Jetta TDI Sportswegen
01-17-2010, 08:49 AM
#1
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Jetta TDI Sportswegen
I'm looking for a new car for my wife. It's gonna be a little hatchback kinda thing. Gas Mileage is important, they can't be too big.
Thought I'd share some thoughts
VW Sportwagen TDI (Jetta)
I was really impressed with this. Interior was really nice, with typical German feel. The car handeled really well I could stuff it into a corner and feel confident.
The Diesel motor was awesome. It was the quietest car we drove. Could barely hear the thing idle from outside the car. Pulled HARD until 4000RPM and then leveled off quickly, pretty typical. My only downsides for the car
1) The brakes felt funny. They had a very sudden engagement point in the pedal travel. I think it just takes getting used to
2) No automatic climate control. Its not the end of the world, but on a car like this I expected
Subaru Forrester (base model)
I was originally going to try an Outback, but my wife thought it was too big.
The Forrester has gotten a lot prettier in the last couple of years, the redesign has treated it well. It no longer looks like a Suzuki Samurai.
The interior is huge inside now, tons of space. That said, it feels kinda cheap inside. The Center Console is functional, but ugly.
The engine was definitely a Subaru, it felt exactly how I thought it would. I was kinda struck by how loud and rattly the exhaust was. I've owned 3 Impreza's and this one was just more obnoxious. Maybe it the "dual exhaust" setup they are using now.
Handling didn't overwhelm me. I took a on ramp "S" pretty hard and the car did no inspire confidence. It didn't do anything bad, but the body lean was excessive.
Gas Mileage ratings were not what I had hoped.
Honda Crosstour
This JUST came out. I don't think the Honda Salesmen had really even driven one yet.
First impression - this thing is WIDE. It's similar in width to one of my 2500 Dodge Rams. Inside it was some good space, easy room for 5 with cargo. The car feels, well like a Honda. Very well put together, very well thought-out, and not very exciting.
The viability out of the rear is bad, I'm really suprised that there is not a back-up camera on the car (ie FX35) to help you get into a parking spot.
The V6 engine is rated at 271HP (!) but after driving the car... it's not making anywhere near that. I'm guessing more like 220.
Gas mileage sucks at 17-27MPG. I really don't understand the problem with car makers and fuel econ now. My 1983 Rabbit GTI got 38MPG and I drove with the throttle wide open all the time. My dad's 2002 Z06 Vette gets 19-28MPG.
In general the car drove well; there was a light on the dash to tell us when the selective cylinder shutdown was happening. It was seamless, you could not tell by how the car was running.
Thought I'd share some thoughts
VW Sportwagen TDI (Jetta)
I was really impressed with this. Interior was really nice, with typical German feel. The car handeled really well I could stuff it into a corner and feel confident.
The Diesel motor was awesome. It was the quietest car we drove. Could barely hear the thing idle from outside the car. Pulled HARD until 4000RPM and then leveled off quickly, pretty typical. My only downsides for the car
1) The brakes felt funny. They had a very sudden engagement point in the pedal travel. I think it just takes getting used to
2) No automatic climate control. Its not the end of the world, but on a car like this I expected
Subaru Forrester (base model)
I was originally going to try an Outback, but my wife thought it was too big.
The Forrester has gotten a lot prettier in the last couple of years, the redesign has treated it well. It no longer looks like a Suzuki Samurai.
The interior is huge inside now, tons of space. That said, it feels kinda cheap inside. The Center Console is functional, but ugly.
The engine was definitely a Subaru, it felt exactly how I thought it would. I was kinda struck by how loud and rattly the exhaust was. I've owned 3 Impreza's and this one was just more obnoxious. Maybe it the "dual exhaust" setup they are using now.
Handling didn't overwhelm me. I took a on ramp "S" pretty hard and the car did no inspire confidence. It didn't do anything bad, but the body lean was excessive.
Gas Mileage ratings were not what I had hoped.
