I sold my diesel and bought a………. gasoline Jetta. I know, I know – diesel fans, don’t panic. Gasoline engines have long been a sore spot at IDParts. For years, we have been nothing but diesel. It was ingrained in our minds that diesel=good and gasoline=bad. I went from owning no diesels when I started working here to having a Chevy Cruze Diesel and a Golf TDI. I even talked my cousin into buying a Passat TDI to add to his Powerstrokes. The diesels I owned were great! Plenty of power with amazing fuel economy until the worst happened. The Cruze Diesel spun a main bearing and the engine was toast. Finding engine internals for a Cruze Diesel rebuild is not easy. I decided sadly, it was time for something new.
I would have loved to purchase a brand-new VW TDI, but as we all know ever since Dieselgate, the possibility of that has vanished. That is when I decided on a 2022 VW Jetta 1.5T.
Finally, I had a newer vehicle with some features I wanted, like CarPlay and a usable backup camera, BUT…. a diesel it was not. I was worried about my fuel economy and the lack of power, but would it really be that different?
Engine Power:
My Cruze was not stock and had a few power upgrades, so going to a stock 1.5 with the tiniest turbo was a big change at first. As I have had the vehicle longer, I have gotten used to it. The 1.5T with 158hp has plenty of power to get me around town and back & forth from work. I can quickly accelerate when needed to get on the highway and have never felt like I have had a lack of power when driving it yet.
Fuel Economy:
This was the biggest surprise to me. I was fully expecting to end up regretting my gasoline decision every time I had to stop and fill up. What shocked me was the gasoline Jetta was able to keep up with the fuel economy of the Cruze and beat the fuel economy of the Golf.
Here is my fuel economy on my morning commute today:
Now we all know one highway drive with zero traffic isn’t a great indicator of average fuel economy, but it is still nice to know the vehicle can achieve high 40s under the right conditions. Looking at my current tank though, it is still in line with where my diesel was plus I am saving a bit on each gallon.
Repairs:
The Cruze Diesel wasn’t a highly popular vehicle. Finding parts, how-tos, or even a shop to look at it was always a challenge. Going from a unicorn in the Cruze Diesel to one of the more basic vehicles around has made finding info and doing the repairs myself much easier.
Was it the right decision?
I love my gasoline Jetta, but if my Cruze Diesel hadn’t failed, I don’t think I would have ever made the swap. There is something about driving a diesel sedan. It’s different— People stop and do a double-take when they hear it. Had there been a 2022 Jetta TDI out at the time I would have looked at getting that instead of the gas Jetta, but there wasn’t. The gasoline Jetta has been a great replacement. It gets great fuel economy and has been reliable. That is all I really wanted in a replacement vehicle and I couldn’t be happier.
Getting a gasoline Jetta has made us rethink our diesel only position at IDParts. We have begun adding gasoline service kits and products to our catalogs because we know I can’t be the only one who has added a gas vehicle to their diesel fleet. You can trust us to provide the same level of service and knowledge from our diesel offerings to our gasoline line.
