[s-cars] List wisdom appreciated- if ya' were to buy a diesel passenger car, which one?

[Fred Munro]

Jeff;

I bought a 2005 Passat TDI Wagon to replace my wife's aging Camry. It's been
a good car - good highway cruiser, fabulous fuel economy, lots of interior
space. The BHW diesel engine has had some issues with the chain drive on the
internal balancer failing - when the balancer stops the oil pump stops with
it and bad things can happen shortly thereafter. VW has designed and made
available a gear drive system for the balancer, but you have to install it
on your dime unless the original system fails under warranty. The
replacement drive costs around $1500 and another $1500 to have it installed
if you don't do it yourself. I haven't had a problem with it, but I'm
keeping an ear on it.
Other than that caveat, I'm quite happy with the Passat. It gets around 50
mpg on the highway and close to 35 mpg tootling around town. Lots of torque
- they tend to go through front CV joints if you have a heavy right foot!
If you want info on VW diesels check out www.tdiclub.com
A Passat TDI 4Motion wagon would be nice, but we didn't get them this side
of the pond.

Fred Munro
'97 S6

-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of jeff postupack
Sent: December 15, 2010 10:28 AM
To: S-Cars
Subject: [s-cars] List wisdom appreciated- if ya' were to buy a diesel
passenger car, which one?

Stirring up the list a bit.. for wisdom and experience.

 I can't get what I want, having just returned from Germany customer visits
and zooming around in the 5 series Avant, with turbo diesel. 3 guys and
gear, easily.

In the USA, Audi offers the A3 (too small) and I think the Q7 in diesel.

Of course there's Mercedes, like a  E320 CDL, rear wheel drive of course.

And the Beemer 335 D  , can get the iX drivetrain.

What else?
Posto
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