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Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed?
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Sully
May 22, 11 6:59
Post #1 of 76
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Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed?
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Anything else to consider, or is this the perfect fun, family, fuel efficient car vehicle?
cerveloguy
May 22, 11 7:32
Post #2 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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I'm considering one.
drew_235
May 22, 11 8:30
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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I bought one two weeks ago. I love it.
I had owned a tdi sedan from 2003, and this is a step up. Get one, you will not be sorry.
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"Life is fragile - we are all just a slip or a car crash away from being a very different person."
Sully
May 22, 11 8:36
Post #4 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [drew_235]
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how much room do you get in the wagon verse sedan?
drew_235
May 22, 11 8:48
Post #5 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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Hard for me to say with exact numbers. When I owned the sedan, I didn't own bikes and led a completely different lifestyle. I'm still waiting for my Thule rack to come in, so I've been transporting my 29er with the front wheel removed and the seats folded flat in the car. There's a ton of room back there when you do that. I'm selling my old Sportworks 3 bike hitch mount rack to a friend and it's currently sitting inside the wagon (again, with the seats folded down). I think it's large items like this that really make the wagon shine. You can't pull that off in the sedan (if I remember correctly) because of the angle between the rear bumper, the floor of the trunk, and the roof line where the trunk lid starts (that might not even make sense...). I remember trying to transport an artificial Christmas tree, new in the box, in my sedan and it was a really, really tight fit to get it to slide into the trunk.
Do you want any specific measurements?
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"Life is fragile - we are all just a slip or a car crash away from being a very different person."
Sully
May 22, 11 8:57
Post #6 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [drew_235]
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Don't need any exact numbers - description was great. I think with 2 kids and 2 dogs, the wagon just might make more sense.
drew_235
May 22, 11 9:13
Post #7 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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I think with 2 kids and 2 dogs, the wagon just might make more sense.
Yes, absolutely. I don't have kids and only 1 dog, but it just makes sense from a "hauling tons of stuff around" standpoint. The lady and I are headed to CO in a couple of weeks for a week of hiking, trail riding, and camping. I'm confident we'll be able to over pack without an issue.
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"Life is fragile - we are all just a slip or a car crash away from being a very different person."
(This post was
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by drew_235 on May 22, 11 9:14)
AutomaticJack
May 22, 11 9:59
Post #8 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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Sully wrote:
Anything else to consider, or is this the perfect fun, family, fuel efficient car vehicle?
I have a Passat with that engine in it and it take premium gas or it goes nuts. Something to consider (if it is still true, the Passat is a 2008, might be a different engine now)
Sully
May 22, 11 10:13
Post #9 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [AutomaticJack]
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The TDI is VWs diesel engine which puts up 42 highway mpgs in the wagon.
AutomaticJack
May 22, 11 12:14
Post #10 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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Sully wrote:
The TDI is VWs diesel engine which puts up 42 highway mpgs in the wagon.
Insert head slap here. Reading failure.
Have you calculated the difference in cost vs the difference in fuel economy? Diesel is pretty expensive on Long Island right now, a lot more than even premium. My car gets about 30 mpg. It might be pretty close in the money outlay department.
elund
May 22, 11 13:32
Post #11 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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I own one. I love it. My last tank averaged 48.1 mpg.
tri_yoda
May 22, 11 18:57
Post #12 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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I recently struggled with this decision and ultimately decided to go with a Subaru outback.
The cost savings in gas is about $400 per 10,000 miles or so by my estimates for the TDI wagon compared to the Outback.
In the end I have heard too many stories of problems with VWs. By all accounts the reliability is good, and getting better, but based on my reservations, if I did have a problem I would be kicking myself for ever. However, ask anyone who has had a turbo that had a problem, how much it costs to fix a turbo.
All that being said, I think the TDI has a lot going for it and would not be a bad decision. With the gas savings, even if you blow a turbo in the first 100K, you still come out ahead based on the gas savings. If only the Subaru diesel outback was available in the US.
