I daily drove my Trans Am for 7 years, but it was finally time for a better commuter car. I was set on a 6spd Cruze Eco, but right as I started to look around it seemed like prices jumped. Just poking around I stumbled across a 2012 Passat TDI 6 speed in the back of a dealer lot that had just been traded it. I was able to test drive it and buy it before they even prepped it to put out on the lot.
And finally, the real reason I bought it. I don't "hypermile" or "ecomod" whatsoever, stock as a rock down to tire pressure I typically average 55ish mpg in the morning and 50ish on the way home with a bit of traffic. Not bad when diesel is only 8 cents more than regular gas. On my first tank I drove to Washington DC and back and still had enough fuel left to do 300 miles back and forth to work last week. In the Trans Am I was filling it with super every other day so my fuel savings covers half of the monthly payment.
It's a certified pre owned so I have a 2 year 24k warranty and VW extended the HPFP and turbo warranty until 10 year 120k, so despite being a VW I'm not too worried about it.