How does a TDI differ from a gasser in day-to-day usage?

I'm eagerly awaiting my TDI Golf, it'll be my first diesel car, but not my first diesel vehicle, I have Dad's old Kubota garden tractor (Kubota G5200 3 cylinder normally aspirated), it's well over 25 years old, and aside from a tempermental starter, it's been perfectly reliable for 25+ years, it makes mowing our huge lawn a non issue, great for hauling farm supplies around, and clearing winter snow with the single stage snowthrower

I already know the basics of diesel, like you need to preheat a cold engine with the glow plugs, for subzero temps, it's a good idea to plug in the engine when not in use, and to *NEVER* run the fuel tank dry or you'll have to purge/reprime the fuel system (and not to use farm diesel in road vehicles, due to the permanent dye)

other than this, what are other differences that a diesel car has over a gasoline car?

the car will be parked outside (no carport or garage at my place) and I live in NH, so subzero/polar vortex cold snaps are common in winter

What things do I need to keep in mind to insure maximum life and maximum fuel economy?

Running the fuel tank dry still isn't a good idea, but it's not the calamity it once was, since newer TDIs have pumps to move fuel to the engine from the tank.

And new diesels can be driven like any gasoline powered car. Don't worry about plugging the car in during a NH winter: it'll start fine. And the '09 and later cars have a supplemental electric heater that helps warm the cabin until the car warms up. A winter front isn't a bad idea, since it helps warm up, improves winter FE, and also helps prevent intercooler icing, which is problem on MKVI cars.

I'm a big proponent of using a lubricity additive in fuel, as it helps lubricate the high pressure fuel pump. And lots of short trips only aren't really good for a diesel, any diesel.

Otherwise, enjoy the car!

Okay, sounds good, as far as regen cycles on the DPF goes, what are the parameters when a regen cycle starts, what speed/distance is generally required?

And when a TDI "Regenerates", does the paint color change and/or the body style change? that's how it happens on Dr. Who! (so Time Lords/Galifreyans run on diesel fuel? that would explain the cool "VWORP-VWORP" sound of the TARDIS materializing/dematerializing...)

...perhaps Rudolf Diesel was a Time Lord/Galifreyan

From what I gather the regen cycles are mileage or soot loading based. IIRC the mileage was somewhere in the 400's - so you should see a regen at least once per tank. I ended up with a regen well before 400 miles since the last one but I think that may have been a result of the VW service department idling it for almost 2 hours while they diagnosed my non-cooling A/C.

I didn't notice the regen starting on my car (it has done 2 regen cycles so far) until I came to a stop and noticed the high idle and heard the cooling fans running at full tilt. When the regen stops in my car it makes the car briefly shudder - the idle does not seem to drop back to normal once it is complete.

Regens occur when the soot load gets to 23.5 g or when the operating parameters are conducive to regenerating or when the car has travelled something just less than 750 km since the last full regen. Distance travelled to get to 23.5 g varies according to how you drive, speed, trip length etc. Short trips build soot much faster, I get anywhere from 200 to 500 km between regens. If the engine is loaded heavily enough for several minutes the car may decide to do an enhanced passive regen which reduces the soot level without resetting the distance counter. Eg 7% grade at highway speed or cruising at 110 km/hr through rolling hills with a rocketbox on the roof seem to qualify.

I’d guess a regen takes about 6 min at highway speed or 10 if idling. An instrument which detects when the car is in a regen is useful to avoid shutting the engine off during a regen or for peace of mind if nothing else. Polar FIS for example. Nothing bad happens if you do shut it down occasionally in mid regen. Doing that constantly is probably hard on the dpf and turbo.

Main thing is that the diesel fuel pump is dirtier than a gasonline pump since diesel doesn't evaporate like gas.... Get in the practice of grabbing a paper towel before you touch the pump and wipe your hands off.