[Brett Dikeman]

On Sat, Aug 22, 2009 at 11:32 AM, Dan DiBiase<d_dibiase at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Ooo, I'll be interested in your real-world experiences with the car. The lease expires on our van on Dec 1, and we are
> looking to downsize. The Jetta SW TDI is one car I want to look at, even though I think it will be a bit small for our needs.

Tthey sure look big.  Every time I see one, it looks like it's With
Child in the back.

DSG and TDI seem like a match made in heaven. Narrow rev range, lots
of gears in a transmission that shifts lickidy-split.

http://jalopnik.com/5277531/2009-vw-jetta-sportwagen-tdi-part-one

Having driven a couple of DSG cars, I agree that it is a bit weird and
the downshift behavior for 1st gear is annoying (basically, it should
never touch 1st unless you mash it when you're in 2nd)...but if you've
driven a manual, they are grossly exaggerating the negative
experience.  You will not find its behavior that odd (for example,
when you lift and get a fair bit of engine braking, though in the TDI
it may be much stronger than the 2.0TQ and 3.2Q.)  The first
generation units in the A3Q 3.2L had an irritating creep/initial go
behavior.  The second generation dry clutch units, at least in the
2.0TQ I drove, are superior; the behavior is much more refined, and
you no longer get annoyed leaving every stoplight or crawling along in
traffic. Dunno which is in the TDI.

The tuning companies have DSG software mods available, and some people
seem very happy with them, so there is the potential for something
different if you're not happy with the stock behavior.

Definitely test-drive one regardless...

Brett