Honda Crosstour
This JUST came out. I don't think the Honda Salesmen had really even driven one yet.
First impression - this thing is WIDE. It's similar in width to one of my 2500 Dodge Rams. Inside it was some good space, easy room for 5 with cargo. The car feels, well like a Honda. Very well put together, very well thought-out, and not very exciting.
The viability out of the rear is bad, I'm really suprised that there is not a back-up camera on the car (ie FX35) to help you get into a parking spot.
The V6 engine is rated at 271HP (!) but after driving the car... it's not making anywhere near that. I'm guessing more like 220.
Gas mileage sucks at 17-27MPG. I really don't understand the problem with car makers and fuel econ now. My 1983 Rabbit GTI got 38MPG and I drove with the throttle wide open all the time. My dad's 2002 Z06 Vette gets 19-28MPG.
In general the car drove well; there was a light on the dash to tell us when the selective cylinder shutdown was happening. It was seamless, you could not tell by how the car was running.
01-17-2010, 01:36 PM
#8
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Sonoma County
Posts: 3,985
Car Info: '98/'04 Foresters (S & XT)
I'm looking for a new car for my wife. It's gonna be a little hatchback kinda thing. Gas Mileage is important, they can't be too big.
Thought I'd share some thoughts
VW Sportwagen TDI (Jetta)
I was really impressed with this. Interior was really nice, with typical German feel. The car handeled really well I could stuff it into a corner and feel confident.
The Diesel motor was awesome. It was the quietest car we drove. Could barely hear the thing idle from outside the car. Pulled HARD until 4000RPM and then leveled off quickly, pretty typical. My only downsides for the car
1) The brakes felt funny. They had a very sudden engagement point in the pedal travel. I think it just takes getting used to
2) No automatic climate control. Its not the end of the world, but on a car like this I expected
Subaru Forrester (base model)
I was originally going to try an Outback, but my wife thought it was too big.
The Forrester has gotten a lot prettier in the last couple of years, the redesign has treated it well. It no longer looks like a Suzuki Samurai.
The interior is huge inside now, tons of space. That said, it feels kinda cheap inside. The Center Console is functional, but ugly.
The engine was definitely a Subaru, it felt exactly how I thought it would. I was kinda struck by how loud and rattly the exhaust was. I've owned 3 Impreza's and this one was just more obnoxious. Maybe it the "dual exhaust" setup they are using now.
Handling didn't overwhelm me. I took a on ramp "S" pretty hard and the car did no inspire confidence. It didn't do anything bad, but the body lean was excessive.
Gas Mileage ratings were not what I had hoped.
Honda Crosstour
This JUST came out. I don't think the Honda Salesmen had really even driven one yet.
First impression - this thing is WIDE. It's similar in width to one of my 2500 Dodge Rams. Inside it was some good space, easy room for 5 with cargo. The car feels, well like a Honda. Very well put together, very well thought-out, and not very exciting.
The viability out of the rear is bad, I'm really suprised that there is not a back-up camera on the car (ie FX35) to help you get into a parking spot.
The V6 engine is rated at 271HP (!) but after driving the car... it's not making anywhere near that. I'm guessing more like 220.
Gas mileage sucks at 17-27MPG. I really don't understand the problem with car makers and fuel econ now. My 1983 Rabbit GTI got 38MPG and I drove with the throttle wide open all the time. My dad's 2002 Z06 Vette gets 19-28MPG.
In general the car drove well; there was a light on the dash to tell us when the selective cylinder shutdown was happening. It was seamless, you could not tell by how the car was running.
Thought I'd share some thoughts
VW Sportwagen TDI (Jetta)
I was really impressed with this. Interior was really nice, with typical German feel. The car handeled really well I could stuff it into a corner and feel confident.
