That's changing though. I can count four friends that have bought a VW diesel in the past 2 years. They all love them. They all also happen to be 32 or under. I think the age range of bad memories of diesel is probably 35+.
+1. I bought a Golf TDI 2 months ago, and couldn't be happier. I'm getting "only" 35mpg overall, but that's just because with a great chassis setup and lots of torque it's hard to keep your right foot out of it. It's that near-impossible combination - an economy car that's actually a blast to drive.
Great highway cruiser too - nice to only be turning ~2200 RPM at 70, and getting 45 mpg while doing it.
My last company car was 'pick yourself' - and I got a Golf GTD (I'm not sure if it's sold outside of DE).
It's a little less of an economy car than the TDI, but .. it handles the Autobahn quite nicely. I came from an Audi A3 and couldn't complain about the overall quality. Going back to DE soon I might go for exactly the same thing again.
US Spec TDI is a bit closer to the GTD. Engine is only 140HP, and we don't get the fancy trim bits, but we DO get the sport suspension, which is a big part of why it's fun to drive. I think it's softened slightly from GTI/GTD spec, but not by much.
I'd love to have had the option of getting a GTD though...but it's kind of insane how poorly the Golf sells here... only sell about 15k of them a year, in the whole US. As of right now about 60% of those are TDIs.
NB: That's not counting GTI or Golf R sales...in the US VW treats those as separate models, not trim levels.
I think you're about right. I'm 35, and remember many times as a youngster being stuck at traffic lights behind stank-ass Mercedes diesel cars. It's been a long time since I've seen/smelled one of those though.
