One of my favourite cars of all time...the Le Car...with a little something extra!
Best milage car
- Thread starter Graves
- Start date
The older VWs (2003 and older) have lots of torque but yes, low on HP. However, mine would still easily get to 195 kph. It dies out around there but how fast do you realistically need to go? They are also way easy to mod for loads more torque and HP. The newer ones are around 140 HP but have boatloads more torque than a gas 140 HP car would and you can barely tell it's a diesel by the sound and noise. A coworker recently bought a Mazda 3 and was trying out all the competition. She said the TDI was "like a rocket ship" in comparison to the other models.
I don't know who told you there were problems with emissions since the whole time I had the car the only e-test I had to do consisted of a mechanic watching it idle for 5 minutes. Never had a problem with that.
If by "maintenance" you're talking about oil and filter changes and whatnot, they are not much worse than most other cars. Just use good oil. If you're talking about reliability they can definitely be a crapshoot. Seems some are either rock solid or they break all the time. From my experience and reading about the experience of others, getting a German-built one helps to guarantee the reliability a little bit.
Other than that, you're looking at some kind of little crap econobox like an Echo/Yaris but they won't tow anything and are like driving a tin can on wheels (my father has two that I drive regularly, they are fun in the city but suck on the highway). Or probably some kind of hybrid but I have no idea how they are for towing.
I've seen people towing massive boats with the VWs. Or towing other VWs with the VW so they should more than meet your needs.
The Toureg TDI will meet all your needs but they are retarded expensive and I hear they break especially often, even for a VW.
Maybe a BMW diesel but they are also a lot more expensive and rare and I have heard of problems with their emissions control systems.
I don't know who told you there were problems with emissions since the whole time I had the car the only e-test I had to do consisted of a mechanic watching it idle for 5 minutes. Never had a problem with that.
If by "maintenance" you're talking about oil and filter changes and whatnot, they are not much worse than most other cars. Just use good oil. If you're talking about reliability they can definitely be a crapshoot. Seems some are either rock solid or they break all the time. From my experience and reading about the experience of others, getting a German-built one helps to guarantee the reliability a little bit.
Other than that, you're looking at some kind of little crap econobox like an Echo/Yaris but they won't tow anything and are like driving a tin can on wheels (my father has two that I drive regularly, they are fun in the city but suck on the highway). Or probably some kind of hybrid but I have no idea how they are for towing.
I've seen people towing massive boats with the VWs. Or towing other VWs with the VW so they should more than meet your needs.
The Toureg TDI will meet all your needs but they are retarded expensive and I hear they break especially often, even for a VW.
Maybe a BMW diesel but they are also a lot more expensive and rare and I have heard of problems with their emissions control systems.
Same situation here. I bought the Jetta TDI because it's economical but also comfortable on long trips and the steering and suspension are very well sorted. The one I have is almost loaded - leather, sunroof, etc., the only stuff I did not get was the trip computer and the remote radio controls on the steering wheel.
The Chevy Cruze is supposed to have a really good interior - GM has made vast improvements in this area. Worth a look. I would consider a Cruze Eco (1.4T with 6-speed manual) ...
Oui, oui.....
Do they still make the LeCar?
He he, those were really interesting cars, if perhaps rather unsuited to North American conditions. The mechanicals are from the old Renault 4, originally introduced in 1961. The engine is lengthwise with the gearbox in front of the engine, that is how they got the front wheels so close to the front.
That model was long since replaced. The Clio is the modern counterpart, obviously not sold here.
optionfa
Well-known member
I have a 2012 TDi jetta and get around 6L/100km going 140 Toronto - Ottawa...
It's rated something like 5.7L/100km highway, and 6.3 city? I'v had it for just under 3 months and have 13,000km on it so I can't really comment on the reliability issues as all I have done is an oil change.
I love the engine, the 240ish lb/f of torque this thing has at 1750 rpm makes it a blast to drive around town and has no problem passing at highway speeds. I have heard that a simple stage 1 ECU tune can really tap into the power in these engines but that's something I won't be doing until the 80k warranty period is over, if at all as this thing has more than enough power for a daily driver, dont let the 140hp fool you it's all about torque with these cars.
Some people criticize the interior in these cars but I find it intuitive and minimalistic, I like it more than the Benz ML500 we have...
I have the highline fully loaded version, comes with nav, fender premium audio (sounds great better than the JBL in our Benz..), and real leather seats.
All that being said the diesel comes at a premium, I believe the base TDi jetta starts around $26,000 taxes and PDI in and my fully loaded version was just over $34,000. Compare that to the new mazda 3 skyactive model which starts around $16,000 and gets comparable city mileage and slightly worse highway mileage the TDi doesn't really compete with the other budget fuel sipping cars.
It's rated something like 5.7L/100km highway, and 6.3 city? I'v had it for just under 3 months and have 13,000km on it so I can't really comment on the reliability issues as all I have done is an oil change.
I love the engine, the 240ish lb/f of torque this thing has at 1750 rpm makes it a blast to drive around town and has no problem passing at highway speeds. I have heard that a simple stage 1 ECU tune can really tap into the power in these engines but that's something I won't be doing until the 80k warranty period is over, if at all as this thing has more than enough power for a daily driver, dont let the 140hp fool you it's all about torque with these cars.
Some people criticize the interior in these cars but I find it intuitive and minimalistic, I like it more than the Benz ML500 we have...
I have the highline fully loaded version, comes with nav, fender premium audio (sounds great better than the JBL in our Benz..), and real leather seats.
All that being said the diesel comes at a premium, I believe the base TDi jetta starts around $26,000 taxes and PDI in and my fully loaded version was just over $34,000. Compare that to the new mazda 3 skyactive model which starts around $16,000 and gets comparable city mileage and slightly worse highway mileage the TDi doesn't really compete with the other budget fuel sipping cars.
195kmh, apparently.
I have read (Globe and Mail Auto) that the Toureg as will the sister SUV's from Audi (Q5-Q7) could knock off the LandRover as the worst reliable SUV ever produced. One quote said that if you squirted a little dash cleaner onto any of the dash panel electrics, the whole dash board will short out out.
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I saw my old car today!
Tim Horton's parking lot in Ancaster. Hmmm, that car looks familiar and there are not too many VW Passats of that body style and that colour and TDI around ... same tinted windows, same trailer hitch, same bug deflector on the front of the hood, and I sold the car to someone in Stoney Creek. It 95+% has to be the same one.
I sold that 6.5 years ago with 462,000 km on it at the time and it's still on the road! Still looked good, too, with no apparent rust on it.
Tim Horton's parking lot in Ancaster. Hmmm, that car looks familiar and there are not too many VW Passats of that body style and that colour and TDI around ... same tinted windows, same trailer hitch, same bug deflector on the front of the hood, and I sold the car to someone in Stoney Creek. It 95+% has to be the same one.
I sold that 6.5 years ago with 462,000 km on it at the time and it's still on the road! Still looked good, too, with no apparent rust on it.
None of these are available any more, but I had one or more of each at one time or another. Datsun 1200, got 42 mpg (6.7 l/100 km) back in the 70's. Didn't drive well drunk however. (DAMHIK) Renault leCar was good for mileage, but the engine on the one I had was a piece of poop, and there was only one local garage that would touch them. They were crap; I had to go under the hood one time when picking it up to adjust it to run correctly after a $550 repair (1980s $). They are no longer in business. Also had a few Chevettes which were cheap to run, although the Automatic tranny was problematic on mine. The manual was fine. The nice thing about Chevettes was if there was a special on some service advertised as xx$ and up, the xx$ was for a Chevette.
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