Mehling.org: July 2003 Archives

July 01, 2003

Hol's New Ecco
As much as we loved the Trooper, it was getting on in age and had a few tranny (gah, slushboxes...) issues. I was afraid the next big thing was going to be the down on a new car, besides the Trooper was a large SUV.

In our search for a newer vehicle for her, I had managed to convince her that stay-wags could be quite cool and Euro -- not at all the soccer-mom stereotype she thought.

What we looked at:

VW Jetta Wagon TDI: I rented this little beast for her roadtrip up to her Fresno performance w/ Rhapsody. She was taking a couple of company members with her and I thought it would be a good idea to take it on a long trip both from a 'long test drive' perspective as well as making sure she had something reliable (versus the Trooper).

Pros: Diesel have come a long way. I drove it a bit, and thought "Damn, this is a diesel?" Not the TD Mercs of the 70s and 80s for sure. 55 MPG on the highway gives it like a 700 mile range. In the low 20s price-wise, I think this is quite a deal and I'm surprised there's not more out there. I see there's some 'upgrades' to increase power even more and w/ a new version of the engine due this year, Volkswagen only needs to battle the image of Diesel in the US.

Cons: Great little car, but the key being *little*. The leg room in the back was not there, and Tedd turning 14 in August (and taller than his mom) made this an easy choice. We just couldn't do it. The rental we got (pretty new) already had some rattles. Rattles absolutely kill me. Drive me nuts.
VW Passat Wagon: We liked the Jetta so much we thought about a Passat (the larger version). I talked to several dealerships and, internet rumors aside, I could get no confirmation that the diesel version was coming to the US. Too bad. It was supposed to be the '04 model anyway, so that's a ways off.
Pros: Nice design, clean lines. Euro. Available in the 1.8T or VR6 engine. Also can get it w/ AWD for added safety in the wet. Size is just right.

Cons: By the time you tack on all the options you want, there isn't much savings. Granted its a great deal if you don't care about the AWD, sports and premium packages. But I do. It was a K less than what we went with, didn't have all the extras, didn't have the fit and fitment to match our final decision.
Other cars considered: BMW 325iT (touring == wagon): 5-6k more w/ less options; Subaru Legacy Wagon: 4k more w/ roughly equivalent options; Volvo V40 (wagon): the nicer V70 is in the low 40s at the base, too much! The V40 is a nice car, but more equal to the Jetta in size and options; Honda Civic Hybrid (Hol wanted to be earth friendly): this car is just a bit too small to make me comfortable, especially w/ Tedd learning to drive in 2 years; Ford Escape is supposed to have hybrid version in late '03, but the MPG wasn't that great and well, its a Ford Escape -- it got really poor reliability ratings previously.

So what did we pick?

We test drove two versions of the '03 Audi A4 Avant (wagon). This is their workhorse 1.8l Turbo 4 banger, the Avants are all 'quattro' (AWD). This is a damn good looking car to boot. Hol picked the auto (*sigh*, it's her car, so it's her choice) over the stick, however she was brave enough to test drive the stick WITH the sales guy. Very impressive.

If we lived in Europe we could have gotten this car diesel, which would be killer, but as the US has yet to understand the benefits and trade offs of gasoline versus diesel, it's unlikely to be available w/ the 2.0l diesel for some time.

Includes like 6 airbags and many other safety features that make it a good car for both Hol and Tedd. This car is priced some K below its competitors, feels very solid, and has many little included extras that really add up (for a car geek like me). Like what? Most people will shake their head, but hey... center sunvisor, drawers under the front seats, included cargo net, animal gate, and rear shade, full-size spare (17" sport rim matches rest of wheels), first aid kit, safety triangle, rear foglight, and others... all little things that add up.

The trim level is as follows: A4 Avant 1.8T Auto (tiptronic), Quattro drive, Atlas Grey, Sport Package (upgraded rims and suspension), Premium Package (Leather interior, Moonroof, Electric seats), Xenon headlamps, Bose stereo package (we didn't really want this, but whatever, we haggled a bit using this as a reason to drop the price).

Oh yeah, Hol likes the dolphin color we picked and named the car Ecco (after the hero of the Sega computer game of the same name). Awww, isn't that cute?

