... I'm just thinking about acceleration and all that...
I can honestly say that my cousin got me involved in the TDi cuz he has two, him and his wife. I got my TDi for $700 under invoice, a GLS with roof for under $17,000, actually $16,780. Sticker was $19,500 or so, end of model year and in a dealership that wanted to get rid of it. 5-speed. 2002 Golf 4-dr
The 2.0 is a great motor and in a manual tranny can get mid-30's highway even more. I have friends with automatic 2.0 and they are great, great dependable cars but manage mid-20's in mileage mixed urban and city. They are heavy footed too.
As for your comment:
I'd opt for a 1.8T and get mid 30's in mileage mixed while obtaining great performance and super horse power with torque. It's unmatched. You can't go wrong with a 1.8T.
The 2.0L Volkswagen is in an "if-y" period of performance, it having economy ...but not really economical in comparison to the 1.8T but actually in line with a TDi. The TDi and the 2.0 are nose in nose. On the other hand, the 1.8T is really a bawls to the walls car in an automatic, a seriously dependable ride and it has acceleration that is beyond excellent [in automatic form].
The biggest problem with the 1.8T vs the 2.0 is intial cost. You can really order a fully loaded 2.0 for cheap. A 1.8T is harder to negotiate because demand is high.
As for the TDi and the other two gasoline motors? Well, there is a set-back for the TDi that no one seems to understand. If you buy a TDi you buy a car for long-term and high mileage usage. You have to roll more than 30 minutes on a day commute to get all that fuel heated in cold weather. You have to use the car more than 8,000 miles a year. You have to be careful of the fuel you put in it. You have to deal with a lot of issues that are not normally found in gasolin models. That's my opinion. As well, just shopping for engine oil on a TDi is a time consuming event. Look at the threads on where to buy Rotella, or Delvac or Vavoline or Castrol in 5-40w. Then you have to think about where to buy filtres and who does the maintenance even if they are
certified, the Volkswagen Dealership could do more damage then good if they are not experienced in diesel repair and maintenance. I was offered non-synthetic oil on my first oil change.
That was my dealership saying it was okay to run cheap $1.50 Castrol Oil in the diesel?
You have to educate yourself on what you own and operate when dealing in diesel.
You have to understand that high mileage, no matter if in the form of a diesel or in the form of a gasoline model does not have an impact on resale
buyers when you sell it here in the US. They are fixed on your resale mileage. If you have a 2.0 with 80,000 miles or a TDi with 80,000 miles the US market can not comprehend anything other than,
"Geez...it has 80,000 miles, that's a lot of miles..."
So, if I were you?
A 1.8T, pay some bucks, get it loaded and run it two years and sell it to a teenager for big bucks. No teenager is going to shell out $14,000 for a 2000 TDi loaded. On Vortex a 1.8T sells at that price.
So buying in a mentality of longevity, performing your own maintenance, educating oneself and running up serious mileage =
equals TDi.
So buy in the mentality of short-term, performance and having any garage perform your maintenance, not too much mileage and GREAT resale value =
equals 1.8T
So buy the 2.0 and be in-between a rock and a hard place because everyone will ask, "Why didn't you opt the $600 extra and get the 1.8T?"
Bottom line, the 2.0 will go 200,000 miles, the 1.8T will go that far and even further and the TDi will go forever.
Ask yourself a question?
"How long do you want the same steering wheel inside your grip with the same arse in a seat... how many years before you get bored?"
I'm bored already,
love my TDi
But bored.
M.D.
p.s. by fall I get a 2004 Crown Victoria, Police Interceptor with vinyl seats, bench. It's a company thing, they give it to me... along with the job.