small diesel toad

[n4hwl]

I have been in europe for a few weeks and have been driving a small diesel (about a 2 liter) van type vehicle. This little thing had really good power and amazing mileage. Are there any similar small diesel vehicles here in the good old USA that mother EPA will let us buy that can be towed 4 wheels down ? I am interested in getting a diesel toad and this is the beginning of my search.

Thanks

Ken

[RobertRyan]

Golden HVAC wrote:
Many European vehicles are not imported to the USA because they will not meet the crash standards. The F-150 is about 500 pounds more than in the 70's to meet the higher crash standards that are in place now, and not 30 years ago.

Know this is an old thread, but lack of compliance to crash standards, works in reverse outside the US. Many US vehicles do not meet European and other standards. Would be helpful to have interoperable standards

[tatest]

You can get a Golf TDI here, though by European standards it is not a small car, as there are two smaller sizes from most manufacturers. Manual transmission is available, if you want to tow it, though VW says no.

Beetle on same platform also comes as a diesel.

Jetta on stretched Golf platform comes as a diesel, but we get only the sedan, no wagon.

Mid-size Passat comes as a diesel, again we get only the sedan.

I think you might find VW also puts the diesel in some of their Audi models here, but we do not get any small Audis, the A3 is platform share with mid-size Passat.

There is just not really enough of a market for small diesel cars (or small cars at all) for manufacturers to go through the certification and import them. The big market for diesel engines in Europe is historically driven by a substantially lower motor fuel tax for diesel, in several countries. We put a higher tax on diesel than on gas, and in any case our motor fuel taxes are so low that there is not enough room for incentives to manipulate our vehicle choices.

[FIRE_UP]

John & Angela wrote:
Heres our little diesel toad. Unfortunately not available in the US but you might be able to transplant one from Canada. :). It's also the tow vehicle for our little tent trailer. Rated at around 71 mpg US. Also considered to be the cleanest burning engine in the world.

I knew someone would come back with a sensible answer. Hello John! Yep, for many weird, odd, and somewhat pain in the a$$ reasons, the U.S. does not and will not let diesel versions of many smaller cars run around on U.S. roads. Jeep wrangler has had a few factory diesel engines in the past but, they're not to be purchased over here. The Honda CRV has had a diesel version for quite some time but, again, NOT HERE! John and Angelas Smarties are both diesel and, as he says, over 70 mpg, yeah sure there's no advantages of diesel vs gas versions.

I beat that statement long ago with my two VW TDI versions. They both got 42 mpg, CONSISTANTLY with or without a full load of people and or, the A/C on. There's other versions of Toyota and Nissan vehicles that are diesel (seen a slight few of them running around the U.S.) but, again, not a normal import.

Yet, it's amazing that you can buy a diesel Ford, Dodge, Chevy or, GMC pickup all day long and, have been able to for decades. There are quite a few folks running around with VW TDI bugs and Jettas in tow and have not had one issue towing them. I've talked with many at campgrounds and RV parks and, all have been extremely happy with the setup, performance and especially the mileage of their VW diesel toads. And the power of those little engines is phenomenal.

Now, as most of you know, VW of America does NOT allow or, authorize any of it's fleet for flat towing. Many of those folks I've spoken with simply stepped outside the box and talked directly with the transmission techs at their local VW dealers. Those techs assured them they would not have any issues flat towing their VW TDI vehicles but, also added that, they cannot put it in writing due to the fact that it would go against VOA rules and regs for towing.

So, there ARE small diesel toads out there, you just have to dig around and find one that suits your needs. If it weren't for the fact that we need our pickup to haul our 900 lb. Honda Goldwing on our trips, we'd have a VW TDI in a heart beat.
Scott

[rockhillmanor]

You can check here to see which ones are towable if you know which cars are diesel.

http://blueox.com/bx-r-baseplates.aspx
My friend just picked up a real nice VW that is diesel. You can't even tell it's diesel no smell no sounds. I thought it was a gasser until they went to fill it up! Gets 42 mpg.

[John___Angela]

Heres our little diesel toad. Unfortunately not available in the US but you might be able to transplant one from Canada. :). It's also the tow vehicle for our little tent trailer. Rated at around 71 mpg US. Also considered to be the cleanest burning engine in the world.

[ChooChooMan74]

I just looked, and the Cruze is only able to be towed 4 down with the Manual Tranny, and the Diesel comes only equipped with the Automatic.

[Ductape]

Unfortunately the US versions will not get the same high mpg as do euro vehicles. There's not really any economic advantage to a diesel here vs a gas vehicle. I do like diesels but the EPA has ruined them cost/benefit wise.

[Halmfamily]

VW Jetta and Passat, Audi Q5,Q7, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chevy Cruze are all diesels, not sure if you can tow four down though. What about a hydrid or a Chevy Volt? Just throwing some names out there. Good luck on your search and let us know what you find out.

[midnightsadie]

find a old VW that had the diesel they were great, but I don,t think your going to find any car here, box one up and ship it home.

[Golden_HVAC]

Many European vehicles are not imported to the USA because they will not meet the crash standards. The F-150 is about 500 pounds more than in the 70's to meet the higher crash standards that are in place now, and not 30 years ago.

There are many cars that got great mileage. I used to have a 83 Honda Civic, and it was really light vehicle, got around 30 MPG. Today the same car is going to be 500 pounds more, and larger 'more powerful' engine, that has higher crash standards.

Good luck finding something. I hope it works out for you.

Fred.

[ChooChooMan74]

05 and 06 Jeep Liberty CRD. Rare find (I have one) and rarer if you find one from an enthusiast who took good care of her and fixed the quirks.

'08 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Mercedes Blutec motor. Now, the '14 Grand Cherokees with the 3.0 VM, but what I don't like is that these only come with the diesel in the high end models.

I am sure there are others.