What car gives similar performance to the TDI?

Perfectreign

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2013
Location
Los Angeles
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS 5-speed
The fuel economy is pretty much identical to the GMC Sierra 1500 4WD that I'm looking at, lol.
The 5.3L will give you that low end torque. Love the torque in my Avalanche. Even better would be the Sierra duramax.

Can't vouch for the fuel economy, tho.

FWIW, my wife's '15 TSI Passat gets about 28 MPG overall and is quite torquey (?) feeling with the seven-speed transmission.
 
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nwtim

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2016
Location
Kirkland, WA
TDI
2014 Sportwagen TDI
I found and jumped on a fully-loaded (P+, Sport Pkg, B&O Sound, Blind Spot) CPO 2014 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro with under 22k miles for under $30k plus tax and license. If outperforms my 2014 JSW TDI in every conceivable way apart from cargo versatility and fuel economy.

Since this is primarily my daily commuter, the cargo aspect was the easiest thing to give up and the economy factor of a TDI on short commutes is almost a non-issue (gas engines warm up MUCH faster) while Audi's 8-speed AT is better than the 6-speed DSG. For pretty much the same price as the buyback value of my JSW, I feel that I got a pretty significant upgrade.
 

solman1

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
New Jersey
TDI
14 Jetta TDI-DSG-Prem.
I chose the fix for my leased TDI. My payout is the same at $3300 either way. With the fix comes extended emissions warranty giving me 4 more years of coverage I believe.
As some here have mentioned I would spend a lot more than my buyout (13,500) to replace my Jetta. It will have about 60k miles at that point and still in very nice shape. A new Jetta or Golf would run 20,000 at least, even more nicely equipped.
Probably will just buy the car at lease end.
 

speedrye

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Location
Central NC
TDI
13 JSW DSG, 14 JSW DSG
Obviously nothing will touch the TDI for efficiency, but my 2015 Mazda 6 is a solid alternative based on my experience. The Mazda is definitely faster than the TDIs, but certainly doesn't have that torque down low. It isn't a Honda either where it needs to rev out to hit its peak power. The 2.5 hits peak power at a much lower RPM than most 4-cylinders. The auto transmission is an excellent unit as well, but only in models that come equipped with "Sport Mode". Otherwise, they're pretty boring. Handling and braking are also solid as well.

Another alternative in my mind is the 2015+ WRX (non-STI). Fast car, but the new turbo 2.0 is a MUCH more fuel efficient engine than the previous WRX generations.

I do a mix of highway, back roads and city driving, but pretty much stick to the same routes. On average, my real-world MPG ratings on each car:

2013 & 2014 JSW TDI DSG- 42mpg
2015 WRX 6MT - 34mpg
2015 Mazda 6 6AT - 34mpg

If Mazda would bring the 6 wagon to the US, I'd go that route with a manual transmission.
 

rgoetz

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 14, 1999
Location
NJ
TDI
None currently
I found and jumped on a fully-loaded (P+, Sport Pkg, B&O Sound, Blind Spot) CPO 2014 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro with under 22k miles for under $30k plus tax and license. If outperforms my 2014 JSW TDI in every conceivable way apart from cargo versatility and fuel economy.

That's what I'm looking for.
 

Lobo56

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2002
Location
NJ
TDI
2012 Jetta TDI
The Mazda's anemic feel is due to no low end torque. It reminds me of high-revving torque-less Honda gassers I owned years ago. Never again!

If you want a diesel, check out the BMW 328d wagon and sedan models.
The 328d wagon is Xdrive AWD only, no option for RWD.
The 328d sedan is available with RWD or Xdrive AWD.
Since you are leasing your TDI, be sure to check out lease deals on a 328d.

I have driven a 328d Xdrive sedan as a loaner car for the day while my 535d was being serviced. I found it to be surprisingly torquey and had a lot more low end grunt than I expected for a 2.0L engine. Performance IMHO beats a CR TDI and also can be had with AWD. Getting 46 MPG while driving it like I stole it on the highway came as a nice bonus. :cool:

Disclaimer: I am not connected with BMW in any way, shape or form, and I don't work in the auto industry at all. I'm simply a BMW diesel owner after being a TDI owner for 12 years. VW lost me to BMW Advanced Diesel about 3 years ago, having nothing to do with the dieselgate scandal.

