My first car and daily driver is a 71 Beetle Convertible with the 1600 4 cylinder so I have a little bit of a soft spot for beetles....just a little XD I finally got to drive a 2012 Beetle last week and I have to say even though it was a 2.5 auto model I was still in LOVE with it! Great review!

Believe it or not, this was the first TDI Manual I've driven. so. much. fun. :) Driven a bunch of DSGs, but never the manual ...

Very cool! Those old air-cooled Bugs are awesome. Thanks for the kind words. :)

Thanks for the kind words! I gotta figure out what I did right in this one! ;)

Hey dan,this one is one of your best reviews. I'm not a car buyer but i love when you go on details about the mpg and such where it's needed.

My 2015 Passat TDI started every time, even at -20 in Colorado.

Love your videos dude, keep it up!

My wife always wanted a convertible, so this is what I bought. I got it with the dsg, but it's still a fun car. She absolutely loves it.

Great review!

Thanks, Pedro! I do get to tackle that Manhattan commute fairly often, but always avoid it at rush hour. It's kinda fun in someone else's car. The last time I went to Camden was to the Aquarium with the kids, way back when.

I shot a 0-60, but one of the adjustment points on the camera rig was loose and the shot was shaky. I didn't want to include a goofy looking clip in the review. I'll post it separately when I get the chance ...

I wish! I'll be getting a scan gauge then. Thanks

Many thanks! I'm always looking for better ways to do stuff ... :)

Your experience echos what I've seen with nearly every vehicle I've tested. I usually get better results without cruise control. The percentage varies from vehicle-to-vehicle. Each drive presents a new set of variables. For most folks, cruise control may be more fuel efficient - until they learn how to drive with a light foot. :) Thanks for the kind words!

Great review Dan, I like your new more informative and laid back style, keep up the good work. Grueling? you want grueling? start in Manhattan, navigating the traffic, potholes and kamikaze taxi drivers, go to the Pulaski Skyway and deal with them moon craters and then the NJ Pike (truck side) and finish it off avoiding the bullets in beautiful downtown Camden, THAT is grueling!

I didn't get to check the owners manual on that while the Beetle was here. I'll check the Passat's manual this afternoon to see if it mentions anything.

Thx! I've been doing all the camera work lately. The trick is to cut fast. I use ContourHDs with their mounts for most of the on/in-car stuff and have a few different rigs - all single mount. My tripod is beat up, but it has a Manfrotto fluid head. When I find the cash I know how I'll drop it at B&H/FilmTools. There's a bunch of stuff on my wish list ...

The Sportwagen TDI is awesome. Hopefully down the road ... Finishing up a string of VWs with a Passat TDI DSG now.

Whoops, I screwed up again. Thanks for the catch! :) Full article on the website is correct.

Very cool! Literally. LOL Do you do all your own camera? What tripods and inside/outside camera car mounts do you use? Great stuff.

Great review as always...a question for you--I find the cruise control gets worse mileage than I do if I use inertia more especially on hills. Any thoughts on that?

It can make a huge difference. I did demo videos with the ScanGaugeII and EcoMeter early on. Need to do one with the ScanGaugeE. There are other options as well, including using an iPhone/iPod/iPad or Android device along with an OBDII hookup (Bluetooth/WiFi/Dedicated Cable), but the ScanGaugeE and EcoMeter are among the least expensive ways to do it. I'll be doing a new video on this in the near future ...

Thanks for the video. Awesome reviews! Quick question, I own a 2011 mazda3 with 2.0 liter motor, great car, 5 speed manual... I was wondering should I be using 4th gear for speeds of 40-45 and 5th for 50 and faster. I've been playing around with those two gears at those speeds seeing which gets the best mpg for city driving. It is a high revving engine. Could you give me some advice on that? Thanks.

Love diesels. The shudder when you start, love it. Manual is the best option with a VW diesel.

Thanks, Justhes! Does your 2011 Mazda3 have an Instant MPG gauge? If it does, it will provide the clues you need. If it doesn't you might consider adding a ScanGaugeE or AutoMeter EcoMeter to provide feedback.

