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Comment by jcastro | Hacker News Reader

Loved our Volkswagen Sportwagen TDI.

One of the problems is that VW that they add premium options to the TDI marque. So you can't get a bare bones Jetta TDI without the highest trim level, fancy wheels, and other things that add to the cost. On top of that the gasoline ones are efficient enough where the price difference becomes a non-factor, even when taking the MPG into account.

They are damn fun to drive though, torquey without the compromises of a 4 cylinder gasoline engine. The used market on the sportwagens is great too, which is why we ultimately traded it in for a Tiguan since the demand for the wagens was high enough to make that a relatively easy financial decision.

Unfortunately VW doesn't do diesel Tiguans in the US, which is weird, you'd think the SUV market would be a no-brainer for TDI.

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Couldn't agree more about how much fun the TDI's are to drive! Simply a blast on tight, curvy roads.

Your note about the Tiguan makes me sad. I'm moving back to the US next week and was seriously thinking about getting a Tiguan (and hoping for a diesel). I'll add the Sportwagen TDI to my list.

Rumor is that the MQB platform Tiguan will be available in TDI, but I think that's not expected until MY2017.

Wagen is a great vehicle. I love mine.

I seriously considered the Golf TDI, and didn't mind the premium options, but I ended up not liking the high-torque of the turbo diesel on the front (both my wife and I could picture us slamming into the back of someone in DC traffic), and went with the GTI instead.

I owned a 2009 Golf TDI and loved every minute of it. The car was simply a blast to drive. In the 18 months I drove the Golf I didn't have any issues with high-torque. In fact, the turbo lag guaranteed you wouldn't slam into the car in front of you unless your foot was firmly planted for multiple seconds.

The fantastic fuel economy was the icing on the cake.

Are you serious? Isn't the GTI still faster?

The GTI is faster but has less up-front torque. The issue was not hurtling down the highway at high speed (both can do that perfectly ably), but the feeling we both got that the combination of early torque and turbo lag just begging for the car to surge forward unexpectedly and rear end someone.

The GTI gets rid of one of those problems, and is a spectacular car in its own right.

Simple solution: shift earlier, since you can shift up at 2k (before the turbo really takes off) without lugging the engine at all.

Complex solution: Chip the engine - some people prefer a smoother power curve, which can be achieved with a tune.

I don't feel like driving a manual in a busy city, and much prefer letting the more fuel efficient dual clutch transmission do the work.

Understandable (except for the "more fuel efficient" bit), but with your reply to @huuu in mind, being able to select your gear (and keep it in that gear) would eliminate any unexpected surging. Dense traffic isn't a lot of work in a TDI, because you don't need to shift frequently if at all. In my experience 2nd gear covers between 10-35mph comfortably. I have a 1.25 hour commute that's a mix of stop-and-go in small towns and highway, and the TDI is great for every bit of it.

Everything I've seen suggests the dual-clutch automatic transmission is more efficient than the manual, including VW's own figures. It came as a surprise to me, but a nice benefit for other factors.

I imagine that yes, being able to keep it in low gears would have helped, and indeed putting it into manual mode for some of the parts I found the worst (rapid turns from one busy street to another) helped, but it put it in the "More trouble than it was worth" category.

That being said, the TDI was a great car, and a serious contender for my money. I just preferred the GTI a bit more, but given I love the GTI, that's good company to be in.

The published numbers say that. The real world numbers say very much otherwise. The manual CRUSHES the DSG, often by 4-5mpg or even more for some drivers, especially on the highway.

It's geared lower, for one thing, only 2000rpm at 75mph.

FWIW, I traded in a 2012 TDI with the DSG for a manual Mk7 a few days ago. Love the stick, although it's taking some getting used to (this is my first manual).

Also in the manual's favor is the $1,100 cheaper upfront cost and not needing a ~$400 transmission service every 40k.

Interesting. I'm rather fond of my DSG, and manual was a little bit of a non-starter because my wife wanted a car she could drive, and learning stick in DC is...a terrible idea.

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