"Take a look at this picture."
Carlos had just comeback from Salt Lake City and 50 mpg was his average consumption in his new 2014 Volkswagen Passat.
I had to do a double take.
"It's because it's diesel," Carlos informed me.
I knew zip about diesel in cars, but figured it was about time to learn.
Turns out that TDI (turbocharged direct inject) diesel vehicles are some of the cleanest running with phenomenal gas milage and an engine that can get up and go.
This Bankrate article explained that a typical diesel engine gets around 30% better gas milage than it's gas counterpart. Obviously, that's a big advantage. People who want to save on gas money are often compelled to go, well, tiny. If driving around town in a subcompact hybrid isn't your style, or doesn't fit your family size, diesel offers an amazing advantage. You don't have to sacrifice size to get great gas milage.
Another bonus? Resale value. TDI vehicles tend to get more money at trade-in than their gas-powered counterparts. TDI's are also a long-lived engine that make them a hot commodity in the used-car market.
Torque is another major benefit of the TDI vehicle. Torque is best described as the feeling of power you get when you set on the accelerator. TDI engines have a lot of torque, even in a small engine. Thus, you get better milage all while having the power of a larger engine.
No wonder 50% of vehicles in Europe are diesel!
German engineered Volkswagen has an impressive line up of 7 TDI vehicles that span from a large SUV in the Touareg all the way to the adorable Beetle.