Posted by ben at 10:00 AM
Comments (1)


Main \| August 2003 » July 01, 2003 Hol's New Ecco As much as we loved the Trooper, it was getting on in age and had a few tranny (gah, slushboxes...) issues. I was afraid the next big thing was going to be the down on a new car, besides the Trooper was a large SUV. In our search for a newer vehicle for her, I had managed to convince her that stay-wags could be quite cool and Euro -- not at all the soccer-mom stereotype she thought. What we looked at: VW Jetta Wagon TDI: I rented this little beast for her roadtrip up to her Fresno performance w/ Rhapsody. She was taking a couple of company members with her and I thought it would be a good idea to take it on a long trip both from a 'long test drive' perspective as well as making sure she had something reliable (versus the Trooper). Pros: Diesel have come a long way. I drove it a bit, and thought "Damn, this is a diesel?" Not the TD Mercs of the 70s and 80s for sure. 55 MPG on the highway gives it like a 700 mile range. In the low 20s price-wise, I think this is quite a deal and I'm surprised there's not more out there. I see there's some 'upgrades' to increase power even more and w/ a new version of the engine due this year, Volkswagen only needs to battle the image of Diesel in the US. Cons: Great little car, but the key being little. The leg room in the back was not there, and Tedd turning 14 in August (and taller than his mom) made this an easy choice. We just couldn't do it. The rental we got (pretty new) already had some rattles. Rattles absolutely kill me. Drive me nuts. VW Passat Wagon: We liked the Jetta so much we thought about a Passat (the larger version). I talked to several dealerships and, internet rumors aside, I could get no confirmation that the diesel version was coming to the US. Too bad. It was supposed to be the '04 model anyway, so that's a ways off. Pros: Nice design, clean lines. Euro. Available in the 1.8T or VR6 engine. Also can get it w/ AWD for added safety in the wet. Size is just right. Cons: By the time you tack on all the options you want, there isn't much savings. Granted its a great deal if you don't care about the AWD, sports and premium packages. But I do. It was a K less than what we went with, didn't have all the extras, didn't have the fit and fitment to match our final decision. Other cars considered: BMW 325iT (touring == wagon): 5-6k more w/ less options; Subaru Legacy Wagon: 4k more w/ roughly equivalent options; Volvo V40 (wagon): the nicer V70 is in the low 40s at the base, too much! The V40 is a nice car, but more equal to the Jetta in size and options; Honda Civic Hybrid (Hol wanted to be earth friendly): this car is just a bit too small to make me comfortable, especially w/ Tedd learning to drive in 2 years; Ford Escape is supposed to have hybrid version in late '03, but the MPG wasn't that great and well, its a Ford Escape -- it got really poor reliability ratings previously. So what did we pick? We test drove two versions of the '03 Audi A4 Avant (wagon). This is their workhorse 1.8l Turbo 4 banger, the Avants are all 'quattro' (AWD). This is a damn good looking car to boot. Hol picked the auto (sigh, it's her car, so it's her choice) over the stick, however she was brave enough to test drive the stick WITH the sales guy. Very impressive. If we lived in Europe we could have gotten this car diesel, which would be killer, but as the US has yet to understand the benefits and trade offs of gasoline versus diesel, it's unlikely to be available w/ the 2.0l diesel for some time. Includes like 6 airbags and many other safety features that make it a good car for both Hol and Tedd. This car is priced some K below its competitors, feels very solid, and has many little included extras that really add up (for a car geek like me). Like what? Most people will shake their head, but hey... center sunvisor, drawers under the front seats, included cargo net, animal gate, and rear shade, full-size spare (17" sport rim matches rest of wheels), first aid kit, safety triangle, rear foglight, and others... all little things that add up. The trim level is as follows: A4 Avant 1.8T Auto (tiptronic), Quattro drive, Atlas Grey, Sport Package (upgraded rims and suspension), Premium Package (Leather interior, Moonroof, Electric seats), Xenon headlamps, Bose stereo package (we didn't really want this, but whatever, we haggled a bit using this as a reason to drop the price). Oh yeah, Hol likes the dolphin color we picked and named the car Ecco (after the hero of the Sega computer game of the same name). Awww, isn't that cute? 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