2012 VW Passat Diesel

[mra35]

Originally Posted by Bueller

The system is set up so the bags don't deploy unless they are going to protect the occupants from more force/injury than the bags themselves are capable of causing. .

This is what I suspected. When I saw that there was no way to avoid an impact, My goal was to deflect some of the energy and I aimed for the shoulder. As can be seen, the other car basically slid down the side. The side impact beam was what redirected a lot of the forces.
Once again I'm glad I was in this car. It's also why it's replacement will be another VW. The Passat TDI has my interest along with the Sportwagon TDI. Still need to find the break even point for diesel premiums vs milage.

[A-Bone]

Originally Posted by mra35

This is what I suspected. When I saw that there was no way to avoid an impact, My goal was to deflect some of the energy and I aimed for the shoulder. As can be seen, the other car basically slid down the side. The side impact beam was what redirected a lot of the forces.
Once again I'm glad I was in this car. It's also why it's replacement will be another VW. The Passat TDI has my interest along with the Sportwagon TDI. Still need to find the break even point for diesel premiums vs milage.

I have a spreadsheet if you pm me your address.... nuthin fancy.. but it helps you figure out if it is worth it... I came up with it a few years ago to see if moving to diesels for our welding trucks was worth the engine upgrade... turned out it wasn't and still isn't...

I can send it to anyone else that is interested for that matter...

In the spreadsheet you supply MPGs and average fuel costs for oil v gas and it returns a dollar value and mileage to breakeven...

[jdiaz]

Originally Posted by A-Bone

In the spreadsheet you supply MPGs and average fuel costs for oil v gas and it returns a dollar value and mileage to breakeven...

Do you have something in the spreadsheet that takes resale value into account? Because TDI's fetch good money on the used market and that should lessen the pain of the increased purchase price....to the point where I imagine its almost a wash?

[Grainbelt]

Those calculations will vary greatly depending on what you use for financing/interest cost as well as your assumptions for inflation and maintenance.

Don't forget to discount the future cashflows.

[jdiaz]

Originally Posted by Grainbelt

Those calculations will vary greatly depending on what you use for financing/interest cost as well as your assumptions for inflation and maintenance.

Don't forget to discount the future cashflows.

Please bitch. No one finances a depreciating asset on Advrider.

[Grainbelt]

Originally Posted by jdiaz

Please bitch. No one finances a depreciating asset on Advrider.

I know I'm missing work when I consider doing that math for fun.

[Bueller]

Originally Posted by Grainbelt

I know I'm missing work when I consider doing that math for fun.

When the day comes that I'm not working I'm pretty confident I'm not going to miss it.

You need help.

[Jurgen]

Originally Posted by A-Bone

I have a spreadsheet if you pm me your address.... nuthin fancy.. but it helps you figure out if it is worth it... I came up with it a few years ago to see if moving to diesels for our welding trucks was worth the engine upgrade... turned out it wasn't and still isn't...

I can send it to anyone else that is interested for that matter...

In the spreadsheet you supply MPGs and average fuel costs for oil v gas and it returns a dollar value and mileage to breakeven...

At the moment, in NM, the diesel/gasoline disparity is HUGE. I can find regular for 2.78 close to me, but the cheapest diesel in the area is 3.68. Fortunately, I doubt this is a permanent condition. Usually the difference is closer to 10%-15%.

[eatpasta]

"gassed" up the Passat today for the first time.... 38 mpg with mixed highway and city driving.... not bad at all.

Freaking LOVE this car. Its a little big for me but its really nice to have.

[Balanzed]

Originally Posted by eatpasta

"gassed" up the Passat today for the first time.... 38 mpg with mixed highway and city driving.... not bad at all.

Freaking LOVE this car. Its a little big for me but its really nice to have.

