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HERNDON, Va.—Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced pricing for their eagerly anticipated Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen starting at $21,990 and $23,590, respectively. Fuel efficiency, performance and convenience all come standard with the 50-state compliant Jetta sedan and SportWagen TDI, which meet the most stringent emissions standards in California and the world. Both models will be available this August.

“Our clean diesel vehicles offer consumers a true value with the fuel efficiency that drivers are looking for while providing power, utility and performance,” said Mark Barnes, COO, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “The Jetta TDI’s offer a no compromise alternative fuel driving experience.”

While the Environmental Protection Agency estimates the Jetta TDI at an economical 29 mpg City and 40 mpg Highway, Volkswagen went a step further to show the true fuel economy of the Jetta TDI. Leading third-party certifier, AMCI, has tested the Jetta TDI and found it performed 24 percent better in real world conditions, achieving 38 mpg in the City and 44 mpg on the Highway.*

The Jetta TDI’s come standard with Volkswagen’s Prevent and Preserve Safety System, consisting of numerous standard safety features. Jetta TDI’s include six airbags, with optional rear side airbags, and like all 2009 model year Volkswagens, Jetta TDI’s also feature standard Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP) for added safety.
Also standard for 2009 is Volkswagen’s carefree maintenance program, with this program there are no charges for the scheduled maintenance described in the vehicle’s maintenance booklet for the length of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty—three years or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Volkswagen of America, Inc. recently announced Electronic Stability Program (ESP) as standard equipment on all its 2009 vehicles. As a result, Volkswagen is one of the only original equipment manufacturers to offer an electronic stability control system on their entire product line – ahead of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) deadline requiring vehicles in the 2012 model year to include stability control systems. Volkswagen’s ESP technology works in conjunction with anti-lock brakes and helps reduce loss of control and rollovers to avoid crashes. NHTSA predicts nearly 10,000 lives could be saved each year if automakers included stability systems as standard equipment.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Va. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, Tiguan and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.

*29 city / 40 highway EPA estimates. 38 city / 44 highway real world fuel economy based on AMCI testing. Your mileage may vary. For more information on Volkswagen, go to www.vw.com.

I remember when my dad was bragging about his Prius getting 45+mpg I was telling him that volkswagen had the TDI diesel cars that got around 40mpg too. Then he said something like "Yeah, but diesel costs a whole $1 more than gas, plus their loud and stinky." Maybe they're aren't so loud and stinky now, but yeah, it is about $1 more for the gas.

Checking the AAA gas prices website, looks like diesel is averaging $4.794 and regular 87 is $4.075. So the regular gas is 85% of the price of the diesel. So you need to get 85% of the efficiency with this jetta to come out paying the same price per mile. So if you can get 24.7mpg city and 34mpg highway in the gasoline jetta, or another similar class competitor, then it doesn't really matter which one you get.

Except there's probably a price difference between the two also, but I'm just gonna ignore that for now.

The nice thing about the Diesel, though, is it can be converted to run on waste veg oil, which is free for now. Plus, you can get a Wagon.
I miss my old '82 Diesel Rabbit!

Actually, the new ones are damaged by running that stuff. Even biodiesel is mostly a no go.

1) Clarification on Biodiesel - New Diesels run perfectly well on B100 created from 'yellow grease' (aka fast food grease) to industry standards. They don't run that well on straight Veggie Oil (ie the kind you buy at the grocery store in glass bottles)


2) The beauty of the Wagon TDI is that is will put to bed the myth that family cars can't get good Mileage. We can argue endlessly what the true Mileage of those TDI's will be, but we all know they are way above the much debated 35 MPG CAFE standard required in something like 2020.


3) The low pricing for these cars is interesting - methinks this is part of VW's strategy to increase its sales in the US fivefold over the next few years. VW plans to build a US plant and introduce a whole bevy of models.( most of which are already sold in the R.O.W.) My guess is that VW wants to generate lots of free media buzz about the TDI in order to set the stage for its longer term US strategy.

Expect to see long waits for the TDI wagons - It will be a perfect solution for families who are looking for a replacement for their 20 MPG FSP.

My understanding was that the high pressure fuel delivery system causes polymerization of the oil in all but the highest quality biodiesel? Is this why B100 works?

My parents have the Wagon coming in Sept or Oct (whenever they come), I'm going to make him start a log on here.

