OJ's DNA

Go with the VW TDI or maybe the new, cool looking Audi Diesel? Either way the positive to this is I'll buy your suspension set-up and wheels from you so we can keep it in the family (95 E300 Rolling till death)!

BJaltima

Eek, I dunno how you guys can live in that snowy mess.....anyway, I like both cars, however would never own either of them......VW reliability isn't that great......and if I was going to get a Caymen, it would be the Caymen S. As for Porsche, the Caymen is actually better than the Carrera, and Porsche knows this. Because the Carrera has always been the "real" Porsche, they didn't tune the engine in the Boxster/Caymen to it's full potential, so that it didn't blow the Carrera out of the water.

Might I suggest reading reviews on Carsurvey.org of all the vehicles you are considering. That's what I did the night before I bought my 400e.

PS.....the Ford Fusion looks nice, but no way in hell will I ever own another domestic.

YNVDIZW124

Ford Fusion or VW TDI....everyone is getting rid of their w124s now but we should keep these cars as projects. They are 24 years old now since they came out.

ksing44

A 4 wheel drive option does sound somewhat attractive when you are coming from a rear wheel drive car, but with front wheel drive I really don't think it is necessary. The front wheel drive cars go through the snow with ease, even without snow tires. If 4 nice snow tires were installed on a front wheel drive car, like I have to do on my W124, I think the results would be very impressive.

As crazy as it looks outside right now, snow tires really aren't needed except a few days of the year around my area. Actually, you really only need the snows for just a few hours before they plow on those 3 days. The 4 wheel drive options are overkill in my area. It sounds great, but you really don't need it.

flip3d

I vote Jetta TDI. Looks better than the Golf.

BJaltima

I think the Jetta TDI Sportswagon looks good.

ksing44

Although I ove my W124 sedan, Idon’t love the look of the Jetta sedan. I think part of it is that I have such great memories in my previous Golf, so I am drawn to the new much nicer TDI version.

I’m thinking of the 4 door Golf as kind of a mini wagon, which I think it really is. To me the 2 door Golf is more of a boy racer coupe hatchback kind of thing, but the 4 door golf is more like a very sporty little wagon.

I actually drove one yesterday. I loved it, even though it wasn’t the right color for me and didn’t have all of the options I wanted. I loved driving the 6-speed manual and the TDI motor was terrific. That low-end torque of TDI feels really good when going through the gears and at highway speeds the thing is barely running with the 6 gears. It will be great to go back to a manual transmission. The suspension was nice and tight and felt very secure. The seats were also very supportive and comfortable, which is critical considering I will be coming out of my incredibly comfortable W124. The seats are same seats from the GTI, but with a different and I think nicer plain black covering.

I also sounds like it should be possible to continue to upgrade the sport suspension to a full GTI suspension. I wouldn’t do that immediately, but as things age I will be able to add some GTI tweaks to upgrade the suspension as it ages. This Golf TDI is going to be a great car for me. My son is lucky high school guy that will be driving an old W124 around town as long as it lasts.

BJaltima

Eek! Make sure he takes care of it!

ksing44

I tracked down a Golf TDI in a far off state. It had all of the options I wanted and it was the right color in a 4-door with a 6-speed manual transmission. I put down a deposit over the phone and they are going to ship the car to me on a truck after it arrives at their dealership. Right now the car is still in transit from Germany, but the ETA at the dealer is April 1st. I should have my new Golf TDI in the first or second week of April!!!

2010 GOLF 4-DR 2.0L TDI 6-SPEED MANUAL
BLUE GRAPHITE METALLIC
3FE POWER SUNROOF
9VE PREMIUM SOUND SYSTEM
9W2 BLUETOOTH
GKM GOLF All WEATHER MAT KIT
GTE CHROME EXHAUST TIPS
P71 NAVIGATION
P83 XENON HEADLAMP PACKAG

190E 16V

Bluetooth! Nav! Xenons!!!
Sporty and a frugal runner, a totally modern car I bet you'll be happy with.

Congratulations Ksing. Post pics when you get it.

