Topic: Test Drive: 2014 Volkswagen Golf Wagon TDI Diesel

[tortoise]

I keep crossing my fingers that VW is going to bring an AWD version of the TDI Golf Wagon.   Ideally with a stick but I would have no problem living with the DSG.

[Brendan McAleer]

Good review of a very interesting vehicle for the Canadian market. Wagons, diesels and manuals all being somewhat rare-ish these days. The one thing I would question is the Impreza being 'a little better in the snow'. With all the snow in Southern ON, I can imagine a lot of smug Subaru owners right now.

I have an Impreza, and with crappy all-seasons, it's no snowmobile. Add proper winter tires and it's an absolute tank, but the Jetta's not bad with the right footwear, being so nose-heavy.

[ChaosphereIX]

Good review of a very interesting vehicle for the Canadian market. Wagons, diesels and manuals all being somewhat rare-ish these days. The one thing I would question is the Impreza being 'a little better in the snow'. With all the snow in Southern ON, I can imagine a lot of smug Subaru owners right now.

I have an Impreza, and with crappy all-seasons, it's no snowmobile. Add proper winter tires and it's an absolute tank, but the Jetta's not bad with the right footwear, being so nose-heavy.

it is all about the shoes - I routinely get along better than redneck trucks in my area, they are all over the place, stuck on inclines in slush, while my little Saab calmly gets going

Honestly, winter tires should be law in Canada. The grip and safety is miles better, night and day.

[fixer]

usually see maybe a 10cent difference between diesel and regular in Ontario and then at times it flip flops and diesel is actually cheaper. Might be negligible in the end.

[Fobroader]

I agree, winter tires should be mandatory....Im tired on not being to get through an advanced green because some schmuck with 2wd and all seasons cant get going.

[Brendan McAleer]

I agree, winter tires should be mandatory....Im tired on not being to get through an advanced green because some schmuck with 2wd and all seasons cant get going.

Worse than that is watching some moron lock up their brakes at the last minute and slide right through the four-way stop in an AWD car. I used to find this a bit funny as you can usually spot their impending slide, but when I have the kid in the car I feel like walking up, taking away their keys and flinging them into the nearest drift. +1 for mandatory winter tires, even in BC.

[safristi]

Diesel is HEAVIER so that helps with the grip.................

[DriverJeff]

With car pricing, consumers' cost expectations seem to lag inflation.   Cars cost more than they did in 2003.   The expectation that $25k will buy you decently equipped economy car isn't so true anymore.

Anyone shopping a $25,000 (pre-tax) Mazda3 should disagree with you passionately.  It's not only well-equipped, it's a very capable driver's car too. 

Spend $26k and you get a Kia with not only Bluetooth and leather, but nav, heated & cooled seats, etc. etc. 

[timh2594]

As the owner of a 2010 TDI Sportwagen with 200,000 kilometres on it (lots of trips in and out of Ottawa from Kemptville) I thought I'd chime in on this one. The TDI is a better than average driver's car, lots of torque, and the quality of the interior is better than a lot of the competition. That's the upside. The downside (which the dealer and a lot of so-called experts won't tell you) is the cost of running this car, even discounting the price of diesel. Because it's a diesel forget about your local mechanic doing anything but change the tires. Even an oil change requires a trip to the dealership for VW507 oil and filter. So about every four months I've headed off to the dealership to pay dealership prices for service. Adding to this, the car has been less than reliable. In the last 4 months the radio (Premium has died - there's a $600 cost - and 3 of the four Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors have failed ($3000). Best of all, I'm looking at the dreaded Particulate Filter replacement that will set me back $4000. So our grand experiment with diesels is coming to an end - I'll be back in a Toyota by the end of the year.

[roundupready]

As the owner of a 2010 TDI Sportwagen with 200,000 kilometres on it (lots of trips in and out of Ottawa from Kemptville) I thought I'd chime in on this one. The TDI is a better than average driver's car, lots of torque, and the quality of the interior is better than a lot of the competition. That's the upside. The downside (which the dealer and a lot of so-called experts won't tell you) is the cost of running this car, even discounting the price of diesel. Because it's a diesel forget about your local mechanic doing anything but change the tires. Even an oil change requires a trip to the dealership for VW507 oil and filter. So about every four months I've headed off to the dealership to pay dealership prices for service. Adding to this, the car has been less than reliable. In the last 4 months the radio (Premium has died - there's a $600 cost - and 3 of the four Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors have failed ($3000). Best of all, I'm looking at the dreaded Particulate Filter replacement that will set me back $4000. So our grand experiment with diesels is coming to an end - I'll be back in a Toyota by the end of the year.

