Commuter Car Questions

[bates]

I'm in the middle stages of searching for a replacement commuter car. Looking at the TDI VW Passat, Chevy Cruze ECO, and Toyota Camry 4 cyl predominately at this point.

I'm having a hard time locating a VW Passat with the TDI and a manual transmission. I'm not really excited about popping for the extra nearly $2,000 for the tiptronic Automatic not to mention suffering the loss albeit slight in mileage. Does anyone on this site have experience with the TDI automatic and have you noticed any real world mileage difference from the stick shift?

My question for the Cruze and Camry owners is how has your experience been with the mileage on these cars? Are you getting real world mileage on the lines of the EPA ratings.

I'm trying to decide if the convenience of not shifting is worth the additional cost and if the comfort and convenience of the VW justifies the price point over the Cruze and Camry. Your opinion is important, I'm not looking for the EPA data here, that I can look up, I'm interested in how you feel about your vehicles.

Thank you for any help you can offer me here, I sincerely appreciate it.