Pending arrival of some Jetta TDI in the near future, I took it upon myself to learn to drive stickshift. Fortunately, a friend of mine has a 1980 240D in the vicinity of 235k miles, equipped with the manual trans. All I can say is.....WOW!! That car is fun to drive!! Despite its low power I found myself exceeding speed limits around town in a way I usually don't in my E300. It is definitely more engaging to drive than the auto trans E300!

My one gripe was having to bury the acclerator in the carpet trying to reach 65 mph on an onramp....that's where the 240's low hp showed. WOIP in my E300 results in easily exceeding 80 mph (as well as a "kick in the pants"), without showing any signs of slowing down. In the middle of New Mexico I once took it up to 120 mph where it felt right at home!

After driving the 240D my preference has definitely been switched to manual transmission cars, and I am eagerly awaiting finding a suitable Jetta TDI!

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99 E300 TD -- sold
01 540i 6 spd