Yikes.  I've always been interested in getting a VW diesel for commuting but never really wanted to own one because of past VW reliability experience.

Now I have to really think about it and doing more research on ownership costs before picking one up.

So big thanks for posting this side of ownership experience.   

[PJ]

As the owner of a 2010 TDI Sportwagen with 200,000 kilometres on it (lots of trips in and out of Ottawa from Kemptville) I thought I'd chime in on this one. The TDI is a better than average driver's car, lots of torque, and the quality of the interior is better than a lot of the competition. That's the upside. The downside (which the dealer and a lot of so-called experts won't tell you) is the cost of running this car, even discounting the price of diesel. Because it's a diesel forget about your local mechanic doing anything but change the tires. Even an oil change requires a trip to the dealership for VW507 oil and filter. So about every four months I've headed off to the dealership to pay dealership prices for service. Adding to this, the car has been less than reliable. In the last 4 months the radio (Premium has died - there's a $600 cost - and 3 of the four Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors have failed ($3000). Best of all, I'm looking at the dreaded Particulate Filter replacement that will set me back $4000. So our grand experiment with diesels is coming to an end - I'll be back in a Toyota by the end of the year.

Cool, Kemptville.  I went high school there and my dad did that commute everyday.  ( in a 74 Austin Marina).

[Brendan McAleer]

As the owner of a 2010 TDI Sportwagen with 200,000 kilometres on it (lots of trips in and out of Ottawa from Kemptville) I thought I'd chime in on this one. The TDI is a better than average driver's car, lots of torque, and the quality of the interior is better than a lot of the competition. That's the upside. The downside (which the dealer and a lot of so-called experts won't tell you) is the cost of running this car, even discounting the price of diesel. Because it's a diesel forget about your local mechanic doing anything but change the tires. Even an oil change requires a trip to the dealership for VW507 oil and filter. So about every four months I've headed off to the dealership to pay dealership prices for service. Adding to this, the car has been less than reliable. In the last 4 months the radio (Premium has died - there's a $600 cost - and 3 of the four Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors have failed ($3000). Best of all, I'm looking at the dreaded Particulate Filter replacement that will set me back $4000. So our grand experiment with diesels is coming to an end - I'll be back in a Toyota by the end of the year.

I actually called a dealership, and they told me that the servicing costs were the same for both engine options - yes, you'd need to take it directly in there. I would imagine most of your issues would be covered under warranty until you passed the mileage barrier (probably not the particulate filter). Like I said, extended warranty'd probably pay for itself here.

[opg210]

As the owner of a 2010 TDI Sportwagen with 200,000 kilometres on it (lots of trips in and out of Ottawa from Kemptville) I thought I'd chime in on this one. The TDI is a better than average driver's car, lots of torque, and the quality of the interior is better than a lot of the competition. That's the upside. The downside (which the dealer and a lot of so-called experts won't tell you) is the cost of running this car, even discounting the price of diesel. Because it's a diesel forget about your local mechanic doing anything but change the tires. Even an oil change requires a trip to the dealership for VW507 oil and filter. So about every four months I've headed off to the dealership to pay dealership prices for service. Adding to this, the car has been less than reliable. In the last 4 months the radio (Premium has died - there's a $600 cost - and 3 of the four Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors have failed ($3000). Best of all, I'm looking at the dreaded Particulate Filter replacement that will set me back $4000. So our grand experiment with diesels is coming to an end - I'll be back in a Toyota by the end of the year.

So that's what i have to look forward to...our 2010 TDI wagon has 52k km, has had 4 injectors replaced (I've whined about that here before), then 2 months ago the CEL was on and I hit the roof thinking it was an injector again. turns out it was the exhaust gas sensor. So now I can look forward to replacing 4 of those?