At least so far, the Subaru (6 speed) is doing a little bit better on gas than I thought and I will probably be right at 30 mpg on the highway.
Sully
May 22, 11 19:15
Post #13 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [tri_yoda]
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interesting post because the wife and I keep looking at Outbacks as well. The AWD could be nice in Boston.
the metazoan
May 23, 11 3:45
Post #14 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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Anybody else do the math on the "break even point"? That is where you start saving money on gas vs the premium price of the TDI. I think I did it 6 months ago and it was around 100,000 miles.
tkeru408
May 23, 11 5:54
Post #15 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [the metazoan]
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It's a tough calculation to make because the difference between gas and diesel keeps changing. I remember not too long ago (maybe it was 2 years) gas and diesel were the same price. Two months ago, diesel was 10-12% more than gas. Today, diesel is only 5% more than gas. These are the differences in my home town; go to another town and they could all be completely different again. I think it's too much of a moving target to make any calculation useful.
CW in NH
May 23, 11 6:25
Post #16 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [tkeru408]
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Also depends on the vehicle. Many high efficiency engines require premium gas (Audi for example).
tkeru408
May 23, 11 6:27
Post #17 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [CW in VT]
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Good point. My percentages were comparing diesel to regular unleaded. Here, premium gas is more expensive than diesel.
the metazoan
May 23, 11 6:39
Post #18 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [tkeru408]
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Here is what I came up with... The Sportwagon S (gas / doesn't require premium) vs the TDI... The TDI is about $2200 more than the similarly equipped S version. Fueleconomy.gov lists the S version at 25mpg vs the TDI is 34mpg (probably a bit on the low side). Gas here in Madison is $3.59 and $3.87 for diesel. So it is $14.36 to go 100 miles with gas and $9.68 with diesel (with 40mpg), so a difference of $4.68 every 100 miles, so with the $2200 premium, it pays off in ~50K miles, which is probably worth it for most people. Is the TDI maintenance more or less than the gas Jetta?
drew_235
May 23, 11 6:57
Post #19 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [the metazoan]
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Here is what I came up with... The Sportwagon S (gas / doesn't require premium) vs the TDI... The TDI is about $2200 more than the similarly equipped S version. Fueleconomy.gov lists the S version at 25mpg vs the TDI is 34mpg (probably a bit on the low side). Gas here in Madison is $3.59 and $3.87 for diesel. So it is $14.36 to go 100 miles with gas and $9.68 with diesel (with 40mpg), so a difference of $4.68 every 100 miles, so with the $2200 premium, it pays off in ~50K miles, which is probably worth it for most people. Is the TDI maintenance more or less than the gas Jetta?
The maintenance on the TDI is likely higher due to the special fuel filter and emissions control system, but it only needs an oil change every 10k miles vs. the 3k - 5k gig for most other vehicles. The 34 mpg does seem a bit on the low side, but if they are low on the TDI, they are likely low across the board. I'm 2 weeks into this round of my TDI experience, I have about 3/8 of my 2nd tank of fuel left, have gone over 1000 miles in the vehicle so far, and am averaging 42+mpg for the "life" of the car. I am anything but gentle with it and am certainly not chasing the high mpg, it just happens.
Where I live (a few hours north of you), diesel is about $.15 more per gallon than regular gas right now. I did the calculation based on my last car's mpg (17) and the miles/year driven for the last 3 years (~38k). Based on that, I calculated the delta in $ spent on fuel for $3.50 - $5.00/gallon scenarios and realized that it was substantial for even the $3.50 setup - the difference alone more than covered my car payment for the TDI.
There is no good way of rationalizing the purchase of a brand new car, but above is the method I used.
*edit to add that I really like the car, but enjoy the styling of the Subaru Outback much more. If it were not for the economy of the TDI, I would have purchased the Outback. The Outback has more ground clearance and AWD, the TDI has the fuel economy.
