Do you like your golf?

I'm in the market for a new car soon, and I kinda want to go the diesel route with the high fuel prices right now. Also, I really like the longevity of diesels, and have heard nothing but good things about the TDIs and Volkswagens in general. But anyway, I am going to be going to work 70 miles away from home daily, so 140 miles round trip. So, its gonna have a ton of miles on it, and it needs to be reliable. I have an apprenticeship at the Mercedes Benz facility in Vance, and they're quite harsh about being late, 3 times and you're gone, so I need it to last a good long while and be durable. What do you guys think? Its either this or I am looking at a Honda Civic or Insight right now. Although I'm not much of a Honda person. Are there any ways to improve the MPGs on these even more than they are? I figure there's gotta be a chip or something somewhere for them.

I am on to my 3rd VW. Mk1 Golf in Australia, Mk2 Jetta in New Zealand, and now Mk3 Golf in Canada (all petrol however). I have always enjoyed driving them, and they have served me well.

That said, you are never going to be abe to garantee 100% reliability with any car. But I would trust Golf as much as anything out there. Maintain it properly and it will last well.

VW have some history with diesels in small cars - so should be fine.