Comments on: VW prices Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen

By: maxcar

maxcar — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 06:55:02 +0000

the leap from bio product to fuel is much shorter for diesel than gasoline. the embodied energy to produce diesel is far less. don’t let the pump price right now influence your view of diesel as a viable fuel in the right economic environment. Read “Big Oil” influence.

By: Vroom

Vroom — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:44:52 +0000

Recalls will be announced next month… VW-POS

By: wbent

wbent — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:07:55 +0000

Let me help you

Focus or Colbalt 15,000 miles/35mpg = 428 gal x $4.50 = $1,926 annual cost

VW 15,000 miles/44mpg = 340 gal x $5.00 = $1,704 annual cost

Works out to a base operating savings of $222 in annual savings. However when you factor in the upcharge of $2000 it will take 9 years to pay for that powerplant. The new diesels are among the worst in terms of reliability on the things gone wrong index because of complexity. The new DI/Turbo gas engines do acheive fuel mileage in the 40’s and are far less complex. Heck double the cost of fuel….still doesn’t work for the average ownership. Why is Europe shifting to DI/Turbo gasoline engines? Could it be that the new more stringent EU emissions standards make it unviable product.

By: Z06ified

Z06ified — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:31:10 +0000

Those of you saying the mileage isn’t that great are smoking crack. To put things in perspective: There isn’t a single gasoline powered car (non-hybrid) sold in the U.S. that can get 44 MPG highway. Not even the Smart, Fit, or Versa.

And if you say diesel prices make it more expensive to operate, you haven’t done your math.

Think about it.

By: Fletch

Fletch — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:44:00 +0000

The new TDI has a lot of potential if some of the VW tuners can figure out the engine management and sell a chip with some better maps. Get rid of the particulate filter and some of the cats, but keep at least one downstream cat.

I would bet money the car would have at least 15% better perfomance and ecomony.

By: The Stig

The Stig — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:05:02 +0000

Would be a decent daily driver on a 3-year lease. Good MPG, not great but you can meet and make new friends in the VW service area.

By: maxcar

maxcar — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:17:37 +0000

buy horsepower, drive torque. i’ll take a diesel over a gasoline, liter for liter. anyone watch le mans this year or last?

By: maxcar

maxcar — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:15:11 +0000

^^^ Johnny on the spot.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:43:48 +0000

This is rapidly becoming a pick your poison argument. Would any member of our distinguished blog care to enlighten me on one point: is there such a thing as a manual transmission hybrid?

If not, my choice just became as clear as a cold lager before breakfast on a summer morning at the lake during the second week of vacation when you’ve finally forgotten about that you do have to go back to that gawdforsaken sh*thole you call work and suck enough hypothetical c*ck to keep paying the two f*cking mortgages, the car payment and never mind that for the lack of a couple of condoms you probably could be living this life every day.

By: jayjc08

jayjc08 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:11:46 +0000

Even if the argument that your not saving much at about the same as a gas engine, I would still go for the diesel. More refined, more power for better fuel economy, and they don’t require tiny weeny tires, small packaging and lower weight to achieve those numbers (reference to Cobalt).

By: A4

A4 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:05:45 +0000

maybe LJ’s inlaws had an Isuzu Impulse…hahahha

By: wbent

wbent — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:58:39 +0000

Refer to my post in the Ford Fiesta earlier. This just builds my case against diesels. The reason for the loss of fuel mileage over older models is the EPA standards that require certain fuel consuming components IE Particulate traps. Ford or Gm could higher a third party and show 38mpg with their gas engines….I tend to believe in the accuracy of the EPA under the revised standards. Diesels engines are not a viable investment.

By: swamprat

swamprat — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:05:29 +0000

Sorry, but that mileage stinks. You can get just as good mileage with a Chevrolet Cobalt XFE (36 hwy) or something like a Honda Civic. Couple that with Diesel’s exorbitant costs, and you have a prescription for non sales.

You can thank your democrats, republicans and teh EPA for the stupid rules on diesel emissions and road safety rules making cars 1000 lbs heavier than they should be.

This may be the only way the car makers can meet the EPA 35 mpg targets. They will be shoving diesels down our throat if they want to maintain market share.

By: shaver

shaver — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:48:39 +0000

It is difficult to compare old EPA numbers to new(test was revised in 2007. This will get better mileage then the last model in real world despite what EPA says.
The price of Diesel has gone up $1.90/Gal in one year, gas has gone up $1.20. For the most part killing the savings and totally changing the argument for diesel. The big question is where these fuel prices will go from here.

By: DrFill

DrFill — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:37:49 +0000

So EPA, whose new estimates have been pretty much on target the last couple of years, says the economy is going to blow.

Interesting.

DrFill

By: zoomzoomer

zoomzoomer — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:17:52 +0000

August debuts.. way to go VW, just in time for $6.00/gallon diesel.

LJ.. I think you mean “Insight”?

By: nickkop

nickkop — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:59:01 +0000

wtf is LJ blabbering about? the car sounds promising..

By: LJ

LJ — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:30:13 +0000

good if you can afford it. I was told by local VW, for months, you could get one, a base model, for $20K tops….this extra $1,990(and add taxes to this “extra” over 20K….more than $2,100 dollars more)…No.
Glad there will be buyers. I can’t afford it. BTW… our driving is 75% hwy… and mpg has bee between 35-39MPG this summer, in a 16,500 dollar gas engine car(and it is nearly the size of the Jetta..and 140HP, too..except not the great torque of the Jetta, but I can live with 0-60 in 10 seocnds vs 8 seconds).
For 41-44MPG, an extra 5K is not worth it(with financing the difference, maybe 5,500-6K more) to me.

You can wait an dbuy the small Honda hybrid 5 door, announced on LLN recently, next Spring…for 19K(or less).
50-55 hwy?
Gas costs less?
Never heard of the system failing(mother in law’s 65 year old cousin, they had an Impulse…. droive it 133K miles since 2001…53-61MPG ….).

By: A4

A4 — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:13:41 +0000

they are going to have a 2.0l unit.

By: mayer_ray_nagin

mayer_ray_nagin — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:59:32 +0000

LLN, the fuel economy is not “bladder-testing” if you simply piss out the window.

By: xyunya

xyunya — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:49:52 +0000

Is this the same BlueTec system as in M-B that you have to piss on it to make particulate filter work? Who knows if it is 1.9L 105 HP or 2.0L 140 HP engine?

By: cookie4me

cookie4me — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:44:03 +0000

Most of the discrepancy is in the city MPG which can vary a lot in “real driving” depending how long you sit at stop lights during your commute. Still awesome numbers.

By: foster1

foster1 — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:42:39 +0000

F**king Fantastic. I know that from my time when I used to sell VW the TDI’s would get 38-44 in the city and 50+ on the highway once they got about 6 thousand miles on them great cars. I don’t see how 30 to 40 is correct. Plus this new engine is much better fuel syestem. So it should get better once it is starting to break in. Plus the Maintence Sign me up before the dealers can stick 5 grand on them. Bang for the buck the TDI is a smoking deal compared to Toyota’s prius

By: A4

A4 — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:41:26 +0000

woah thats not bad at all for a TDI