[Vwdiesel] Re:Mileage:NAvsTD?(RANT caution)

[Doyt W. Echelberger]

Hello Shawn........My '82 Jetta NAD got about 38mpUSg, and my '85 Jetta TD
gets about the same mileage, maybe a tad better. I think it has more to do
with how I drive, rather than being a factor of the efficiency of the
engines. The TD _might_ get better mileage, but I drive it harder at
highway speed, in a more aggressive fashion, because (like a mountain to
climb)it will respond. I didn't drive the 82 NA the same way because there
was no point in it. It didn't respond. Great car, but nothing like the TD
in performance over 35 mph. It was working pretty hard to get over 85 mph.
In fact, it was working pretty hard to run at 70. My TD is playful at
65-70, and I have to watch the speedometer to avoid turbo creep into the
speeding ticket zone.

The NA diesel in my 84 Rabbit is lots of fun around town, because it is a
light weight car and the gearing is low enough to take advantage of the low
RPM diesel torque. But is  running out of sizzle at 65. Maybe it is just
showing it's age. I do like driving that old Rabbit around town.

Personally, I think your figure of 40mpUSg with the TD is a remarkable and
enviable achievement.

AND.......(which you didn't ask about) I am ready to act on my decision to
buy a new or recntly used manual tranny Jetta or Passat TDI this year or
next. The price of diesel fuel has been so volatile that I want to minimize
the leverage oil companies have on my pocketbook over the next 10 years.
Plus, I think there are huge numbers of additional economic factors
operating to push diesel fuel prices lower or at least hold them where they
are, to keep the trucking and railway systems and military vehicles
operating in the USA. Nobody can afford to let those systems get much more
expensive.

RANT: Frankly, I'm a little worried that the USA is already into a losing
spiral of rising costs and falling employment, with huge government
deficits ahead, bankruptcy escalation, and other unpleasant stuff. People
around me are getting laid off or not hired, as every institution from
local government to Ford and American Airlines is trying to deal with
falling revenues and rising prices. They just cut the payroll by letting
huge numbers of people go, or they fold up and disappear. Hope it turns
around. Sorry for the rant.

Interesting topic.

Doyt Echelberger
84 NA Rabbit
85 TD Jetta
82 NA Jetta RIP
 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
At 08:05 AM 5/10/2003 -0700, you wrote:
>For those of you who've driven both NA & TD engines in similar vehicles,
>how have you found the mileage to compare?