@mpgomatic I can understand the difficulty of a highway only loop. You'd really need to run it a couple hundred miles on the freeway with no traffic and be able to pull right off and fill it up. On this car, were you able to get a sense for the accuracy of the on-board computer compared to your own calculations for the combined cycles? Also, do you find the Scan Gauge to provide accurate numbers (if not on this, other vehicles)?

When you publish your mpg results, are you basing them off what the on-board computer says, or are you hand calculating after a fill-up?

Open road, at the right speeds (with the AC off), yep. Not exactly sure how significant a factor top up/top would be, but I'd wager that the numbers would drop with the top.

Dan, I've driven the VW Jetta GLI with the DSG. It was okay on the open road, but on low speeds, I thought it was herky-jerky. Is this a characteristic in dual-clutch transmissions?

A hood prop rod? Wow, they cheapened out. My 2001 TDI with 273,000 miles on it has a gas strut to hold the hood up. And it still gets 50mpg. I'm the only driver it's ever had!

Dan, it would be interesting if you could go back to a car that you tested a few years ago and see how much, if any, the mpg's have dropped after all the miles and wear and tear on the engine and other components. My Corolla with all of its 350k miles has only lost about 3-4 mpg since it was new, I used to get around 32, now I'm down to about 28 or 29

In the MIata they estimate the top down decreases MPG by about 5 MPG.

To be accurate, the ScanGauge should be calibrated for each vehicle. The TDIs MFI seemed relatively accurate. There's always some variation. I'd never expect it to be to the tenth. The manner in which a car is driven has a huge effect on MPGs. I try to keep my highway loops as consistent as possible, but you never know what can happen out on the road. The 'you never knows' usually end up lowering MPGs. :) That said, learning how to drive a diesel has significant benefits.

The first press it kind of half-cranked and gave up, then started fine. Don't get me wrong, I'm the same way in the morning, but this is a car - should behave the same at 70° or 20° unless something is wrong. Interested to see if this was a bug or a feature.

It wasn't a fail, Rich. Just needed to press the button twice. I'll find out why ...

I love this engine/trans combo in the Golf. I'd take the 6 manual over the DSG any day!

Combined numbers are based on tank fills. Highway loops can't be done that way, because I simply don't have the time or resources to do so. I'm rather meticulous about the procedure. Meticulous to the point of going broke.

Would you expect to hit 50 mpg in summer weather?

Hey Dan, can you get a hold of a Turbo Beetle for test?

The glow plug light goes out at 1:38 ...

Please get a Jetta Sportwagen TDI manual review in :)

you still having fun tho? sweet job...Kiki

Great review as always! Though TDI or not, a 2013 car that fails to start on its first attempt at 28°F sends up about 50 red flags in my mind. :-\

I'm hoping to make something like that happen, soon. I need the right name for the series and a shoebox or two full of $20 bills (and some sponsors) to get rolling ... :) The goal is to get a car back to spec, then see if it's possible to eclipse it. I'm betting that it is.

Many thanks, Ken! I've been showing the key for years ... Not saying I was first. Or anything. Next up, I'm going to drive over a cliff and see how many follow ... =)

Dual-clutches can be more abrupt than a traditional automatic. I've always been a manual driver, so it doesn't bug me that much, but folks that are accustomed to driving a normal automatic might not find a dual-clutch to their liking.

Wait..... you don't turn-on glow plugs first, wait 5 seconds for them to heat the pistons, and Then start the car? Something odd there .

what i'd give to trade my 7.3's mileage for that little guy's! XP i can get around 20-25 on the highway, but i get a whole 3 in town

Of course he said 48, its a diesel Beetle!!! I have a 2003 diesel beetle. It is just a 5 speed manual, but I consistently get 45 to 46 MPG on highway!!!

2:09 did you say 48 or 38? 48, now that is efficient!

Dunno! I can ask ... :)

Is this your job? if so, how could I get a job like that?

Ok cool

around 50 mph you will do 60++ mpg easily

And here I was thinking I was hot shit on turd island for managing to get my Town Car to average 15.8...

No 0-60? :( sweet car though, not a fan of a bug, but everything about them is nice, I just see it as a ladies car.

Ugh...Jersey speed limits.

48! =)

Americans still have the misperception that diesels are bad in the winter. Yes back 20 years ago they struggled but with the technology auto makers have now diesels are every bit as reliable as petrol at any temperature