2010 VW Golf TDI starts at $21,990, rated 29/40 mpg - or maybe 30/42?
2010 Volkswagen Golf - Click above for high-res image gallery
For 2010, Volkswagen is again discarding the Rabbit badge in favor of the Golf name used in the rest of the world's markets. The European hatchbacks will begin arriving in the U.S. in the coming weeks, beginning with the GTI. The standard Golf will again be available with diesel power, the same 2.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engine that arrived last year in the Jetta TDI. Although they aren't linked to from the main VW site, new GTI and Golf websites are now live and include TDI information, specs and pricing.
The base two-door, 2.5-liter gas-powered Golf starts at $17,490 and the four-door will command $19,190. Like the Jetta, TDI models come with a higher level of equipment and therefore start at $21,990 and $22,590 with a six-speed manual gearbox. The new GTI, meanwhile, starts at $23,290.
What's interesting are the fuel economy numbers for the TDI. The Volkswagen website lists both the manual and DSG versions of the new Golf TDI at 29 mpg city and 40 mpg highway. However, a quick check of the EPA's FuelEconomy.gov site shows that the Golf TDI rates even better at 30 mpg city and 42 highway. Similarly, the EPA also lists the 2010 Jetta TDI with DSG at the same level of improvement over the 2009 model's 29/40. Assuming the EPA numbers are correct, VW must have done some recalibration work on the DSG model. Thanks to Jay for the tip!
Gallery: 2010 Volkswagen Golf
[Source: Volkswagen]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
MastrCake 4:02PM (8/24/2009)
Aw shucks, the read link now takes you to the Rabbit site.
Oh well, I made my perusal last night. Pretty awesome stuff.
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why not the LS2LS7? 4:03PM (8/24/2009)
It could be VW has tweaked the car to improve the EPA figures without changing the real-world numbers (which many say already outstrip the EPA figures by more than this correction).
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John Johnson 4:50PM (8/24/2009)
The real-world economy figures for the new 2.0 TDI have been much higher than the EPA estimates have been.
Polarstar 4:05PM (8/24/2009)
I'm thinking about getting a Jetta TDI Sportwagon. In fact, the only thing holding me back is the "reliability" issue.
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katatonics 4:10PM (8/24/2009)
Electric systems are VW's fallback. That being said, most of its quirks are pretty easily managed. VW reliability hasn't kept me up at night, and this will be my second Golf that I will have driven into the ground with significant drive times in between them. (The first was a 1990, the current is a 2002.)
John Johnson 4:42PM (8/24/2009)
The Jettas are Mexican built and have proven to be less reliable than the German-built cars (Golf, etc). Before anyone gives me crap about this, go to your local VW dealer and ask a tech where most of their income comes from.
That being said, the reliability of the newer generations of VWs has gone up phenomenally, Jetta included. I really wouldn't have any reserves about the reliability. In fact, I haven't - I bought a new 08 Rabbit and then traded it for a new 08 GTI.
epilonious 4:44PM (8/24/2009)
Well, the reliability is middle of the pack.
The problem is that VW USA seems to have a "if we screw the customer out of warranty repairs, we make more money" philosophy and it shows.
Thus, if you do decide on the TDI, peruse all the "this is correct combination of threats I used to get my dealer to actually do the warranty repair" stories on VW Vortex and download your boilerplate forms to the Better Business Bureau from the consumerist blog.
John Johnson 4:49PM (8/24/2009)
Eh, I think that's pretty extreme. The horror stories you hear about are mostly dealer service, and that is something you should definitely look in to. It's not really VWoAs fault as much as the dealers. I personally have had no problems with any warranty claims on my heavily modified GTI. Most dealers might give you a harder time if you've got a modified vehicle, but if you find a good dealer in your area (ask around, vwvortex is a great resource), then you should have 0 problems.
zamafir 5:15PM (8/24/2009)
Reliability issues? What issues have you personally had with a TDI? All of mine have been flawless, easily the most reliable engines VW produces. Not that it matters the way TDIs are flying off the lots.
John Johnson 5:42PM (8/24/2009)
Agreed, the TDI engines are bulletproof. I have a friend with one, she's had 0 issues. I'd personally opt for the 6 speed over the DSG, in terms of reliability, personal preference, and maintenance costs.
jb 9:26PM (8/24/2009)
"The Jettas are Mexican built and have proven to be less reliable than the German-built cars (Golf, etc). Before anyone gives me crap about this, go to your local VW dealer and ask a tech where most of their income comes from."
Yes I will give you crap because this is completely untrue. My 99.5 GTI was made in Germany and was an utter lemon, just like many many of the Mark IV. Let's face it, it was not where it was built, it was how it was engineered, and more importantly, how corners were cut. I had the 2.0L engine with the infamous oil leak that wasn't according to VW. Except that a good VW tech told me later that the pistons were not assembled correctly, in GERMANY. Then the starter failed, the window fell into the door, the cat conv failed (thanks to the oil leak that wasn't), the check engine light came many many a times. Once I had my car for 7 (that's SEVEN) weeks (that's WEEKS) at the VW dealer, who could not get fix my poor running car. Neither could VW actually. Or so they claimed until they accepted to send an über guru to my dealer who finally made it drivable.