We went out and looked over the new Beetle. Very nice job VW did there. Much better looking IMO than the old one and very roomy inside, in the front at least, but I don't have to buy a vehicle for a family.
I'd like to try the new Passat and I hope they are being sincere when they say that the quality is back on track. My wife still drives her VW golf from 1994 Last Monday morning in rush hour traffic it decided it was a good idea to get a new timing belt after 155.000 mls. POS! We were lucky it didn't brake anything. No valves bent, no pistons smashed so now it'll go another 80.000. That bloody thing has never ever not started. NEVER!!! And it's still quick off the line with it's 2.0 ltr and gets 31 mpg. Like I said POS!
BTW, really liked your pics of it. Nice color too.

[discochris]

I'd keep the Fit. I've been waffling for a year now about getting rid of mine, and I still have it. I really wanted either a Jeep Wrangler or a Nissan Frontier, but a bunch has changed in the last 12 months (new house, baby due in a few weeks) and I can't really afford to get a different vehicle right now. That said, the Fit, despite its faults, is as reliable a car as I've ever owned. I expect to drive it until it dies, at which point I'm going to get something I love, rather than something utilitarian.

[JNRobert]

Not bad (it's a cheap A4 right )

p.s. why can't I buy the VW I really want: Scirocco.

[Jurgen]

Originally Posted by JNRobert

Not bad (it's a cheap A4 right )

p.s. why can't I buy the VW I really want: Scirocco.

Truth about cars did a round up of four VWs (Jetta GLi, GTI, GolfR, Beatle) They scored the GLI as number one.

...Remember how, in the Beetle test, I complained that the Beetle has the shortest wheelbase and should be the most nimble, but simply isn’t? There’s a reverse effect here at work in the GLI. The steering is lighter than that of the GTI or Beetle, and it’s more willing to be steered. I was faster everywhere in the GLI than I was in the GTI. Some of that was due to increasing familiarity with the road, but at least half of my better pace was because the GLI gives a slightly surer sense of place. It’s not something that I can empirically describe in a road test, but I found myself running a few inches farther out on every corner exit, loading up the steering just a touch more, simply getting more from the GLI than I could from the others.

Driving the manual-transmission Jetta after the DSG model removed my fears that I’d somehow accidentally gotten Puebla’s Best GLI Ever the first time. If anything, the manual car was even more willing to run at the edge of the tire. As with the Golf R, there’s a frustrating refusal to “blip” the revs when heel-and-toeing. I eventually learned to actually use my heel to kick the accelerator almost to the carpet. Problem solved, albeit inelegantly. Were I to buy a GLI, I would pick the manual for simplicity and fun, although the DSG is certainly faster in almost all circumstances.

This is a good car, and although we live in an era of good cars, this one deserves your attention and consideration. As much as I enjoyed the GTI, I simply enjoyed the GLI more. It has nothing to do with the trunk, or the value, or the interior quality, or any of the other canards raised when we discuss the current-generation Jetta. This very subjective test boils to down the fact that, had VW given me time to drive the route yet again, I would have chosen another GLI over another GTI. It’s a greater pleasure to drive, and since driving pleasure is the whole reason to spend the extra money for the red-trim Volkswagens, I think it’s the winner. If that seems contrarian, I apologize. It’s like to think that it’s “forthright”, or perhaps even that most reassuring of words: “truthful”.

[A-Bone]

Originally Posted by Jurgen

At the moment, in NM, the diesel/gasoline disparity is HUGE. I can find regular for 2.78 close to me, but the cheapest diesel in the area is 3.68. Fortunately, I doubt this is a permanent condition. Usually the difference is closer to 10%-15%.

It has been more pronounced than usual around here too... I think the delta was about $0.65 at my last fill-up..

[A-Bone]

Originally Posted by jdiaz

Do you have something in the spreadsheet that takes resale value into account? Because TDI's fetch good money on the used market and that should lessen the pain of the increased purchase price....to the point where I imagine its almost a wash?

We had the 6.0L diesels in our F-350's at the time... so resale valuations were not a factor... what a frickin turd of an engine... now if they had been the prior generation 7.3's... different story...

But generally we drive them into the ground, so resale/salvage value is not a consideration...

For VW: This should definitely be a consideration...