2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI rated 43 mpg highway, priced from $25,995*

It's actually not so bad having tall gearing as long as there's decent low end and midrange torque. My car is geared relatively tall, 1600rpm at 60mph, but as long as I keep it above 1500 or so rpm then there's more than enough torque for highway passing or hill climbing. But for those people without the torque boost of a turbo, there may indeed be a good amount of shifting required.

 

And why is downshifting a bad thing? This belief is partly responsible for the horsepower wars. Performance minded car reviewers saw it as bad thing in an automatic, but they'll do it for fun in a manual, and so the manufacturers responded with more power to reduce the occurance of downshifting. It didn't help that the public couldn't read their car manuals or see past D on the gear shift.

 

My Fiesta has a 4.05 final drive and there are people getting over 50mpg on the hwy with them. I do around 30 in the city which isn't Prius good but we also spent over 4k less on the Fiesta too.

Apparently Ford did greenlight the 3cyl turbo 1l for the US Fiesta...it is supposed to perform the same as the 120hp 1.6l 4cyl and get better econ.

Those guys getting 50+ in Fiestas will likely beat 60+ in a 1l version.

Of course, if we just had the Fiesta it would be miserable trying to haul anything so the Prius is still queen of the household for trips and purchases.

 

I had an older Passat and it lived up to VW's reputation - a terrific driving car and not a great car to own - it had its share of issues.

One thing to keep in mind when looking at both the new Passat and Jetta is that in the past the US got the same cars as the rest of the world, but that has changed. VW has started producing them in the US and the cars are now quite different than their foreign counterparts. My understanding is that the 2 big changes that VW made to them to boost sales in the US were to make them bigger and less expensive. To cut cost they made the interiors (one of the best parts of a VW) far cruddier and also changed out a large number of mechanicals - for example I believe that they changed the suspension on the Jetta to a simpler system that has affected the ride in a negative way. So while the cars are less expensive you wind up having a car that is less enjoyable to drive with the same quality questions.

 

I saw the Passat TDI at a dealer and also saw The Diesel Driver magazine's review. Build quality looked excellent to me.

2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI – Review and First Drive/Road Test
By Jonathan Spira

The 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI will be arriving at VW dealerships soon and we had an opportunity to pick up the car at the factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and drive it to Nashville.
The Passat 2.0L …

 

German cars (BMW, VW, Audi, Mercedes)have great style and design, which makes them so tempting to own, but my experiences with VW, Audi, and Mercedes have been nightmares. High maintenance costs and major repairs. Most everyone I know with a German car has had similar experiences.

 

I have an '09 Jetta TDI. The car itself, as long as nothing goes wrong, is great. The problem is VW dealers just plain suck and if a part goes bad, they're very expensive. The particulate filter alone for my car goes for $2900.

 

Did you mean to say: $29.00 dollars?

 

No he didn't. And if he does any amount of start stop driving outside of warranty he'd better start saving now!

 

Forgive my ignorance about diesel, but I wonder how long does the filter last or better put, the particulate filter is good for how many miles.

 

Vw says to have the dealer check the DPF around the 120,000 mile mark to see if there's any clogging. Now, that's just one part of the exhaust. There's also a NOX trap and a Sulfur trap in the exhaust along with a flap that opens and closes for emissions cleansing, too. All in all, an entire exhaust system is in the $4400 range. The price of clean diesel.

 

I'll let you know how it compares to the Prius as far as real world MPG soon. Just ordered one with the 6 speed manual today, should be here mid September.

Really nice driving car (the dealer demo) that has massive amounts of room and looks and feels solid. No knock on the Prius (I mean, we own one of course), it just isn't even a like comparison. The Toyota does everything well and extra reliably, but is about as bland to drive as it gets. The Passat is a "sports" sedan and drives as such, although this new one is much smoother than my '97.

Having both should be the best of both worlds. As a previous post said, the newer TDI is not as robust as the older 1.9 version, but still a good drivetrain. My '97 has averaged 43-45mpg over the last 30,000 miles. If the new one can do 40, I will be perfectly happy given the (much) larger size.

 

Congrats with your new car. Hope to see some pics once you get it.

I may not be a diesel fan BUT I am a fan of efficient cars and the more higher mileage cars the world has the better for all. Your neighbours will be surprised when they see your new car as it will smash their diesel reconceptions on the head - esp when you show them your mpg's.