VW deservebly has got a horrible rap from the Mark IV cars (in the US and in Europe btw). Things have improved since I think, although the electrical seems still a little flaky, and I am not ready yet to get burn again as much as like their offering.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:12AM (8/25/2009)
Audi's reliability also went into the crapper, and (at the time) all Audis were made in Germany (West Germany!).
Plus, the problems I've had with my 2000 A6 are not due to how it was put together. A Mexican assembly worker didn't decide to make the window lockout button on the A4 and A6 rely on a piece of spring steel less than double the width of a human hair. A Mexican assembly worker didn't select fuel level sensors that crapped out when faced with sulfur in the gas (as in all areas of the US outside of California). More importantly, a Mexican assembly worker didn't select replacement fuel level sensors to install during that recall that STILL had the problem!
People want to make a lot of excuses for VW, but largely their problems have been their own, in the early 2000s they seemed to have a huge problem with selecting lousy subassemblies for their vehicles. They seemed to get carried away with the idea of saving money through outsourcing. And no matter how well (or poorly) those subassemblies were bolted on, they still were bound to fail.
In the first 3 years I had my A6, it only once went an oil change interval (six months) without the check engine light coming in and the car having to be brought in to fix it.
boost4 4:08AM (8/25/2009)
I must have lucked out with two 99.5 Golfs, one that I currently own (218k miles all original down to the clutch) and my previous TDI Golf. Bulbs burning out rather frequently (headlight, tailight and HVAC) have been one of very few factory issues with these two VW's for me. The other being a degraded EGR solenoid vacuum hose. The one built in Germany seems to have fewer bulb issues compared to the one made in Brazil. Could just be suppliers.
I was just reading a test where on average, the current Jetta TDI achieves 10 more MPG than a 4 cylinder Accord. I've added a re-flash and larger injector nozzles to a TDI, and it made for an immense response and acceleration improvement. At the same time, flying around So. Cal. in stop and go and I cannot average less than 40 MPG.
To the poster with a bad Mark IV GTI experience, I didn't think the GTI of that generation had a 2.0 engine. It was 1.8 turbo or 2.8 VR6, wasn't it?
If you told me I could buy a Civic, Corolla etc. and turn the key and go for 250k with oil and gas - I wouldn't be interested honestly. I can swing into an autozone and add a bulb and perform the timing belt changes myself, no problem. The torque, economy, body integrity, quality of materials and overall road feel make the maintenance I've experienced completely worth it - and the re-sale value reflects this.
John Johnson 9:06AM (8/25/2009)
JB, did you go down and ask a tech?
Here's what my tech friend had to say about the issue, his exact words:
I find the jettas have much worse build quality. More problems from jettas that are careless or just not looked at well enough.
Body panels: Jettas have misaligned doors, uneaven gaps, larger gaps than the rabbit/gti.
Electrical: I've seen more disconnected aux adaptors from jettas than...Well, i've NEVER seen a disconnected connector on a GTI/rabbit from the factory...ONLY jetta. Jettas door skin bolts back out because they are not tight. Jettas have come with wrong modules coded to the wrong car.
VW threatened to shut down the Mexican plant because of the quality of work coming out. It seems to have worked, as the quality is improving, especially over the Mk4.
jb 12:22PM (8/25/2009)
John,
did you read the experience with my GTI that was made in Germany. It was pretty much the same stuff as everybody else was experiencing. And yes my car came with a disconnected headlight (!), and started rattling very early on. The issue was not the source of the build, it was the engineering and the sourcing of the parts as shown by why not the LS2LS7?
I know that some people will idolize anything because it's made in Germany, but the fact and the matter is that for the Mk IV it really did not make a difference. As you astutely mentioned, the Mk V does not seem to have as many problem : is that because it was made in Germany? No, it was because VW decided to tighten things up, and regardless of the origin, the reliability imporved. Amazing eh?
John Johnson 1:26PM (8/25/2009)
I did indeed. I'm not saying VW is a saint by any means. All manufacturers have their flaws. I don't mean to make it sound like the German cars are perfect and the Mexican cars fall apart in a year, so don't take it that way. But the numbers show that there is a slightly higher failure rate amongst the Mexican assembled cars than the German ones. They had to do a recall on all DSG Jettas because..... of an assembly error!
VW isn't perfect. Nobody is. VW used to be bad. Real bad. They've stepped it up a lot, on both the Mexican and German sides. It's not engineered perfect. Very few cars are. But VW is back on the same level as other manufacturers now, whereas 6-7 years ago they simply were not.
But, go ahead and ask someone who fixes VWs which VWs break the most. They'd know best, wouldn't they?
urdaddy 4:09PM (8/24/2009)
Dupe, this was on the front page yesterday.
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Aprime 4:20PM (8/24/2009)
Ditto.
Nuieve 4:08PM (8/24/2009)
That link was full of errors. Probably wasn't meant to be posted at all. That's why they took it down. Wait for official release.
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VW GTi 4:14PM (8/24/2009)
Finally, the Golf TDi is making it stateside again. The U.S. is lacking in diesel powered cars, especially small cars. Hopefully this car, along with the Jetta TDi models that are already on sale, will help people to see that diesels aren't what they used to be.
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