RHW

Congrats and great choice from color to options,
that Golf will stick in your family for 15+ years as well.

Want to sell those wheels? <lol>

ksing44

I think it is going to be a good car. The 6-speed manual is great paired with the diesel engine. It has tall gears for fuel economy, so it can cruise at 70 mph at just under 2000 rpms in 6th gear. The lights and upgraded stereo with the touch screen interface and iPod connectivity will also be welcome modern improvements. Also expecting 45+ mpg hwy, based on multiple reviews. That ain’t bad!!!

I will post pics when I get the car. I will not be as pretty as the E320, but it should be a good car.

I am keeping my car in the family, letting my son drive it for a while. I may fix it over time to maybe go back to the car myself someday. I may also finally just give up and let it go, if I decide not to fix things over the next couple of years. My 17-year-old son says he loves the car, but he already has spoken up about some of the inconveniences of driving an older car. Of course he should be grateful for whatever it is, but these days that just doesn’t seem to be the way it goes.

If I let the car go, I will definitely contact you about the wheels. The wheels are probably worth more than the car, although I am not trying to say that I would charge you a lot of money to have the wheels. I’m just saying I don’t think my car is worth much to anyone but me.

ps2cho

What inconveniences?

Make sure to take pics when you get it. I've seen a couple on the road here and I really like the look of them

ksing44

It ain't no W124, but it is pretty nice and it is plenty of fun to drive. The reality is that even a new E-Class ain't no W124 and neither is a 3-Series BMW. I think the 3-Series BMW diesel may be the best of the bunch, but I could truly have two of these Golf TDIs for the price of the BMW. I don't think it is twice as good, it won't last longer, and the mpg is not as good because for me they they went too far for the performance on the BMW diesels.

My new car
2010 Golf TDI 4-door, 6-speed manual (tall gears, less than 2000 rpm at 70mph), blue graphite metallic (W9W9) , sunroof (3FE), xenon lights (P83), dynaudio stereo upgrade (9VE), navigation system(P71), chrome exhaust tips (GTE), all-weather mat kit (GKM), bluetooth low (9W2)

ps2cho

I really like it. Looks real slick and understated. Let us know what type of MPG it gets.

Remember to get the oil changed as you don't know how long it has sat from the factory. Same goes with giving it a quick claybar as pollution will have had time to sit on the paint while it was waiting to be bought.

Congratulations!

RHW

Color isn't so clear from these pics...but love the powerplant!

ksing44

Thank you, I found the car while it was on a boat being shipped to the southern US. I purchased the car before the car hit the port. The car had a test drive by the service department at the dealer and then it was sent to me in Pennsylvania with 7 miles on the odometer. The car was actually manufactured in Germany within the last 90 days. I am expecting 45mpg, because of my 90% hwy commute.

The color is actually awesome. It changes depending on the light, from a dark gray graphite color to a dark deep blue. It is a very sophisticated color. I am very pleased with the way the car looks. The green is the reflection of the trees. My new car was very clean and shiny after a bath and some wax. I will also admit that I am not a great photographer and that a true expert may have been able to change some settings on their camera to account for the less than ideal lighting. It was late morning with light streaming through the trees. It is a very nice time of day, but maybe not the best for photos of my car.

I didn't get photo with the W124 and the Golf, because my son was already out driving in my Benz. That car is going to be making a lot of short trips to all of my son's stomping grounds.

ksing44

Below are a few photos from today. It is an overcast day, with rain in the morning but a little brighter when I took the photos. The car is dirty after 100 miles of driving on the highway in the rain. The car is amazing on the highway. I went up to 100 mph a few times just as a test. It was effortless and there was plenty of room for more. This car can truly gobble up interstate roadways, just as I read in one of the reviews. Plus you don’t have to stop for fuel very often, because you get more than 600 miles with each fill-up.

RHW

Ah, I get the color better now. Probably worthwhile to shoot in in loads of sun conditions, to show the range you described.

600 miles between fill ups is, uh, ok.

ShoreBenz

Really looks good. I've been giving these some thought too. Congrats!