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View Full Version : 2010 Volkswagen Golf VI 2.0 TDI Diesel - First Drive Review


seftonm
07-24-2009, 01:04 PM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg The Golf VI goes on sale in the U.S. this October, but you won’t be able to purchase a TDI until December (http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q3/2009_2010_volkswagen_golf_vi_2.0_tdi_diesel-first_drive_review)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/golf6.jpgErik Johnson - CARANDDRIVER (http://www.caranddriver.com) - July, 2009

The new Golf is sounding promising. I just wish we got the 1.6 TDI as well. --Ed.

You bet we love diesels. Modern diesels are clean, have gobs of ground-pounding torque, and get fuel mileage that shames pretty much any comparably sized gas-fired engine. So when we were given the opportunity to clamber behind the wheel of a Golf VI TDI in Italy before it goes on sale in America, we jumped at the chance. (Volkswagen loves it some diesel, too. The lower price of the fuel this year combined with the public’s desire to get more bang for their fuel buck has U.S. VW oil-burner sales soaring—just last month, diesel fueled some 26 percent of all Volkswagens sold, including 81 percent of all Jetta SportWagens.)

The Golf is offered with several diesel engines in Europe—the top-spec is the hot, GTI-inspired GTD—but the U.S. will get just one, a 140-hp, 236-lb-ft, 2.0-liter turbo four-banger. That was the engine found under the hood of our test car, and it’s the same one already available to U.S. buyers in the Jetta TDI. In the Jetta, the engine has proven remarkably, well, unremarkable, and that’s a good thing. Excepting the elevated fuel-economy numbers in the gauge cluster—the Jetta TDI is EPA-rated for 31 mpg city and 41 mpg highway with a manual—most drivers wouldn’t even notice that they’re driving a diesel. The car is quiet and utterly normal to live with. The Golf TDI we drove? It was exactly like that.... http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q3/2009_2010_volkswagen_golf_vi_2.0_tdi_diesel-first_drive_review

ATL
07-24-2009, 01:40 PM
woah, c/d is only estimating the MPG at 34 combined, i was hoping for much more than that

jhu
07-24-2009, 01:41 PM
It'll probably still come to the USA with a 2.5L engine standard. Unless the driver is a hypermiler (and most people aren't) the car won't give very good gas mileage numbers.

Also, cars are pretty expensive in Europe. $35k base price in Italy? It'll be less than half that in the USA. What's also interesting is that the car weighs 3200 pounds! That's pretty huge for a hatchback. My MkV Jetta weighs that much and is a slightly bigger car too.

seftonm
07-24-2009, 03:39 PM
woah, c/d is only estimating the MPG at 34 combined, i was hoping for much more than that
Unfortunately, I don't expect much more than that out of our 2.0 TDI. The car's weight and aerodynamics will be similar to the current Jetta TDI so I would guess a couple mpg difference at most. That's why I was really hoping for the 1.6.

jhu, last word in April was that the car would come with the 2.5 as standard :(



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