The Diesel motor was awesome. It was the quietest car we drove. Could barely hear the thing idle from outside the car. Pulled HARD until 4000RPM and then leveled off quickly, pretty typical. My only downsides for the car
1) The brakes felt funny. They had a very sudden engagement point in the pedal travel. I think it just takes getting used to
2) No automatic climate control. Its not the end of the world, but on a car like this I expected
Subaru Forrester (base model)
I was originally going to try an Outback, but my wife thought it was too big.
The Forrester has gotten a lot prettier in the last couple of years, the redesign has treated it well. It no longer looks like a Suzuki Samurai.
The interior is huge inside now, tons of space. That said, it feels kinda cheap inside. The Center Console is functional, but ugly.
The engine was definitely a Subaru, it felt exactly how I thought it would. I was kinda struck by how loud and rattly the exhaust was. I've owned 3 Impreza's and this one was just more obnoxious. Maybe it the "dual exhaust" setup they are using now.
Handling didn't overwhelm me. I took a on ramp "S" pretty hard and the car did no inspire confidence. It didn't do anything bad, but the body lean was excessive.
Gas Mileage ratings were not what I had hoped.
Honda Crosstour
This JUST came out. I don't think the Honda Salesmen had really even driven one yet.
First impression - this thing is WIDE. It's similar in width to one of my 2500 Dodge Rams. Inside it was some good space, easy room for 5 with cargo. The car feels, well like a Honda. Very well put together, very well thought-out, and not very exciting.
The viability out of the rear is bad, I'm really suprised that there is not a back-up camera on the car (ie FX35) to help you get into a parking spot.
The V6 engine is rated at 271HP (!) but after driving the car... it's not making anywhere near that. I'm guessing more like 220.
Gas mileage sucks at 17-27MPG. I really don't understand the problem with car makers and fuel econ now. My 1983 Rabbit GTI got 38MPG and I drove with the throttle wide open all the time. My dad's 2002 Z06 Vette gets 19-28MPG.
In general the car drove well; there was a light on the dash to tell us when the selective cylinder shutdown was happening. It was seamless, you could not tell by how the car was running.
I'm surprised, coming from an STi that you'd think the exhaust is "loud and rattly". We own two Foresters, first and second generation, and when we drove the third generation ('09) when it first came out, that thing was silent. At idle, we couldn't hear the motor running, we had to stick our hand behind the exhaust to realize the car was on. Inside, my wife commented about how quiet it was compared to the previous generations. On the site www.subaruforester.org the most complaints about noise come from interior noise rather than exterior or exhaust noises.
As far as handling, I agree with you there. The Forester really needs some higher quality OEM tires to really give it a more confidence inspiring road handling feel. Once those are replaced with some high-quality A/S tires, the handling improves dramatically.
01-17-2010, 04:39 PM
#10
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Join Date: Oct 2009
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Posts: 1,824
Car Info: '14 Odyssey & '13 Prius
jetta wagen +10000 - my wife want one too!
-Forester if you plan on modding it for your wife
CROSSTOUR looks like a shoe on wheels, lame excuse for honda to get into the sedan/sport ute segment. only car that i think pulls this off is the BMW X6
-Forester if you plan on modding it for your wife
CROSSTOUR looks like a shoe on wheels, lame excuse for honda to get into the sedan/sport ute segment. only car that i think pulls this off is the BMW X6
01-17-2010, 08:37 PM
#14
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Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 4,300
Car Info: http://kiva.org/invitedby/brett4254
The car needs to have 80" of length from the back door to the middle of the center console. I play upright bass and need to be able to transport.
I could fit the bass in my old WRX Wagon, but it was tight.
I checked out the Mini Clubman - it's not big enough inside.
Its not like the Forester was deafeningly loud, but there is no reason for it. I expect the STi to be loud.
I could fit the bass in my old WRX Wagon, but it was tight.
I checked out the Mini Clubman - it's not big enough inside.
Its not like the Forester was deafeningly loud, but there is no reason for it. I expect the STi to be loud.
Last edited by Lowend; 01-17-2010 at 08:41 PM.
