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"For the Golf and Passat for instance we get a really watered down version of what they get in Europe."

You have a higher opinion of these sluggish, noisy, smelly beasts than I do.

The 2006 Passat TDI I rented in Germany last summer was okay, driveable but kinda pokey. The 2006 I rented six weeks ago was abysmal; worst case of turbo-lag I've ever endured, and lots of electronic quirks, including the very most annoying guidance system on the planet, and a pushbutton parking brake that had a mind of its own.

It pains me to admit it, but I've enjoyed the turbodiesel Renaults I've rented much more than the German iron. The Espace was especially nice.

But no turbodiesel I've driven, even the BMWs, is as all-around driveable as my Prius.