Wife wants a tdi jetta wagon. Options

[buck toenges]

Wife drives a 2004 suburban. she wants a "summer" car to take back and forth to the lake with 4 kids and a lab. A jetta wagon tdi would get her there and back for about 2 1/2 gals. vs 8 gals in the suburban. Back to school and winter she will drive the suburban/family sports truckster. In the winter I could drive the jetta instead of the 4.0 wrangler.
So whats the buzz on the vw turbo diesel? do they last forever? or are they shi**y?

[scruz914]

You are going to suffer from severe space withdrawls going from a Suburban to a Jetta wagon. I can't image a trip of any length in a Jetta with 4 kids and a dog. You might want to look at the Passat wagon. I don't know if it comes with the tdi. I think the Passat now comes with a V8 which will still have better gas mileage than the Suburban and much more power than the tdi. The 6 would do better with mileage but when loaded down the power would suck. 4Motion I think is a must. Better handling and versatility for the Winter. Who knows the extra room in the Passat might be enough to get rid of the Suburban all together.

BTW, I speak from experience owning a Suburban and 2.8 A4. Also drive to a cabin in Tahoe all year round in both. I only have two teenage daughters and no dog. Room in the back seat of the A4 is too tight for a long drive. I would think the Jetta would be worse.

-Jeff