We did buy the extended warranty and our TDI will be history before that expires. Well said, the grand diesel experiment is over, or at least the grand VW diesel experiment...

[quadzilla]

As the owner of a 2010 TDI Sportwagen with 200,000 kilometres on it (lots of trips in and out of Ottawa from Kemptville) I thought I'd chime in on this one. The TDI is a better than average driver's car, lots of torque, and the quality of the interior is better than a lot of the competition. That's the upside. The downside (which the dealer and a lot of so-called experts won't tell you) is the cost of running this car, even discounting the price of diesel. Because it's a diesel forget about your local mechanic doing anything but change the tires. Even an oil change requires a trip to the dealership for VW507 oil and filter. So about every four months I've headed off to the dealership to pay dealership prices for service. Adding to this, the car has been less than reliable. In the last 4 months the radio (Premium has died - there's a $600 cost - and 3 of the four Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors have failed ($3000). Best of all, I'm looking at the dreaded Particulate Filter replacement that will set me back $4000. So our grand experiment with diesels is coming to an end - I'll be back in a Toyota by the end of the year.

Are you saying there the only place in the world you can get VW507 oil as at a VW dealership? Why wouldn't any of the VW indy shops have it?

[JohnM]

"Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors have failed ($3000). Best of all, I'm looking at the dreaded Particulate Filter replacement that will set me back $4000. "

Oh, oww!

What does a dealership oil change cost?  That was a bit of a killer with the Smart.  $300 every time you took it in.  And to think I was ready to sign on the dotted line when MB was running 2 A cars around Canada many years ago.  Beautiful package - basically mini-minivan with 3 cyl diesel.  Loved it.  The thought of MB reliability or maintenance costs never entered my head.  Fortunately, they only took my name and not a deposit.

Cheers,
John M.

[rrocket]

Are you saying there the only place in the world you can get VW507 oil as at a VW dealership? Why wouldn't any of the VW indy shops have it?

Yea, that's BS.  Many oils conform to the VW507.xx standard.

This isn't oil made from unicorn glands.

[mixmanmash]

Are you saying there the only place in the world you can get VW507 oil as at a VW dealership? Why wouldn't any of the VW indy shops have it?

Yea, that's BS.  Many oils conform to the VW507.xx standard.

This isn't oil made from unicorn glands.

Agreed.  MB has their 229.51 spec which many oils meet.  They have a website too so you can look up the spec and see which oils meet it.

[rrocket]

Are you saying there the only place in the world you can get VW507 oil as at a VW dealership? Why wouldn't any of the VW indy shops have it?

Yea, that's BS.  Many oils conform to the VW507.xx standard.

This isn't oil made from unicorn glands.

Agreed.  MB has their 229.51 spec which many oils meet.  They have a website too so you can look up the spec and see which oils meet it.

I know many of the diesel guys go mad over Amsoil (my preference) or Shell Rotella T6

[greengs]

Re Diesel fuel price.  On average (at least in AB) diesel is the same price as regular gas.  During summer months it is about 10c-15c cheaper then regular and opposite during winter months.

[ArticSteve]

As the owner of a 2010 TDI Sportwagen with 200,000 kilometres on it (lots of trips in and out of Ottawa from Kemptville) I thought I'd chime in on this one. The TDI is a better than average driver's car, lots of torque, and the quality of the interior is better than a lot of the competition. That's the upside. The downside (which the dealer and a lot of so-called experts won't tell you) is the cost of running this car, even discounting the price of diesel. Because it's a diesel forget about your local mechanic doing anything but change the tires. Even an oil change requires a trip to the dealership for VW507 oil and filter. So about every four months I've headed off to the dealership to pay dealership prices for service. Adding to this, the car has been less than reliable. In the last 4 months the radio (Premium has died - there's a $600 cost - and 3 of the four Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors have failed ($3000). Best of all, I'm looking at the dreaded Particulate Filter replacement that will set me back $4000. So our grand experiment with diesels is coming to an end - I'll be back in a Toyota by the end of the year.

 

And ppl wonder why Toyota doesn't bring oil burns to North America.

You can only push diesels to be X clean.  Go beyond that and then you're into a technical sh*t storm.