Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Wagons/Estates, Green, Volkswagen
Official EPA numbers posted for the '09 Jetta TDI - 30/41mpg
When we got our first chance to sample the new Volkswagen Jetta TDI last summer, VW of America CEO Stefan Jacoby indicated that the new compact diesel would achieve mileage in the 40mpg range. More recently, VW has been indicating that the Jetta TDI is capable of up to 60mpg on the highway. The first of the new 50-state legal Jettas were recently spotted on their way to dealerships and now the EPA has published official mileage numbers. Unfortunately,wrong those numbers don't quite match up with what VW has been claiming.
According to the official listing at FuelEconomy.gov, the 6-speed manual 2009 VW Jetta TDI managed 30mpg on the city cycle and 41mpg on the highway cycle, making its combined number 34mpg. Now those numbers are certainly respectable and nothing to sneeze at, but they fall well short of VW's predictions. Nonetheless, the TDI rates 41.7-percent better than the 2.5L five cylinder and 36-percent better than the 2.0 TFSI four cylinder. The big question is what will a diesel Jetta do in the real world? According to VW spokesman Keith Price, Volkswagen's diesels typically do better in real world mileage than the EPA sticker values. VW, you know where to find our garage so we can judge for ourselves. Thanks for the tip, Conner and Jason!
[Source: FuelEconomy.gov]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
amg 9:39AM (5/21/2008)
thats worse than honda civic
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jb 9:57AM (5/21/2008)
it's also twice as big as the civic...
montoym 8:38PM (5/21/2008)
The only Civic it is worse than is the Hybrid. Give the TDI a hybrid powertrain and we'll see what happens.
Additionally, as has been noted in other comments, the EPA figures seem to estimate the Prius(and other hybrid) mileage quite effectively, but they are off varying amounts for most other vehicles and quite a bit off for the TDI's. Just do a couple of searches for various cars and see for yourself fueleconomy.gov. Just click on the car model you are interested in.
Real-world drivers(on the EPA site) have averaged almost 42MPG with the previous TDI when the EPA says it should get 37MPG hwy and 33MPG combined.
This new TDI is EPA estimated to get better mileage, so we shall see what the real-world figures will bring. But, I have no doubt they will continue to be higher than the EPA estimates.
Personally, I've never believed that the new TDI would achieve EPA hwy figures of 60MPG(even though previous AB posts have claimed that the 60mpg figure was in US gallons), but I have estimated closer to 50MPG. Judging by previous TDI's, I stand by that and I don't think it will be unusual to hear of owners achieving around 50mpg hwy with the new TDI. With average figures of 41mpg, it's not a big stretch to assume that the hwy figures have to be decently high in order to give that kind of an average.
Cary 11:54PM (5/21/2008)
@Montoym
You my friend get a +1 and if I had a Gold star, you'd get that as well. how about a black one? *
HotRodzNKustoms 9:40AM (5/21/2008)
I am extremely disappointed with those numbers.
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RIFRAF 11:40AM (5/21/2008)
Yeah me too, I was hyping the 60 mpg to people at work and now it doesn't looks so good. I can understand if it was off by a few miles, but not 20! Someone at VW fat fingered it. What a bummer.
psarhjinian 11:49AM (5/21/2008)
This should be a wakeup call to the dieselheads who are forever quoting European mileage figures.
**** EPA numbers are always lower than European figures. Always. ****
Euro figures are extremely optimistic even in their own countries; in North America those numbers are basically unattainable, even when adjusted for the difference between the US and UK gallon. This shouldn't come as a surprise: have a look at EPA numbers for gasoline or hybrid cars in Europe and you'll see the same disparity.
MemphisNET 1:08PM (5/21/2008)
Good, but I've now lost interest in purchasing. The whole initial appeal was for crazy highway numbers (which is what I mostly drive).
Can spend a lot less and get something just as good. Yes, it won't be as big a car, but in my case it wouldn't really matter.
Dondonel 1:31PM (5/21/2008)
A couple a months ago when I said that the 44mpg rating given to TT 2.0 TDi in Europe is going to be less than 35mpg in US, nagmashot and others called me a diesel hater :D, check it out here:
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/26/audi-announces-the-44mpg-tt-2-0-tdi-quattro/
Now it is clear that this is the case, the Jetta engine has an even lower HP rating (140hp for Jetta, 170hp for TT) and still cannot achieve an average mileage over 35mpg.
In fact, Jetta's 34mpg mileage is the equivalent of 29mph mileage for gasoline engine cars, which is hardly impressive for a 140hp engine. Even Pontiac Vibe can get that mileage (28-29 mpg average), and nobody will call Vibe the pinnacle of green technology.
tekdemon 3:41AM (5/22/2008)
I've been telling the diesel promotors how the diesels make no financial sense at all in the US for just about forever.