Kirk

".......My understanding was that the high pressure fuel delivery system causes polymerization of the oil in all but the highest quality biodiesel?......"

Indeed - that is why the BioDiesel industry is working hard to get everyone producing to their specs.

I have not read this yet, but have heard that this is a good explanation of what might happen with a high pressure direct injected diesel running vegetable oil:
http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/viewthread.php?tid=2821

I'm almost certain the new TDI has much more in it than what the EPA suggests. The 2006 was rated similarly and most drivers easily beat those ratings.

We took our TDI sedan in today for an oil change and they had a new sportwagon (not TDI) in the showroon. That is sweet ride. It is identical to our sedan from the back seats forward. What a difference the wagon back makes.

The CEO has already said that our sedan is being replaced with the wagon. I hope I can talk her out of it.(NO chance)

One drawback I saw, roof racks are not optional. They all have em.

Station Wagons are the way to go, your CEO is smart - I never understood why someone would buy the sedan version of a station wagon (Volvos for example)

the Cd of these machines is in the 0.29 range even with the roof racks - I have them and find it very useful to buy cross bars. then when I have to buy lumber or plywood, I just load the 4x8's on the crossbars, tie down securely and off we go - of course the cross bars are in the garage 99% of the time, but when you need that 'big FSP sized cargo volume' its right there above one's heads.

I never understood why someone would buy the sedan version of a station wagon (Volvos for example)

In our case, they stopped making the Jetta TDI wagon when we were ready to buy.

That'll make it difficult to get a wagon - Wagon owners are a distinct minority, something on order of 5% chose a wagon over a sedan when there is a choice (ie VW Jetta Wagon vs. Sedan)

I just came across this today: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3905898. Demo car with 13 test drives, 120 miles, has achieved 49mpg so far. If that's accurate, the new TDI's potential for fuel economy seems pretty good.

Yeah.. I sort of went with the sedan and not the wagon model for my car cause I liked the way the sedan looked more.

Wagon popularity depends on the region. They're immensely popular here in the NW because more people are into the outdoors and use them to haul their gear. Function over form. That's why I bought my Jetta wagon in Phoenix. The guy couldn't give it away until I came along. I paid $6300 for an '01 with 78k miles on it. That car (even with the gas engine) would go for $8-9k here.

In Canada, I believe Jetta wagon sales have met or exceeded sedan sales in recent years.

By the way, I would expect wagon sales to DRAMATICALLY increase over the next few years as people downsize from SUVs. A lot of people buying sedans today also have an SUV or minivan in the garage. Expect that equation to change.

This thing about going to a 3rd party for alternative FE certification is goofy. I bet most cars would do a lot better than the 2008+ EPA ratings if they went to AMCI. European and Japanese FE ratings are often higher than EPA ratings on the same car because the testing regimes aren't as strict.

Any one of us could beat this car's EPA rating, but we can beat the EPA rating on ANY car, so BFD. In fact, even an average driver can beat the current ratings in real world driving. The EPA rating isn't intended to anticipate real world performance, it's intended to use as a basis for relative comparison between different car models.

The rating is what it is, VW, so deal with it. If you wanted better fuel economy you shouldn't have put a 140hp engine in a 3100 pound car. My TDI weighs within a couple hundred pounds of the new ones and accelerates just fine (0-60 in under 11s) with 90hp.

Actually, I think it is illegal to use anything other than EPA ratings in advertising. Once one automaker starts going elsewhere for ratings, others will follow and the feds will clamp down hard (as well they should, since it's misleading the consumer). I wouldn't expect this AMCI thing to fly very far.

goofy is correct -

If VW can ask a 3rd party......why not Chrysler asking Xcel to certify the MPG on their cars :)

Imagine Dodge FSP " Clean MPG tested at 65 MPG ! "

Wagon selection is also a gender issue. My better half hates wagons. I love the looks of the Sport Wagon and the sunroof in it is amazing. My only issue is that by the time I get the front seat in a really comfortable position the front seat back is going to wedge my kid's knee that has the misfortune of sitting behind me. The TDI wagon would make a great single vehicle for a household but SWMBA isn't convinced.

That's actually pretty inexpensive, I thought for sure it'd run 25k+ with the diesel.

The announced prices might seem low, but I'm betting that you won't be able to get one at that price. Between the "mandatory options" and the "dealer adjustments" because of the low availability (only 900 wagons imported this year), you would be lucky to get a new TDI Sportwagon for under $30K.

