Originally Posted By: Tornado Red
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Rule number 1, must be fuel efficient.
Rule number 2, must be comfortable and stylish
Rule number 4, automatic transmission or CVT
Rule number 3, sticker below $30,000
To reiterate, for comfort, style, price, and fuel efficiency, there is no better car than a Volkswagen TDI. I note that some of you owned one in the past and had bad experiences, either with EGR clogging because of high-sulfur diesel fuel or because you had to rely on incompetent dealership mechanics.
But if a prospective buyer knows what he's getting into... if he has an independent TDI expert he can rely on, so he can avoid the dealerships... if he takes the time to understand the mechanicals, the injection system, the forced induction system, the emissions control system (regretfully, this cannot be disabled so easily in the newer models).
It is quite pleasant to travel 600, 700, or even 800 miles on a single tank of fuel, often observing 45 mpg or even better, in comfortable seats, in an ergonomically designed cockpit. I have driven solo many times between California and the Midwest, about 1900 miles, once in only 30 hours and many times in 36-40 hours, and needed only a regular night's sleep to be totally refreshed. I do not know of many other cars like this.
Additionally, with so much torque available the TDIs are excellent tow vehicles for light trailers. A TDI and a 4'x8' flatbed utility trailer makes for a useful combination, in many cases obviating the need for a pickup truck.
TDIs are also fun to drive; it is satisfying to maintain a constant speed or even accelerate up steep grades in top gear, while all around many 6- and 8-cylinder cars are slowing down and the drivers must downshift. A warning though: it is often necessary to use the cruise control to maintain a legal or semi-legal speed -- they want to run and if you're not careful you may glance down and see the speedometer at 90 mph or higher; they are deceptively fast.
But if you want a car that you can buy and forget, ignoring maintenance... or if you don't plan to drive many miles or to keep a car for very long... then a TDI is probably not for you.
Volkswagens are not the only choices. Audi has the A3 TDI, Mercedes and BMW have their own diesel-powered cars, but the Audi is right at the $30k limit the OP established and the others are priced even higher.
And the Audi, if I recall, uses the exact same VW powertrain, yet somehow managing to have even higher repair costs.
