A friend's family had one of these that I carpooled in for a few years. The AT diesel
was only '83-84 I think, and quite rare. The other vehicles in our carpool were my
family's '81 Rabbit D 5speed, a '79 4 speed gas Rabbit, and a '73 Beetle (that was
cozy...!) The Rabbit with auto trans was by far the slowest of the pack. I don't recall
noise being a problem - I think the top gear was fairly tall. Depending on what you're
used to, it might be ok, but beware that parts might be hard to find - I don't think the
trans was the same as gas models.

On 25 Feb 2005 at 11:09, Edward Duntz <eduntz@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:

> I'd like to get some opinions on having a 1.6L NA diesel coupled with an
> automatic transmission, specifically, in a Rabbit. I've had two different Rabbit
> diesels, both with a 4-speed manual transmission. I would imagine that, even
> though the gear ratios would be different in an automatic than a manual, it
> would still be louder and higher revs because the AT is only 3-speed. I have the
> chance to buy one, but I'm unsure about the AT. I'd prefer a 5-speed, but with
> not too many diesels in my price range ($1,500 or less) within driving distance
> to me (CT), I can't be too picky. I'd like to get it and convert to veg. oil in
> the next few years.
>
> Thanks,
> Ed
>

Shawn Wright
http://zuiko.sls.bc.ca/~swright
'85 Jetta TD (retired)
'85 Jetta D
'88 Westy 2.1L
'82 Diesel Westy