Have fun! :)
Have both 328xd and a jetta 2.0 tdi the bmw will run circles around the tdi and still get up in the low 50s on the hwy.
 

Perfectreign

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2013
Location
Los Angeles
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS 5-speed
60-80 was worse in Volt 1. 40-70mph is still kind of a toss-up, not disappointing in the Volt. We had both on the road together for a long time.
The problem with the Volt (aside from the subcompact size in both Gen I and Gen II) is that you don't get any cool diesel smoke when you floor it.
 

Lobo56

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2002
Location
NJ
TDI
2012 Jetta TDI
I wonder why the BMW does so much better?
BMW 328xd 180HP - 280 torque twin powered turbo
2012 Jetta TDI 140 HP - 236 Torque

Don't get me wrong its not a race car but it will put you back in your seat if you get on it. They say 0- 60 in around 7 seconds my bother has a gas 328i which is faster 0-60. We took both out one day and race them side by side beat me by a car length and maybe 8 foot. Not bad for a diesel top end on that if you have top end code removed 130.
 
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zoomydu

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2016
Location
West MI
TDI
2010 Jetta Sportwagen
The base engine in the Mazda 3 is a 2.0, the 2.5 is available with an automatic trans only and I believe in the grand touring which runs up the price.
Nope, manual is available on all trim levels...which is why the 3s GT hatchback is on my list of replacements.
 

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
BMW 328xd 180HP - 280 torque twin powered turbo
2012 Jetta TDI 140 HP - 236 Torque

Don't get me wrong its not a race car but it will put you back in your seat if you get on it. They say 0- 60 in around 7 seconds my bother has a gas 328i which is faster 0-60. We took both out one day and race them side by side beat me by a car length and maybe 8 foot. Not bad for a diesel top end on that if you have top end code removed 130.
You might have noticed that while the 0-60 and 1/4 mile time and speeds are similar, each car drives differently. Those performance numbers really only matter when you're racing. While I like to get on the power and drive my cars like I stole them, I like diesel's overall driveability better than simply being able to win drag races. I never bought a diesel car to win drag races. I care more about how the car drives under all the driving conditions encountered in normal everyday driving. And with my logging around 1k miles/week, I also want the better FE too. I want to be able to have my cake and eat it too.

I have driven a 328d sedan and a 328i sedan as loaner cars at different times when one of my BMWs were at my dealer for service. I was able to test each car under a mix of city and highway driving conditions. I was able to test each on the same route and it's a route that I'm very familiar with. I tested both in COMFORT (startup default) and SPORT modes. With the i, I found the slightest application of power almost always required a downshift whereas the d was much better at holding the gear it was in and simply using the diesel's low end grunt. When pushed, the i required at least 2 downshifts and crazy high RPMs to perform at all, whereas the d would often require one downshift under the same conditions. And of course the i will use a lot more fuel compared to the d when you get on it. Overall I found the i to be all over the place with what gear it wanted to be in whereas the d required a lot less downshifting under the same driving conditions. While both cars got the job done and each did it very well, the i was much busier in the process compared to the d. The d drives 100% better IMHO.

The d wins in my book for overall driveability. :cool: The better FE under real world driving conditions then comes as a bonus. :cool:

Have fun! :)
 
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seth1065

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Location
NJ
TDI
2011 JSW with DSG, Panoroof, rear air bags and the always fun velcro blocks, Blue with beige int
Volvo CPO offer some greta deals but your mileage will go down, no doubt.




Mercedes and volvo are beyond my reach $$. I like to stay below 30k if possible.
I might test drive a GLI and hope that VW treats their TDI customers right.
Doesn't seem to be much else out there. I like my TDI and would stay with it but with emission modifications looming and an expensive dpf thats not on a long term (10 years) warranty I am a bit apprehensive. I do 22,000 mi a year and 6 years or so puts me on my own for expensive emission system problems.
 
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