Gregg D

Reviewed a 2005 Volkswagen GLS TDi on Nov 30, 2007

This car is a series of compromises. It's just a bit too small for my family, but is solid and safe. The diesel engine puts out a ton of torque, which is great on the highway, and returns between 37 and 44 mpg for us. (With 100 petro-diesel we get 44, and with 100 biodiesel we get 37-38. Various blends of "dino" diesel and biodiesel yield fuel economy in between those two extremes.) The interior materials are high quality, as is the switchgear, but as with all my Audis in the past, the Bosch components are rubbish. In the first 30,000 miles, I had to replace three of the four glow plugs (a diesel engine component), and two brake light switches. The Panasonic-sourced stereo is crap, to put it bluntly. And this is the Monsoon, the "premium", optional stereo. Oh, I'm on the second one. The first one died. The rear brakes make a groaning noise when you apply them when backing up, and the rear wheel bearings make noise going backward too. All this started just before or right around 30,000 miles. There's a silver-dollar sized spot on the hood where the clearcoat failed. VW won't give me an answer about fixing it.