[Dan DiBiase]

________________________________
From: Brett Dikeman <brett.dikeman at gmail.com>
To: Dan DiBiase <d_dibiase at yahoo.com>
Cc: Unka Bart <gatorojo at earthlink.net>; quattro at audifans.com
Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2009 11:47:47 AM
Subject: Re:

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...
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That's the plan....

If you look at the specs, it is very close in size in most measurements to my 2004 A4, which is a little
tight in the back when I have all 3 of my kids. Of course, son #1 is off at college these days, so not
much call for 5 of us in the car. But the Passat has a couple of extra inches in shoulder room in the
back.

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA