Originally Posted by vtmbz

Time for me to speak up. I’ve had three 2.2 diesels. Here they rust out way before they wear out. Two have needed head gaskets, which I did myself. One had 165k and one had only 90k mile on the clock. Only one of the three had a working egr, not an issue here.

Cruising speed on the highway. These are small engines and get shrill over 65mph. I have cruised for hours at seventy in mountainous terrain, but you won’t be listening to the tunes.

I like these cars for the fuel economy. The state of the engine has a lot to do with the numbers, but even a worn out smoky example will pull mid thirty, and my current car, with 102k gets forty some days with an automatic. Freeway driving will pull that number down noticeably.

If you’re not 6’6” and not a big person, these are comfortable as can be. My neighbor can just drop himself in, but getting out is hard for him. He’s a big boy however. The back seat is for children and dogs only. But the trunk was obviously designed to carry two golf bags and a litter of kittens. We stuff my 190 every year on our trip to Maine (why we have to take pots and pans I’ll never understand), put a bicycle on the rear for maximum drag, throw two grownups and the beagle in the back, and take off. The mileage suffers a bit, but it’s all under 55mph, and we prefer that to taking the new Honda.

They feel safe, not dangerously overpowered, good stopping, and on surface streets are more than able to compensate for a novice driver.

I’ve never had any of mine up to 80, but be forewarned, that would be a very loud journey.