Hi all.
Not really sure if this is in the right forum so will apologise now if it is'nt. I am growing increasingly disillusioned by the performance of my Omega. its a 1996 3.0 auto Elite saloon.
It has been serviced regular, runs on branded fuel (Total mostly) but I am finding more often than not that 1.9 diesel Passats are more than a match when pulling off & more responsive overall. I know they now have 6 speed manual boxes which means shorter gearing but uses power much better when required.
I would have thought 208bhp was quite impressive when compared to 170 but i see on here the miggy produces 199 lbs of torque compared to the VW's 258. Is this most likely due to the fact it has a turbo or does the autobox hinder performance as greatly as I think, kick down seems more like a volume control rather than an acceleration tool. May just be my driving style as I am not the Stig. 
Just raised this as a debate to see if others suffer the same. Also are manuals more responsive to throttle changes?
Thanks in advance
Jez
Even in manual form the 3.0 isn't amazingly quick, it's a heavy car as you state. One issue is the gearing being high, the manual is much better in this regard but still not brilliant. A manual with a higher diff ratio (for lower overall gearing) would be ideal, but it means you're revving higher when cruising.
Diesels always produce more torque and at lower revs, which means it's much easier to stay in the power band without shifting down. But ultimately horsepower is what you need for acceleration, as you can lower the gearing and thus reduce the load multiplication on the engine.
You will lose about 1 second on the 0-60 with an auto compared with a manual according to VX figures (which are pretty conservative for all models). The throttle response won't change per-se, but you do get a linear connection with a manual as there's no torque converter with built in slip that has to be taken up before the engine starts driving the wheels (or vice-versa when you lift off).
Oh and diesel blocks tend to be heavy as they have to be stronger to deal with the high pressures caused by the high compression ratio. Modern cars always tend to be heavier than the model they replace, probably a combination of extra safety gubbins and more equipment. Often they grow a little in size too.