I really, really wish I had gotten the Jetta wagon, but they didn't come out until a few months after I got my Golf. D'oh!! No matter...the Golf will swallow a ton of cargo with the rear seats down.

It really is amazing how much cargo a Golf will carry. In our MKIII Golf (smaller than yours) - I used to take my 3 person family camping for a week.

The announced prices might seem low, but I'm betting that you won't be able to get one at that price. Between the "mandatory options" and the "dealer adjustments" because of the low availability (only 900 wagons imported this year), you would be lucky to get a new TDI Sportwagon for under $30K.

True. I ran into a lot of that getting my Harley, and it took some connections to get the 30% markup off my bike that other dealers were getting - and a lot of looking to get one without the security system option which is apparently pretty popular. Harley seemed to think that it should have been a mandatory "option" :D

".......My understanding was that the high pressure fuel delivery system causes polymerization of the oil in all but the highest quality biodiesel?......"

Indeed - that is why the BioDiesel industry is working hard to get everyone producing to their specs.Found a site that uses prescribed methods to get fry-grease to quality levels that exceed EU fuel quality standards. May just be blowing smoke, but I would absolutely love to have a new TDI grease car.

Heck with a 14.5 gal tank on it, it puts it well in the KiloTanker range. Just hold 14% above EPA on the highway and it's a slam dunk!

Too bad there only doing a small market sample of them here in the US. At a production target of 900, odds are that exactly 0 will make it to Texas. Same problem with the '08 MMH. I think something like a dozen were distributed to Texas, and of the dozen, I got one ;). You guys in CA always get the fuel thrifty cars first!

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*29 city / 40 highway EPA estimates. 38 city / 44 highway real world fuel economy based on AMCI testing. Your mileage may vary. For more information on Volkswagen, go to www.vw.com.Actually the EPA bench tests put the numbers at 39 city and 58 highway. Sad part is once they get the bench numbers they chop 20-30% to accommodate moronic US drivers. The call this "rounding".

source: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/epadata/09data.zip

I've found that the bench numbers are what most hypermilers routinely hit with the smallest effort.

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Hi Dan:

___Those are CAFE' numbers and do not have either the new 08 and newer 5-test schedules applied or the 10 and 22% offsets for City/Highway. Nice to know you drive a 68 mpg capable Prius, doesn't it ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Found a site that uses prescribed methods to get fry-grease to quality levels that exceed EU fuel quality standards. May just be blowing smoke, but I would absolutely love to have a new TDI grease car.

Heck with a 14.5 gal tank on it, it puts it well in the KiloTanker range. Just hold 14% above EPA on the highway and it's a slam dunk!

Too bad there only doing a small market sample of them here in the US. At a production target of 900, odds are that exactly 0 will make it to Texas. Same problem with the '08 MMH. I think something like a dozen were distributed to Texas, and of the dozen, I got one ;). You guys in CA always get the fuel thrifty cars first!

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I doubt California will get many diesels. It's exceptionally hard to find diesel fuel there (trust me - we had a '79 Mercedes 300SD with the 3,0l 5-cyl turbodiesel before we moved to Texas), and the eco-freaks out there have had it out for diesels for many years. OTOH, TDi's seem to have been quite popular here in TX, I think if they look at sales history, Texas would be an ideal place to sell lots of them. Heck, even the VW place up here in Tyler has a Jetta TDi demo car.

I doubt California will get many diesels. It's exceptionally hard to find diesel fuel there (trust me - we had a '79 Mercedes 300SD with the 3,0l 5-cyl turbodiesel before we moved to Texas), and the eco-freaks out there have had it out for diesels for many years. OTOH, TDi's seem to have been quite popular here in TX, I think if they look at sales history, Texas would be an ideal place to sell lots of them. Heck, even the VW place up here in Tyler has a Jetta TDi demo car.Great point, hope returns (I was bummed I couldn't get the Civic GX since it's Cali only). I'll see if I can't talk my sister into the Jetta. She's loved VW for years.

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It's exceptionally hard to find diesel fuel there (trust me - we had a '79 Mercedes 300SD with the 3,0l 5-cyl turbodiesel before we moved to Texas).Huh? I know Cali is weird, but their trucks still run on diesel don't they? Just go to a truck stop. We do that with our TDI all the time.