As Rich said, Diesels are pretty much soild. Lots of torque. I had a 1.9TDi Ibiza before the Zed and I loved it. Black smoke from the exhaust is common, but a high percentage of the time this can be put down to dirty injectors. An additive can be purchased for this. Try and stay with German manufactures, as they are better IMO, maybe a Mk4 Golf?
Good luck bud