The ten REAL best diesel Volkswagens

"MultiplaOrgasms" (themightymultipla)
09/22/2015 at 16:57 • Filed to: Uselesslists

Number 10:

1976 Golf Diesel

Why it is on this list: While it wasn’t the first compact car to be available with a diesel engine (Peugeot got you beat by a decade VW) it is still one of the prime examples why light weight will always be the best method for achieving great fuel economy, being capable of 50+ mpg in real world conditions despite shitty 1970s aerodynamics.

Number 9:

1997 Golf Mk. IV 1.9 TDI

I don’t know about the american perspective on this, but to me the 1.9 Pumpe-Düse is the definitive TDI, especially when in Golf form.

Number 8:

2006 Audi R10 TDI

This car proved that Diesel is not just great for black and white burnouts and getting 45mpg doing it, but can also kick some major ass in top-tier motorsport, picking up where the hugely successful R8 left, winning three consecutive 24 heures du Mans and starting a Diesel winning spree that has only been terminated earlier this year, nine years after it first appeared. And who doesn’t love a 650hp V12 Diesel?

Number 7:

1982 Golf GTD

Introduced in 1982, the GTD added a Turbocharger and GTi go fast bits to the rather pedestrian Golf Diesel, making it effectively the first diesel car with sporting pretentions. It is thus the spiritual great grandfather of the R10.

Number 6:

2008 Audi Q7 V12 TDi

Continuing with the theme of slightly insane Audis, this Behemoth needs no introduction.

Number 5:

1999 Audi Allroad Quattro 2.5 TDI

Because this is the internet, why not tease americans with something they can’t have? Yes, everyone’s favourite unreliable lifted wagon can also be had with the for the most part pretty meh 2.5 TDI. But for that reason alone it isn’t on this list. I have something of an affinity for the sound of diesel engines, and the 2.5 V6 makes one of my favourite idle sounds:

Number 4:

2001 Audi A2 3L TDI (+ 1999 VW Lupo 3L TDI)

A bit of a personal favourite, this one. The A2 was already quite radical for what is essentially a city car with its all aluminium construction and polarizing looks, but the 3L turned the german up to 12. Powered by 1.2L 3cyl TDI engine making a massive 60hp, the 3L and its sister car, the VW Lupo 3L were capable of nearly 80mpg in the right circumstances thanks to extensive adding of lightness, 145/80 R14 bicycle wheels and a still very respectable drag coefficient of just .25 and .29 respectively. Vorsprung durch Technik indeed.

Number 3:

1990 Audi 100 2.5 TDI

Wait what is some random old brown sedan doing on this list? Well it is here because it is the OG TDI. Not the first diesel passenger car to feature direct injection (Fiat got you beat by three years VAG), but who remembers the Croma 1.9 TD i.d. anyway? Audi on the other hand managed to leave an impression, and the TDI technology quickly spread through VAG and would make swirl chamber and precombustion chamber diesel engines seem obsolete in just a number of years. Today all modern diesel engines are of the direct injection type, and it may be in part because of this car’s success.

Number 2:

2002 VW Touareg V10 TDI

The car that once towed a Jumbo Jet. While its 313hp and 550ft-lb are certainly not very impressive today, they sure were back in the day. There is just something about that magic number of cylinders.

Number 1:

2015 VW Passat Variant 2.0 TDI Biturbo 4Motion

That is one name worthy of the BMW stamp of approval. So why is this number one and not the R18 or something similar? Because the R18 is not a Wagon. Isn’t that what you guys like so much? Anyway the car isn’t too awful with 240hp and 370ft-lb going to all four wheels. It may not pass any emissions tests and break down every four weeks but who cares it has got two turbos which is twice as many as necessary but so awesome.

This list is perfect and therefore all your arguments against it are invalid.

DISCUSSION (25)

Nibby > MultiplaOrgasms
09/22/2015 at 17:02

Wrong.

Kinja'd!!!

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > MultiplaOrgasms
09/22/2015 at 17:06

Fun fact..

