At the time, I was considering either a new Ford Escort GT, Volkswagen Jetta GLI, or Saturn SL2 – all entry-level performance cars with about 123 horsepower. For the same money, I ended up purchasing this seven-year-old diesel with 50,000 miles on it. Although the 300D’s 5-cylinder turbodiesel engine also makes 123 horsepower, it’s not quite as fast as the others.