With the extra cost of diesel this thing has no money-savings whatsoever from fuel, and none of the diesels are even vaguely comparable to a two-mode hybrid system.
Quite honestly I'm surprised VW even bothered...the premium you're paying up front for the TDI is going to chase buyers away.
cheezwiz 9:41AM (5/21/2008)
The bigger question is how it performs. NA, 4cyl diesel doesn't exactly sound powerful.
(And before people mention torque, torque is irrelevant - that's why god invented the transmission. The torque at the wheels is the torque at the crank divided by the gear ratio. The gear ratio for a gasoline engine will lower because a gas engine revs higher.)
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cheezwiz 9:44AM (5/21/2008)
Obviously I misspoke. I forgot it's a turbo diesel, but my comment still stands. This thing isn't exactly a screamer.
Joe K. 9:46AM (5/21/2008)
TDI means Turbo... And Torque is relevant, even with the fabulous torque multipliers, More torque= less acceleration minded gears and more cruising minded gears... Drive a tiny engined manual transmission that has nice acceleration and drive it up to 70 mph and see how high the rpm climb...
why not the LS2LS7? 12:08PM (5/21/2008)
Torque can come from gearing and revs instead of from the engine. Since a gas car has a 50% higher redline it can produce 50% more torque with the right gearing. This wipes out the Diesel torque advantage when driven properly, more than wipes it out, which is why race cars don't use Diesels.
Basically, a Diesel gives you more torque without having to rev up the engine. If this is what you want, a gas car can be made with a longer stroke (like a Diesel is) and then it'll have the same behavior. However, this reduces overall power output (HP), so it generally isn't done.
jim 10:07AM (5/22/2008)
If torque isn't relevant, why are we so in love with big low rpm V8s that have low HP to displacement ratios?
Val 2:47AM (5/26/2008)
LS, if you can get the same torque from a gas engine, then go tell all the truckers that it is now safe to switch to gas, and all the railway companies... Could it be that to get the same torque out of a gas engine the fuel consumption will be accordingly higher (higher revs)? Fact is, if diesel engines have one strong point, it`s the torque curve, you know it, i know it, VW knows it, everybody knows it. Torque is important in day to day driving, and if you insist on changing the gearbox of a gas car to get higher torque at the wheels, why not change also the gearbox of a diesel to get even more? Unless gas and diesel engines are at high loads, the diesel will always be more efficient. Race cars do use diesel where it is allowed, and as you very well know, Audi did win LeMans with a diesel car using exactly the higher torque and better fuel economy of the car (and yes, they increased the minimum weight by 55lb, as you have mentioned before). WTCC also has diesels, Dakar rally has diesels, and they seem to do fine.
Btw, diesel fuel is now moer expensive even in europe, which should decrease the sales of diesel cars, but since in countries like the UK cars are taxed by g/km CO2, it will still be cheaper to own one. (yes, many people would like it to be per gallon, since diesel is heavier, but that is not the fuel's fault, what matters is the amount from point A to point B). VW and all the others are a few years late from the appropriate time to introduce new diesels in America, now the impact will be like leaving an ice cube in the sun.
John 9:41AM (5/21/2008)
"..According to VW spokesman Keith Price Volkswagen's diesels typically do better in real world mileage than the EPA sticker values...." Actually this statement is probably true for this car, as the last generation tdi's tended to hit mid 50's on the highway for mpg so it wouldn't be surprising to see the new (and heavier) cars hit high 40's on the highway and mid to high 30's in town. maybe even low 40's if you're really good.
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Jim in Tampa 10:12AM (5/21/2008)
I have to agree, John. My father had a Rabbit Diesel many years ago and he regularly got 50+ mpg on the highway. He drove conservatively which I'm sure helped.
JettaTDI 12:01PM (5/21/2008)
Agreed.
My Father drives 120 miles a day in his 4 Cylinder 2006 TDI and he gets a sustained 56MPG highway, 45 to 50MPG city and he only fills up once a week. Driving like a granny at a steady 55mph with no lane changes we've gotten it up to 65-67MPG.
Don't believe the bogus ratings, they have to be low in order to stimulate hybrid sales since they are still less efficient than Diesel.
psarhjinian 12:43PM (5/21/2008)
"I have to agree, John. My father had a Rabbit Diesel many years ago and he regularly got 50+ mpg on the highway. He drove conservatively which I'm sure helped."
50 mpg in a 1980s-vintage non-turbo diesel. Driving conservatively isn't a choice, it's a requirement because the car is _really really slow_ and it's crashworthiness was summed up by the phrase "closed coffin service".
Come on, let's be fair. I may as well drag the Geo Metro into this discussion if the old Rabbit is your benchmark.