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I owned an 85 diesel with 52 screaming HP whether you needed them or not. You will learn how to use your gears to get up to freeway speed for sure. Some people claim more but my well kept records show between 48-52 MPG until the oil started to break down at 2500 miles then it would drop two to three MPG. One thing wierd is if the fuel filter is dirty the unit will smoke like crazy with extra fuel squirted into cylinders. Replace filter and smoke goes away. If you have emissions test run it real hard before pulling in to burn residue from muffler, pipe, etc. Use only Bosch glowplugs, the others are short lived.
Warning, ours killed outer CV joints (torque I think) about every 85 K miles. They had very weak brakes for a diesel car (no compression braking) and more than once I almost put it in the ditch when they would overheat and fail. Just use a speed low enough when coming down long steep grades that you don't have to use the brakes much (it will be slower than you think). Newer TDI's have better brakes.
At 249 K the fuel injector failed and would cost too much to repair considering the value of the car. That all said, my wife and I agree that the Diesel Jetta was one of the most fun and economical cars to drive and the best remembered of all the cars we've owned. Anybody with a newer TDI is blessed indeed.
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