hello all. new member in chicago considering a jetta tdi manual and a cruze eco. i dont drive a whole lot at the moment, about 40 miles per day at the most. i'm usually not stuck in heavy traffic nor wide open highways. but that may change with my job. im looking for an all around good looking, presentable, dependable, fuel efficient car that is fun to drive.
i like the jetta's simple clean styling. its so plain that theres nothing to really love or hate or show its age in the future. the cruze on the other hand looks more like a 16 year old girls car and has styling that screams "im from around 2010". if i have to drive around clients in the future the jetta will be the more comfortable and presentable car.
both cars have a nice ride. the tdi feels like a diesel as it should, which is a whole new experience for me. the cruze's gas engine has a familiar power band. the transmission in the cruze feels very nice. positive feel, short throws, tight predictable feel in the clutch. overall it feels sporty. the jetta on the other hand... it doesnt feel like ****, but more like diarrhea. its soft, loose and kinda mushy with longer throws. aside from the slight diesel vibrations in the clutch, its kinda numb. it's acceptable for an economy car. its not bad, but i'm used to a tremec tr6060.
the tdi is naturally fuel efficient where as the cruze eco uses a lot of aerodynamic enhancements and a taller 6th gear to give it that extra fuel economy. (rhetorical question) what does that mean for the cruze if one of those components fails? in the event that we run out of oil in the future, the tdi can probably run on biofuels, not sure about the cruze...
the cruze is cheaper, but you also get less features, and you dont get a maintenance program as you would in the jetta. however, being a german car, the cost of insurance and maintenance and repairs in the long run may add up. and i have read some horror stories on here about glow plugs and fuel pumps failing pretty quick... and up until i started reading some honest stories on here i was dead set on the jetta. then again i see some go past 200k miles with nothing major...
so do i go with the more attractive, slightly more fuel efficient, slightly larger, better equipped jetta and hope it doesnt become a maintenance nightmare?
i like the jetta's simple clean styling. its so plain that theres nothing to really love or hate or show its age in the future. the cruze on the other hand looks more like a 16 year old girls car and has styling that screams "im from around 2010". if i have to drive around clients in the future the jetta will be the more comfortable and presentable car.
both cars have a nice ride. the tdi feels like a diesel as it should, which is a whole new experience for me. the cruze's gas engine has a familiar power band. the transmission in the cruze feels very nice. positive feel, short throws, tight predictable feel in the clutch. overall it feels sporty. the jetta on the other hand... it doesnt feel like ****, but more like diarrhea. its soft, loose and kinda mushy with longer throws. aside from the slight diesel vibrations in the clutch, its kinda numb. it's acceptable for an economy car. its not bad, but i'm used to a tremec tr6060.
the tdi is naturally fuel efficient where as the cruze eco uses a lot of aerodynamic enhancements and a taller 6th gear to give it that extra fuel economy. (rhetorical question) what does that mean for the cruze if one of those components fails? in the event that we run out of oil in the future, the tdi can probably run on biofuels, not sure about the cruze...
the cruze is cheaper, but you also get less features, and you dont get a maintenance program as you would in the jetta. however, being a german car, the cost of insurance and maintenance and repairs in the long run may add up. and i have read some horror stories on here about glow plugs and fuel pumps failing pretty quick... and up until i started reading some honest stories on here i was dead set on the jetta. then again i see some go past 200k miles with nothing major...
so do i go with the more attractive, slightly more fuel efficient, slightly larger, better equipped jetta and hope it doesnt become a maintenance nightmare?
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