Ok, I cherish my "new" 240D, and my wife seems to as well. But we are not sure "how" one should drive it. It is a 4-speed btw.

There is the "drive it like you stole it" school. There is a notion floating about that these cars are happy to rev up, that it is therapeutic somehow. I don't see how this can be true. This is also very noisy, and there are times when - to my gasser-tuned ears - I say to myself "that can't be good for anybody". If you use the shift guides to determine when to change gears, you are driving as if you have stolen it. This is, however, often the most fun way to drive the car, and it moves you around town at roughly the same pace as the myriad SUVs that tailgate you.

Then there is the "protect the old lady" school. Keep RPMs as low as possible. This is quieter, and leisurely, and the car fits the old lady sunday drive mentality if you are in that mood. I will say that you can make the car struggle to fight the fact that it is accelerating from too high a gear...that may be worse than the RPMs, which is the gist of my question.

While we are at it, one more thing. The diesel idles slowly and steadily, like a ticking clock. I love the sound. There is a tendency among diesel drivers to keep the thing idling when the option is there. My view is, yeah, I love the sound, but she would rather be off than running, all else being equal.

Am I being too spiritual about this?