2003 VW Jetta TDI Diesel

This Diesel drives just like a regular gas car and the average driver would never know the difference. It's also got all kinds of torque and eats Colorado mountain passes for breakfast. I've been known to pass everyone going up Mt. Vernon Canyon (that steep part of I-70 between Denver and Genesee that has 6% grades) at unsafe speeds. This car is so much fun, that it's easy to forget that I'm getting 45+ MPG.

Diesel engines are tougher than gas engines because the fuel puts out so much more energy. So Maintenance is less frequent, but more expensive. The manual only reccomends oil changes every 10k miles, but I've paid around $90 for a scheduled service call. The dealership also quoted a new timing belt at $1200!!! Yikes!!!

Diesel is 20% more expensive than gas but I get 30% better mileage, so I still com out ahead there. Overall It's a good car, but It's not saving me as much money as I hoped it would. But I'm still burning less fuel overall whch is why I bought it in the first place.