Hi all - First post here.
I am researching for a new car. I'm currently driving a 2002 Focus ZX5. All in all I've been pretty happy with it, but I also know it has '2002' fuel economy. If I really stretch it I can get about 550km on a tank (mix of city and highway).
I've been looking at the VW TDI cars for awhile, and thought I may very well end up getting one for the extra mileage. I'm noticing, however, that several other 'regular' gasoline vehicles have pretty decent ratings, ALMOST getting into TDI territory. The ones I'm looking at so far are the 2012 Focus, Cruze, Fiesta and Mazda 2. I'm sure this is an apples and oranges comparison between the platforms, but based solely on economy (understanding I'm looking at posted numbers, and probably not real-world) the gasoline cars rate pretty good against the TDI models, and are less expensive.
Can anyone inform a non-car guy as to the benefits and drawbacks of both? I heard that a diesel engine will last longer, and I typically keep my cars for a long time. But whenever I look at the price of the TDIs I can't get over the extra thousands of dollars.
Thanks in advance.