 I love my TDI. I average about 38-41 MPG on a tank of diesel. In highway- only situations I yield about 45 MPG. My all-time record is 49 MPG on a 250 mile round trip. Expect about 560-600 miles out of a tank. But MPG is only half the story with the TDI. It feels a lot quicker than it actually is because of the torque. But that being said, it is no slow poke. Ingear acceleration is great if you shift quickly through the gears, but the engine runs out of steam in the high RPM range. The suspension setup is great, so the TDI is great in the twisty stuff. The only competitor that I can think of is the Audi A3 or Prius. The audis is smaller and more expensive. The Prius is slow and hates corners.