I have read a few articles about the TDI and I test drove it yesterday. I am interested in it but the lag below 1900 RPMs was very concerning. Are there any "simple" modifications that can be made to the car to improve that 0-20mph lag? By simple I mean adding or modifying the chip or a minor hardware install.
Does turning off the stabilization affect it at all?
Funny I have never noticed that in my TDI. Was it a new car?
Yes there is , but that would mean you need a Honda! The TDI is a great car but does have some trade offs over a gas engine... like only around 100hp.
This was a 2005 Passat TDI Sedan. From 0 - 1900 RPMS(just before the turbo kicks in) you can floor it or push the pedal halfway down, and the car accelerates the same. Once you hit 1900 RPMs, yeah, it accelerates quickly.
Either way it is annoying and I was wondering if anyone knew of a remedy.
Actually it has 134 HP and it is much larger than any of the honda gas savers.
Was it an automatic? I find that the combination of an auto tranny and TDI is not as pleasing to drive as a manual.
That might be it. Frankly with a manual, I find it has plenty of kick at low RPMs.
I am looking at the wagon and it only comes in automatic. :(
Maybe I will just get the A3 instead.
I can't understand who at VW makes these decisions. I live in NY, so I can't get ANY TDI, but why do they think people only want an automatic in this car? If you are interested, you should try driving a TDI with a manual (Jetta or Golf). You will see it feels like a very different animal then one with an automatic transmission. That lag issue is not an issue and it pulls nicely from all speeds.
Good luck with your choices!
I just gave the local dealership my annual phone call:
me) Hi - did you get the new TDI's? dlr) Sure did - come on over me) Well, wait a second. Can I get a Passat TDI with a manual tranny yet? dlr) Um. No... me) Can I get a Golf TDI with leather or leatherette? dlr) Er, no... cloth only. But how about a Jetta? me) No thanks. Golf TDI or Passat TDI. Manual tranny, leather or leatherette. dlr) But me) Bye
Hopefully you will be able to get them once the new clean fuel is available and VW can bring in their modern clean engines.
Sounds like it could use a looser convertor. A stall of around 1800 would be perfect.
Go with it. My next VW going to be a TDI Passat. The ones I see in our shop usually show 35-38mpg on the long range trip computer.
To put the rest of this in perspective, I've been driving a 2005 Passat TDI since last September. I drove A4 Jetta TDIs with 5 spd manual since late 1998, and all of my previous cars going all the way back to 1984 were other VW turbo diesels.
The lag is much more noticable in the Passat 2.0 TDI than it is in the
1.9 TDI used in the Jetta and Golf. It reminds me of my first VW turbo diesel - a 1984 Jetta TD. I love the "kick" that comes when the turbo spins up, and am very glad that the Passat reminds me of that old 84 that way. The 84 was by far the most fun to drive of all the turbo diesels. The A4 TDIs came closer than the 92 TD or 97 TD I had. The 2.0 TDI comes closer still.My assumption, given the much higher torque and horsepower numbers for the 2.0 TDI, is that the turbo boost on the 2.0 is much more aggressive than on the 1.9 TDI. If that's the case, the only way to eliminate the lag without reducing power would be to supercharge instead of turbocharging. Not a likely solution. It's just the way a turbo charger works. The lag could also be hidden by detuning things, so there was less boost so the difference was less. Again not a great solution.
Other responses have suggested that the Tiptronic plays a part in this. I don't think that's right. I've never owned an automatic before, and before I got the Passat I saw it as a major downside. I no longer see it that way. One thing the automatic does for the turbo, is shift quickly enough to maintain full boost between gears, since it shifts quicker than I even could shift a 5spd. It's also great in stop and go driving.
Here's some real world stats after 10 months of driving the Passat TDI. Total distance 21961KM. Total fuel 1643.1 Litres. That works out to 7.48 L/100KM, or 37.8 MPG (Imperial gallons) or 33.0 MPG (US gallons). That is a mix of mostly city and semi-rural commuting, with some highway thrown in. I tend to have a heavy foot. I've had to adjust with the Passat, because if you just mat it pulling away from a stop the tires spin so easily.
In contrast my last TDI Jetta (2002) did 5.46 L/100KM, or 51.7 Imperial MPG, or 43.1 US MPG, driving the same pattern. Given the size of the Passat compared to the Jetta, I'm not at all unhappy with those results. I wish the DSG gearbox being used in the 2006 Jetta TDI was available on the Passat, but
In the past month I've made several long highway trips, and the Passat has been a real pleasure. I wouldn't go back.
I have a Touran with the 2.0TDI 16v 140hp engine and the 6-speed DSG. I an year of driving (19000km) my total average has been 6.1L/100km. It is a mix of driving pretty much like yours.
The Touran is about the same weight as the Passat but with a somewhat higher air resistance (cw).
I tend to have a not-very-heavy foot :)
You may be interested to learn that the Passat TDI 2.0l 138bhp with DSG has just become available to order in the UK so it may be worth a vistit you your US VW dealer.
Yesterday I drive a Golf GTI with DSG (the GTI has a petrol / gasoline egine with just on 200bhp) and it was an animal. The 6 speed DSG is just as good as people say and light years ahead of the usual auto transmissions.
You can check out would VW have in the UK at
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