Is a 2015 Golf tdi 6 speed Manual right for me?

Hello everyone first post here. I am in need of a car to get around the country for work. I'm researching before I make my decision. Ive gotten a lot of great info from the forum and decided to join. I have never owned a Volkswagen let alone a diesel.
I test drove a 2012 jsw last week after doing hours upon hours of research. I was surprised when I didn't really like it. The sales person said she had a 2012 golf tdi. I took it for a spin and loved it. Ultimately we couldn't come to a price I liked. After reading about the intercooler troubles on the 2012 that night. I feel I may have dodged a bullet. So I wanted to ask the you all if my way of driving would be benefited with a tdi.
My usual driving will consist of leaving on a Sunday from western Illinois and driving up to 1,000 miles to my work location. Usually I will only drive my car to the gym or a grocery store through the week, then on Friday drive back home. I may not even drive the car from Sunday when I get to my hotel to the Friday when I leave in some cases. Having a reliable car that gets good/great mpg is a must. Also with these drives I may leave an area that is 90 degrees and sunny to get home to 20 degrees and snowing or freezing rain. My driving is 95% highway at 75-80 mph. I can put 35,000 miles on a car in a year. I also need to get 200,000 miles out of my gas cars. I was hoping a VW tdi would maybe double or even triple that.
So what do you think? Is a 2015 Gold tdi for me or do I need to keep looking?

I do not see any reason why it couldn't be.

200k miles is nothing for a Volkswagen, gas or diesel. Although some of the newer gasoline fueled ones are not likely to get there without some work here and there. The older ones were no sweat.

TDI sounds like it's made for you. I personally wouldn't want a manual if I was putting the amount of miles you are. I'd get tired of shifting and prefer the DSG. But either one would be a great choice.

He said he is driving 95% at 75+ down the highway... that is the perfect place for a proper manual gearbox. Personally I cannot stand automatics, and if I had to drive somewhere that a manual became a "chore", I'd move.

I just found the manual in the TDI not that fun. You had to work much harder to get power out of the car. And first gear felt like the car was castrated.

I would disagree. A manual gearbox makes a freakin' Ford E-van more fun. There are some tweaks you can do to turn off the low speed power nerf of the CVCA engine, though. Your DSG car has it too, you just don't notice it as much because the M-unit is obviously better at working the clutch than you are.

For anyone who rows their own gears in a CVCA, there is a throttle response and torque limitation mod you can do to unlock full power in the lower gears... but be careful, you'll find it easy to induce traction control if you lay into it from a stop.

I just can't justify paying hundreds of dollars every 40,000 miles when the dsg service is due. Unless the 2015s are different. I could do this myself but if I'm in between a 1,000 mile trip it won't leave me a lot of time.

What should I take into account when driving in these types of weather conditions? I'm mainly referring to types of fuel and additives but any other wisdom is appreciated.

oilhammer said:

He said he is driving 95% at 75+ down the highway... that is the perfect place for a proper manual gearbox. Personally I cannot stand automatics, and if I had to drive somewhere that a manual became a "chore", I'd move.

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Amen brother. The only thing less appealing to me than an auto box is being stuck in traffic regularly. The slushbox in my F250 is probably more practical for plowing snow, but I'd take a five speed in a heartbeat. Heck, four on the floor would be a step up too.

Heh. No need for the manual/auto debate.... Again.

That sounds like perfect use case for a TDI. Definitely go for a 2015, if only for the longer warranty.

Tires will be your biggest concern with the temperature fluctuations. For the winter months I'd look into all weather tires,

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The Tortoise said:

Tires will be your biggest concern with the temperature fluctuations. For the winter months I'd look into all weather tires,

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Tires are key. All seasons don't really cut it up here in the winter. They might work well for the op, though.

Sounds like a TDI would be a perfect fit. Have you considered an SEL ? Better seats and adaptive cruise control (with the DAP package) are great for long trips, but leaking sunroofs are something to be wary of.

Thurmanator said:

I just can't justify paying hundreds of dollars every 40,000 miles when the dsg service is due. Unless the 2015s are different. I could do this myself but if I'm in between a 1,000 mile trip it won't leave me a lot of time.

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You are corrected it's about $200 max in parts for a DIY of about 4-700 if you have a dealer do it. With highway miles, going over to say 41-43 per DSG won't kill the thing.

If you are looking at a 2009-2014 Golf, the manual is geared better and will get better mileage (less losses), the 2015 has the DSG gearing way more in line with the manual, 75mph is 2,000 RPMs, so the difference is down to the greater losses of the DSG.

An SEL Golf is a good choise. The dsg fluid change takes all of 45 minutes to DIY. But that many miles a year a manual or auto will do just fine. 9 oil changes and 2 dsg fluid changes every 3 years doesnt bother me a bit. I put on 30k + miles a year. Easy DIY stuff.

Thurmanator said:

I can put 35,000 miles on a car in a year. I also need to get 200,000 miles out of my gas cars. I was hoping a VW tdi would maybe double or even triple that.

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This may be optimistic. You can make it that far, but the second 200K miles won't be inexpensive. The older cars had fewer items to break, and some of the components (like the turbo) were less stressed and last longer.

If you decide on a DSG instead of a manual, this may be a nice option: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=5449734#post5449734

IndigoBlueWagon said:

If you decide on a DSG instead of a manual, this may be a nice option: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=5449734#post5449734

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Thanks IBW.

nomadic said:

I just found the manual in the TDI not that fun. You had to work much harder to get power out of the car. And first gear felt like the car was castrated.

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I opened a thread asking about the low torque on 1st and 2nd, in there are a couple of tips on changes with VCDS / OBD11, this removed the electronic nanny and now the car feels awake

here is the thread
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=493346

mxtdiguy said:

Sounds like a TDI would be a perfect fit. Have you considered an SEL ? Better seats and adaptive cruise control (with the DAP package) are great for long trips, but leaking sunroofs are something to be wary of.

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I thought adaptive cruise wasn't available for the 15 model and then diesel wasn't available for 16? Can you get a tdi with adaptive cruise in the US?

So...after undergoing phase 2 emissions mod, how do I get my torque back? I've lost40-50 ft/lbs...and, what?
Malone Engineering mods?

Gdp said:

So...after undergoing phase 2 emissions mod, how do I get my torque back? I've lost40-50 ft/lbs...and, what?
Malone Engineering mods?

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No need for more than one post on this, it is against forum rules as well. Besides you are high jacking someone elses thread.

bigred177 said:

I thought adaptive cruise wasn't available for the 15 model and then diesel wasn't available for 16? Can you get a tdi with adaptive cruise in the US?

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Yes unfortunately you can't get that in the US. It would've come on the 16's. I have the DAP but does not have adaptive cruise control.