Seriously, I'd get one of those for my mother. Personally I dont like the current 3er range much, but it'd be great for my mom.

I test drove a VW Golf TDI today (went up to Frederick for this) and it was swell. It was exactly as I expected in every way. The manual gearbox was super easy (perfectly rev-matched downshifts anyone?), the ride was quiet and comfortable without being floaty at 120 km/h, and the fuel economy was decent. I reset the consumption meter and had an average of 6,1 l/100km (38 US mpg) on 60% highway driving, albeit most of the driving was not much more spirited than I normally drive. It certainly meets my "eco-responsibility" demands and most my driving demands. Couple ergonomic problems (cruise control, for starters) and the touchscreen radio is more complex than it needs to be. And the units on the speedometer are wrong.

I don't think I'm ready for the TDI though. I believe that if I did eventually buy this car, I'm pretty much ready to give all aggressive, fun driving up. It's not deficient in any technical aspects (it is a bit nose-heavy), but it's a lot like my mother's 325i: incredibly dull to drive around town. I'd probably fall asleep at stoplights. And I'm not ready give up my X3's excitement yet, even if it's twice as thirsty, half as quick to merge, and 3x as pointless because it's a SUV.

As for spring break, once again I've managed to ruin it due to lack of proper planning. Parents won't approve of such a long road trip to Murrells Inlet in SC. I desperately need somewhere warm to be for the rest of break; if this means driving down to Wilmington NC to watch it rain on the beach, so be it. .