bad - engines seem to be fine.

The VWs are VERY tempting. I'm hoping to talk ME into one for her next car though the HHR is doing great for now. The TDIs are not cheap but they give amazing fuel economy and seem to be pretty durable (durability is a big deal for me).

Dan

[milner351]

Has anyone driven a bluetech benz diesel - I'd never choose to afford one but they sure look nice and are amazingly quiet.

[Monk]

Looks like I'll be looking a VW in the future.

Thanks for the input.

[TC]

Monk.
even if you have no desire to actually buy one - do yourself a favor and go drive a TDI VW - just go in with an open mind and see how you like it.

You will be surprised for sure - the delight remains to be seen - I for one am very interested to hear your impression.

well over 40mpg and hundreds of miles more range than any gas vehicle on the market.

Hybrids are coming along - but there's more complexity and price hike to them than the diesels if long term ownership is your goal.

The GM passenger car converted diesels were horrific - really any non turbo diesel is a slug by today's standards - my 7.3 powerstroke couldn't keep up with a new 6.7 truck even with lots of modifications. The new benz diesels defy logic they are so quiet, but the car around them is so expensive it's hard to justify for most folks.

Please Monk - drive a TDI - even a used one from the last handful of years - and let us know what you think.

Yap my dad's got a '06 Jetta, his best is 53mpg.........

[TheSilverBuick]

Those TDI volkswagons crush anything on the market in mpg and nearly all in power and speed in their compact car market. The domestics are way behind the boat in this market that is ripe for the picken as the VW TDI's I've heard are usually in short supply on dealer lots. At least out west they are.

[milner351]

Monk.
even if you have no desire to actually buy one - do yourself a favor and go drive a TDI VW - just go in with an open mind and see how you like it.

You will be surprised for sure - the delight remains to be seen - I for one am very interested to hear your impression.

well over 40mpg and hundreds of miles more range than any gas vehicle on the market.

Hybrids are coming along - but there's more complexity and price hike to them than the diesels if long term ownership is your goal.

The GM passenger car converted diesels were horrific - really any non turbo diesel is a slug by today's standards - my 7.3 powerstroke couldn't keep up with a new 6.7 truck even with lots of modifications. The new benz diesels defy logic they are so quiet, but the car around them is so expensive it's hard to justify for most folks.

Please Monk - drive a TDI - even a used one from the last handful of years - and let us know what you think.