Thanks for moving me to a new thread -- I didn't notice the subject on the old one.
I think that the EPA rating procedure fails to reveal the strengths of the diesel engine design. While ratings of 30/37 (the "unrevised" ratings were 36/41 for the 5-speed and 36/42 for the DSG automatic) are on the upper end of the scale for the current crop of vehicles, the car has far more potential even in bone stock form (which mine is). I've found that on highway trips of an hour or two or more at 65 mph, I can easily *average* (including some city driving at each end) over 50mpg with no special technique other than just using the cruise control. Drivers of other diesel VW vehicles, especially the lighter New Beetle and Golf even report fuel economy of 55mpg and up (see
www.tdiclub.com). "Javier" is the last of the "dirty diesel" VWs with the 100hp 1.9L motor; it will be interesting to see how the new 140hp 2.0L "clean diesel" competes in regards to FE.