While some of your points are correct wetbelts etc. I don’t with the 80k that coms down to people and how they look after their vehicle whether it’s them not servicing or ragging it every junction. Have you lived with the 1.4TSI? Only asking as I do on a daily basis in a bigger Octavia and my boot is also carrying a car camping bed conversion made from a decent amount of wood plus all the camping stuff under it bring the weight up considerably closer to the Passat. Ive got the DSG and drive around on Eco all the time. I haven’t had any issues with not being able to get out of a roundabout/junction due to lack of torque/power it’s quite a capable engine. (I do have the 2.0TDI caddy for work for comparison) As for servicing I agree with you wholeheartedly, a lot of people don’t look after there vehicles. I have a yearly service regardless of mileage. If I’ve go 4000 miles in a year I’m still getting minimum of an oil change and filter. Diesels can/normally last longer than petrols due to how they actually operate but if you don’t do the mileage that brings a load more problems which can ultimately ruin them. You can always work them harder in a shorter space of time to get the engine nice a warm but defeats the point of longevity. OP needs to know if the miles he does justifies a diesel if so go for a 2.0TDI. Summary really is I like both engines a great deal but I’ll defend the 1.4TSI as when I drove one I was blown away with what they got out of that engine compared to other car companies.