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"Life is fragile - we are all just a slip or a car crash away from being a very different person."
(This post was
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by drew_235 on May 23, 11 7:00)
monty
May 23, 11 11:19
Post #20 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [drew_235]
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I know Jordan just got the TDI wagon, and so far he loves it. And if you get a stick, some guys are geting 80+MPG. Diesel is usually about the same price as mid grade gas, not more than premium. Used to be cheaper than regular 10 years ago, but I have not seen that since then.
As for maintinence, it is a slam dunk for diesel cars. Oil changes are 2 to 5 times less often(every 15k in my cummings truck), no tune ups, ever, and up until recently no smog checks. Even those are just a visual to see if all the stock parts are there, no tailpipe control. But beyond all of that, the engine itself will outlast a gas engine 2 to 3 times over, and the resale is higher with a diesel too..
All I really have to do is clean the air filter(as with any other car) and change the oil every 15k, that is it, unless something breaks. 130k miles in, and nothing has broken, and I expect to get 500k on this engine..
Only problem is that I cannot find a 1 or 2 year old wagon like Jordan did so as not to have to take the new car hit. But it is very high on my list with the Prius, and I just saw the Volt, and it looks pretty good. Guy here at the camp has one with 6k on it, and so far loves everything about it. Goes months without buying any gas, while doing lsee than 35 mile commutes..
drew_235
May 23, 11 11:38
Post #21 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [monty]
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And if you get a stick, some guys are geting 80+MPG.
Um...it's good, but not that good. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think your friends are exaggerating. The older models from the 2000 - 2005 model had a window sticker that said 52mpg for the highway, and you could upgrade the chip and push that up by another 5 or 6 mpg, but that's still a bit away from 80+.
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"Life is fragile - we are all just a slip or a car crash away from being a very different person."
monty
May 23, 11 11:58
Post #22 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [drew_235]
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Nobody told me about the mileage, it was a TDI contest that was running nationally. I forgot the web page, but just saw it a couple weeks ago, and the top guy was getting 99, then the next few places were just over 80. There were a ton in the 60 to 80 range too. ANd I can believe it, since i can do the same thing with my truck. If you have a manual transmission like i do, just for fun sometimes i will do a few 100 miles for time so to speak. Normally i get 24mpg in all driving combined, but i can push that out to the high 30's if i drive slower, coast downhills, and just pay attention to when i don't need to be in gear. Like approaching lights and stop signs, ect..So i can add about 40% to what i get without paying too much attention, and not doing radical things, like coasting to stops and such. Just driving normal really, so if the book says mid 40's for TDI, i can see folks getting 80+ in contests. I would probably opt to get 55+, I have doing 55 on the fwy..(-;
monty
May 23, 11 12:00
Post #23 of 76
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [drew_235]
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Oh ya, almost forgot, there was a show recently about this guy with his stock Prius that has gotten 103mpg since he got it. He was an extreme driver, but it showed what is possible with a stock car, 100% mileage increase from sticker..
drew_235
May 23, 11 12:09
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [monty]
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Ok, that's a different story then. I thought you were implying that "some of your friends" were getting 80+ mpg with stock vehicles. And by stock, I would include "normal" driving techniques. People that chase the hyper-mpg thing could give some of the aero-weenies in the tri forum a run for their money. I read some articles on the subject and turned my nose up at the idea of turning the car off while coasting (yes, you read that right, not just putting it in neutral for coasting, but turning it off). That steps over the safety line in my mind because now you don't have power steering or abs and you have one more thing to think about in traffic (turning the car back on).
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"Life is fragile - we are all just a slip or a car crash away from being a very different person."
jfm225
May 23, 11 15:47
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Re: Why not a VW Jetta SportWagon TDI 6 speed? [Sully]
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Just got (2 weeks ago) a VW GOLF TDI 2 DOOR. Threw a bike rack on top and it is ready to go to the races. $23K out the door. 40 mpg. So far, no complaints.
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