USDM and CDM TDIs were only Pumpe Duse starting in 2004. Mine is brilliant.

Kinja'd!!!

dogisbadob > MultiplaOrgasms
09/22/2015 at 17:18

Kinja'd!!!

one of the worst cars ever made, regardless of fuel

dogisbadob > MultiplaOrgasms
09/22/2015 at 17:20

Wrong! The #1 VW diesel is the Taro :)

Kinja'd!!!

MultiplaOrgasms > dogisbadob
09/22/2015 at 17:42

Ahhh no.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > MultiplaOrgasms
09/22/2015 at 18:46

You missed what should be number one: the ARVW.

Kinja'd!!!

An earth-shattering 175 HP from a 2.4l I6 turbodiesel pulled out of a VW LT. Fuel consumption?

71.2 MPG @ 90MPH

38.5 MPG @ 160 MPH

and if you’re in a hurry, 17.3 MPG @ 223 MPH

It is a tad cramped, you do have to shift manually and there aren’t any cupholders, so it may not be a practical commuter vehicle.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > dogisbadob
09/22/2015 at 18:48

Kinja'd!!!

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > dogisbadob
09/22/2015 at 18:49

I’m pretty sure the electrics started going wrong at the factory. The drive is decent, but the VW ownership experience (if you can even call it that) in the US, along with the quality of late 90s VW products...

Yeah, I’ll give you a pointer that it could be considered one of the worst VWs ever made, but it’s not as egregious as some other cars.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Nibby
09/22/2015 at 18:50

Even DaimlerBenz was able to build a better VW than VW. You have given us the archetype.

RallyWrench > dogisbadob
09/22/2015 at 18:55

Disagree. I see a lot of them for service, and they’re not bad at all. The 1.8t and automatic transmissions are crap, but the other powertrains are great. No, they’re not Corollas, but they’re by no means a bad car.

RallyWrench > MultiplaOrgasms
09/22/2015 at 18:59

Minor correction: the Pumpe Duse engines didn’t start until around 2000 in Europe, 2004 here in ‘Murica. They have camshaft-driven injectors. Prior to that they were the good old external mechanical injection pumps.

Also, an interesting sub-note: the 2.5L Audi and VW diesel blocks are popular for monster gas-powered turbo builds, as the cranks are much stronger and the have more displacement than any gas variant of the 5 cylinder family.

MultiplaOrgasms > RallyWrench
09/22/2015 at 19:06

That is true. Previous TDIs used distributor pumps. But I grew up during the time of the Pumpe Düse, and that stuff sticks.

Übel > RallyWrench
09/22/2015 at 19:07

Even the later (180hp) 1.8Ts in the GTI were pretty great engines. Source: had one before my 24v VR6, and still wish I had never crashed it.

RallyWrench > Übel
09/22/2015 at 19:10

I had a 24V GTI for 160k, and I’d still have it if it was a 5-door. It was a wonderful car.

Übel > RallyWrench
09/22/2015 at 19:14

Yeah, truly the only gripe I have with mine is that it just doesn’t have the pull of my 1.8T. Having the 6-speed instead of the 5 is really nice though, the spacing on the ratios is much better. Plus, wookie noises!

duurtlang > dogisbadob
09/23/2015 at 05:21

Maybe on the US market for Mexican built cars. In Europe it’s among the last VWs I would consider, as those diesel drive trains are bullet proof and other than the window mechanisms they didn’t have that many problems. Unlike later VWs. It’s easier for me to find a 400k+ mk4 TDI Golf than a 100k- example.

Wheelerguy > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
09/27/2015 at 11:14

But will it turn?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Wheelerguy
09/27/2015 at 15:58

Probably about 142 turns lock-to-lock to make a U turn...

Wheelerguy > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
09/28/2015 at 01:37

How about Parabolica?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Wheelerguy
09/28/2015 at 04:38

Parabolica would probably a tad too tight. They didn’t seem to have any problems at Nardo, so it’s just a matter of having a turn with a large enough radius, preferably something measured in kilometers instead of meters.

Kinja'd!!!