I have a TDI. I has been a great car for the last 2 years and a few months now. But some day, it's rear end shifted up and 2 inches to the left after doing a 225 and playing chicken with an highway divider.
So, while I am officially trying to sell it (and secretly trying to convince my wife to keep it so I can have fun with a sawzall, foam and fiberglass), I bought a Kia Soul as a new car for my wife.
It's not terribly efficient, it's also based on a 10 years old engine design, but it was priced right, and it's a nice little utilitarian box perfect for our soon to be family of four.
It has the same 2 liters engine as in our Elantra, but the manual transmission is geared a little shorter. It's really a lot of car for the money. With a little effort I might just be able to pull 40 mpg. I expect my wife to get 30 mpg out of in on average.