I drove a 2000 Jetta TDI for a short time about 12 years ago. The fuel economy was way better than gasoline (something like 40% more?), and the price of diesel

I drove a 2000 Jetta TDI for a short time about 12 years ago. The fuel economy was way better than gasoline (something like 40% more?), and the price of diesel was cheaper (15%?) Now the price of diesel is always more than gasoline (12% today). When I bought my new car, I had priced out a TDI Jetta, which only came in higher end trims. The amount of money I would save wouldn't break even with the additional cost of the car (over a gasonline model) until about 300k km of fuel savings, which is longer than the average lifespan of a car (diesels probably live longer though). Sure I would have a nicer car, but it was out of my price range and I would be stuck with an under powered engine.