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8 weeks into an awesome relationship!

1K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  mu2bdriver 
#1 ·
-oh sorry, were you expecting this to be an e-Dating post or something? No? Good 'cause I am talking about my budding relationship with my 2 month old '15 Passat TDI. So, as a point of parliamentary procedure (and per Mr. BangBangs introduction rules) allow me to get the particulars out of the way:
I live in Sarasota County about 70 miles south of Tampa, where I work. So weekly I put on 675 to 700 miles; overall, my car travel is 90% highway time, typically I-75 & 275, etc. . .

Now, I used to do this trip in my Toyota Avalon (2005- bought new). It was a good, sound, and like a rock darn-reliable post college car for days where I did not have to commute more than 30-40 miles daily for work. Big, comfy, cozy and generally the same engine as an ES class Lexus. I looked at it as '...all the engineering, without the nameplate; for 15k less!' And as you'd expect; I looked like every other middle aged retiree one expected to find in this part of Florida. The issue became, as my commute changed to a Tampa focus: -fuel cost. As gas prices spiked in summer / fall 2013, my cars' mileage wasn't improving: usually around 22-25 mpg. Not terrible but not cost effective, especially when one considers that I paid $3.809/gal in Tampa.

So when the time came to make a change, back to a diesel I went. Diesels were good enough for my parents in the 70's & 80's (240 TD, 300 SD) and in the 70's I remember pulling right past those on line waiting for GAS. There were never problems getting diesel. Thus, as an adult, I came to the conclusion that even a hybrid will have to 'suckle' up to the gas pump at some point. So if the end of the world did hit, I wanted that 3rd alternative (Hail: STTNG)!

Enter VW's TDI, and I'm really likin' this! My numbers over the last 8 weeks are showing generally 38-40 mpg and thats at 75-80 mph on I-75 with A.C. going. She handles awesomely. I'd never think to throw my Avalon across 3 lanes of highway traffic at speed. But this car asks for it; and comes back for more! Again, lets go back to those diesels I spoke of my parents driving. I remember taking my ( NYC metro area) drivers license test in my fathers '83 M.B. 300 SDL: how that thing wanted to throw its rear end out in the snow or rain when the turbo kicked in at 2nd gear. Talk of the original '...junk-in-the-trunk.' And how painfully slow they were getting up to speed. NOT the new TDI's. I am stunned how FAST this car is once it gets past the 'diesel-lag'. The car is so fast that I had to go put a local traffic ticket defense law firm on permanent retainer, so confident am I that a speeding citation is imminent. (lol) Seriously though, The Ticket Clinic: especially for those FHP wolf pack speed trap tickets with the friggin' airplane on i-75, near the rest area at mile marker 237-238!

So, like I said: 2 months and things are looking really good. Getting ready to swap out the stock 245 / 45 R18 Continental tires for some 255 35 R18 Pirellis, for some added stick to the road. I find that the TDI-Passat has so much torque coming out of turns that she's slipping a bit. A bit wider foot print on the road will help with that! Mechanically, all good: no rattles, no problems through the first 6k miles. Damn sun-roof / vent is a 'p.i.t.a.'; the vent is really difficult to get to close properly and one time it caught the felt border of the glass the wrong way and almost stripped it off. Haven't used the vent since.

We'll see what happens; nonetheless, I'll look forward to helping spread the word here and taking away a whole lot of TDI and diesel knowledge. See you on the roads!
 
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#4 · (Edited)
Mu2bdriver, ordinarily I might be inclined to agree with you but consider this:
the stats say, the longer you spend out on the roads (e.g.: slowing down), the higher the likely-hood of being in a serious accident.
So we could say that:
by going a bit faster, I'm decreasing the time on the road and thus my time exposed to the chance of a wreck. So I'm going to stick with my philosophy on self preservation, but thank you!
-lol :rolleyes:
 
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