My V70 T5 is approaching 100K miles. While not trouble free, I have been pleased with it overall. I put on ~ 23,000 miles/yr at 24MPG hwy/75-80MPH.

Today I finally stopped in and test drove a Jetta TDI. I really liked it and thought the acceleration was acceptable/pretty good. (my biggest concern).
Reported 48 MPG hwy. Friends w/TDI's report that as accurate.
Dealer price: $27,000 which includes $2K "premium".

VW supposedly considering not selling any TDI's next year as wait for Diesel/sulfur level issues to be implemented.

While cost is not the only consideration, I figure my savings w/TDI:

Gas $3/Gal: $1250/yr
$5 2085/yr
$6 2500/yr

I'm told these TDI's can go for 2-300,000 miles.

I had heard negative things about VW reliability but dealer (of course) said these were addressed. VW "boards" didn't mention prominent problems recently.

Local Volvo dealer/service has been fair mostly, poor occasionally. About a 20 min drive from my house.

VW dealer (also has Honda) has excellent reputation, could walk home if had to.

Looking for input as to pro's/con's going with the TDI.

Thanks in advance.

Well I have doen a very similar thing recently, traded my 95 850 2.5 20 valve auto with 100k in against a Skode Superb 2.5 tdi 6 speed, the Superb IS basicaly a VW passat with the Audi Tdi engine and running gear (it even SAYS audi on it!).

Having put a few thousand on it I think i can comment a bit on this one.

The skoda is as good to drive long distance as the volvo, no better no worse. On local roads it appears to handle worse (then again the volvo had T5 suspension and a c70 strut brace) BUT its no wonder it feels like its rolling more, if you look atthe speedo your generally carrying 10-15 mph more through the corners...

The brakes suck by comparison, but thats a diesel thing - vacume pumps and all.

Its FAR quicker than the volvo, partly due to the 6 speed manual box and partly due to that WALL of torque the TDi engine produces (the hp is within a spit of being equal). If anyone tells you deisels are slow its cos they havent driven a modern one!

Being the v6 its a refined engine, a little deisel clatter at start up from cold but 1/2 a mile down the road and ou dont know your driving a deisel...and neither does anyone else.

51 MPG at 75 on the highway, 38 mpg round town - compair that to 30 mpg /18mpg from the volvo (again the manual box helps a bit here to be fair)

Build quality is, I would say higher than the volvo in the cabin.

What I miss is the rock solid handling of the volvo, but then again i dont miss feeling every twig through the seat of my pants. I DO miss the twin zone climate (i only have single zone) and i do miss the leather interior (got too good a deal on the skoda to worry about that!). The stereo was batter on the volvo at the bottom end.

Things like refrigerated glovebox's/drinks holders are nice touch in the skoda as are the hooks to hang your shopping bags on in the boot (trunk for you americans). The drinks holders are in ruddy stupid place thouhgh....but then again the volvo didnt have any!

I do like the integral umbrella & storage...

I really do thing Tdi makes sense cracking performance and blistering fuel economy combined, as to which manufacturer thats a moot point. in terms of engine I think its a clsoe run thing between Mercedes and Peugeot for no.1 spot, VW probably come a close third - after that your into the wrapper round the engine - and you can do a LOT worse than VAG......

If you save $1300 a year, how long will you have to drive it before you break even if you were to get a good price for your V70?
Why would anyone buy a car OVER suggested retail?
In order to do work on the VW engine, you must remove the front end of the car! If you don't believe me, take a look in the service bays.
I, too, wish we could get Volvo diesels here. Even with current scrubbers which have to be replaced every time the oil gets changed, I would still be happy. Happier still if they mixed corn oil and fuel oil at 50%.

Klaus
--
(V♂LV♂s 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)

I just had to chime in-after 5 US-spec Volvos, the last one (98 XC) being transported to and driven in the UK, I have for the last year been the owner of a UK-spec 98 V70 TDi. Even at 160K, it is clearly the best of both worlds: bullet-proof VW (actually, Audi A-6) 2.5 5-cyl TDi engine that gets 46 on the highway fully loaded and with a car-top box; Volvo manual transmission, 7-seat comfortable interior, space, etc. And while a step down from the LPT, it is not all that slow-turbo lag is pretty big, a lot of pulling power.

A VW Jetta can not possibly be worth $27,000 - doesn't matter what engine it has or how far it will go on a gallon of fuel.

I actually owned one of the very first TDIS in the US> I bought it in 1996 for 18K new. A passat TDI. The engine was flawless, and averages around 52MPG, as high as 65. Keep in mind this was a passat. There have been minor improvements in the current TDI, but basically the same great engine. My thoughts on owning volvos and VWs are this:

1. TDI is a GREAT engine and fuel economy trumps hybrids
2. VW service SUCKS and parts are VERY expensive. Think AUDI.
3. My volvo V70 is far more comfortable and will last 300K

My advice is wait one year and you will see:

BMW 3 and 5 series diesel (YES, they publically announced they will be bringing these to USA)
Volvo will soon follow with their D5 engine
Honda will have three diesels
VW will be switching to common rail injection finally

Drive your Volvo suck up the fuel costs and wait for all the new diesels that will be headed here.

Nate

Consumer Reports doesn't recommend any VWs at the moment.

I have a cousin who has a bunch of the things -- VW diesels. He's also into "free" bio-diesel. You might think he's some sort of eco-weenie but he's actually a retired USAF Colonel who also collects guns and actually owns a working Civil War mountain howitzer. I think he's nuts. His wife and kid may too, but they wouldn't say so. Yeah, like everything they VW diesels will last 300,000 miles but like a Volvo you'll need to replace everything three, four even five times.

IMHO gasoline isn't going to $6 soon because if it hits $6 in the USA it's going to be $12 in Europe and $12 gasoline will throw about half the world out of work. Ain't gonna happen, at least not tomorrow. $2.18 gas (NYMEX wholesale today) is enough to throw a wet towel over the world economies all by itself which should decrease demand.

If you want a recommendation, go to your nearby VW-Honda dealer, but buy an Accord EX 4-cylinder with a stick shift. It's the finest car sold today for below the actual invoice. It gets decent gas mileage too, and it's as reliable as stink. The $8000 you'll save on it vs. the TDI will buy you about 80,000 miles of gasoline.

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 168k mi, velour cloth seats, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, XC grill, Lidatek LE30, V-1, Mobil-1 since new

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." -- Douglas Noel Adams (1952-2001)