Jetta + Golf TDi

[GaToR]

Jetta:

Nice interior. Same on the Golf (like literally, the same).

Surprisingly too much wind noise. Body roll was unacceptable. Same engine as below, so I'll just explain it there.


Golf:

Quieter (surprisingly), smoother, and hella sporty. A real little flick-around car. Quick as a mosquito. And the kicker was, it was on snow tires. I'm actually really interested to see what that car would do on all-seasons or summers.

Little pokey from a dead stop, but once in the torque band it feels like an astonishingly quick car. It even likes to rev to 5K rpms, much like my other favorite diesel found in the 335d.

The horsepower numbers aren't really that impressive, but its the ease of which it delivers it that makes it seem a lot faster than it likely is.


So... is it a performance bargain? Probably not. Is it a fun bargain? Absolutely! You could probably get a lot of Mazda, Ford, or Subaru for $25K. But raw numbers don't really do justice to the driving experience of either of the sporty diesels I've driven (this and the aforementioned 335d). Torque, mixed with being able to claim 30+ mpg while flogging makes them fairly practical.

Love. Diesel.

[Sabre]

Nice write up as always! I'm shocked that the Gold was that much better! I may need to go take a test drive