While diesel fuel is higher lately, the engines last a lot longer than gas engines; though my last Subaru had 250k on it when I sold it. I would prefer a stick as well. Would be interesting to compare to the VW Diesels. I almost got a VW Jetta Diesel about 5 years ago but at that time they were unavailable. You can also run the Diesels on heating oil; in Germany they put a dye in and have spot inspections.

I drove a volt when they first came out and was very impressed. At 6'2" and 265 pounds the car was a bit tight and with two teenage boys the back was tight for them as well. If they come out with a Volt with a little more room I would be very interested. My current car is a Hyundai Sonata.

What about reliability; putting more gears in a smaller form factors means lightening the whole package. My family had a Chrysler with a 3 speed Auto years ago that was rock solid; my wife has a Dodge Grand Caravan w/4 sped auto which has have three overhauls in less than 150k (I drive a stick myself !)

A good friend who rents cars for long trips recently rented a Hyundai Elantra for a Kentucky to Michigan round trip of 5 days! He was so excited about geting 36.9 MPG in the car (posted picture of MPG display on facebook) that he said that he would buy one when it came time to buy. As the other posters have mentioned, it is rare to hit EPA MPG rating in normal driving; I have when I tried; (no A/C, driving 50-55MPH on highway, lots of coasting). As a Hyundai Sonata ('09), I think the company is very solid and produces a quality product!

Shame to read that the stick has been dropped for the 2013 Sonata; I have a '09 Sonata with a stick and would not consider a replacement without a stick!

As far as speed goes, best milage occurs in high gear (6th); I would say about 60/65 MPH on this car; they state that they drove normally; Still very good mileage; would like to see it certified; maybe VW can trck to verify. I drove VW Rabbit (non-Turbo) Diesel in the early 80s from Kentucky it couldn't get above 2nd gear in the mountains; on average it got about 48MPG.

Doesn't the Kia Optima also have the extended Sun roof as an option?

I have driven a stick all my driving career (30 years) currently driving an '09 Hyundai Sonata, after a string of Subarus.

You have much better control in the car as well as better brake wear, downshifting in snow, as well as better mileage and lower initial cost. Even my 88 year old mother drives stick (05 Honda Civic).

Unfortunatly, if a manufacturer does offer a stick, it is only offered on base models.

Having lived in Germany for 20 years when I was younger, the police there are sticklers for safety.

I do wonder how they got the care in (and out) of the Van; maybe a forklift?

I was close to buying a Jetta TDI a few years ago. When taking for a test drive I was trying to adjust the (power) seat and the sales rep said it had been pulled to replace one in another car. That sort of quality issue plus the smaller back seat caused me not to get it. However, it did drive very solidly. I went with a Hyundai Sonata which has been decent but does not have the feel of the VW or the Subarus that I have driven for many years....