Good to know that the oil burner will be available in Rabbolf soon.
I'm not up on engine offerings from VW, which shocked me that the 5-cyl was the only engine available in the Beetle. Granted, it was a great driving vehicle with lots of power and refinement, but having options like the 1.8T, 2.0, and 1.9TDI made it more appealing. I
really wanted to like this car on top of the rewarding VW driving experience that I felt from the get-go.
I might do a writeup if I get motivated. The biggest thing that bothered me was the starting of the car which resulted in electronic chaos. On a trip from KC to Sioux City and back, I made a couple stops along each direction.
Many times it acted as if I didn't let it crank long enough. I picked up a sandwich (no drive thru
), came back and cranked it over. After a reasonable amount of crank time, the key was released. Then it went berserker. All underhood fans went to high, and the dashboard lit up, including the CEL. The SG was hooked to Teggy elsewhere, so I had the backup CarChip and laptop to retrieve and clear the codes.
It turned out to be a Chassis Electrical fault, and a few others. I cleared them and went onward, making a habit out of cranking it longer. On the way back there were 3 more instances where it just cranked for 5-10 seconds without starting. (Being a VW - you have to key all the way off)... then it started the second time, after each fault. 100 miles from turning it in, the fault returned (which lights-up the gear selector on the dash in reverse LCD to alert the driver, along with the CEL). Was it something I was doing? I generally turn the key to the "On" position, pause, and then crank. Maybe it didn't like that. I left it in "freak out mode" for the rental agency to determine if it needed to visit the shop for warranty work.
I figured it out the other day -- I do that with cars that I get comfortable with: Turn key, trans to N, crank, D and go. It's also a carryover from my "Glow Plug" days: turn, wait, crank.
So back to VW -- I agree with Rob, what happened to the Turbos? Now even Ford and Chevy are on-board with "Eco-Boost" and the 1.4L DI-Turbo in the upcoming Cruze. I understand that there was a rebuilding period for ULSD which forced a disappearance of the TDI (among others), but to shove-in a 5 and call it a day, seems odd and disappointing.
So the question will soon arrive for mileage makers: get a sporty Diesel, high-tech hybrid, or a nicely equipped, trusty gasser for the same amount of moo-la.
RH77
P.S. -- Average FE was 29-30 MPG. Perhaps more details laters...