New VW Jetta Diesel Tops Prius in Fuel-Economy Marathon Test

[xcel]

The just-released 2009 Volskwagen Jetta TDi diesel against the uber-popular 2008 Toyota Prius hybrid.

Ben Stewart – Popular Mechanics – Sept. 24, 2008

2009 VW Jetta TDI w/ a stick – 30/41 city/highway on the 08 EPA.

I cannot speak for PM’s math but both are excellent fuel misers in my book -- Ed.

LOS ANGELES — As oil prices spiked over the summer, consumers had exactly one choice if they wanted to buy themselves a supercar in terms of fuel economy: the Toyota Prius. There were so few options in the marketplace that Ebay saw record numbers of used economy cars and hybrids flood its auction pages. But what about a brand-new clean diesel ride? We drove the Volkswagen Jetta TDi in Europe right after VW introduced it here last fall—at which point many expected this would-be Prius-beater to arrive Stateside in June. It didn't.

Well after a long season at the pump, VW unleashed the 2009 Jetta TDi on the United States last week. So we picked up our new diesel ride and decided to take it right into battle against its natural hybrid foe (before Toyota's 2009 model gives way to the 2010 plug-in hybrid Prius), to the tune of a two-day, 474-mile efficiency showdown.

Results (238 City Miles)
Prius: 44.7 mpg /// Jetta: 32 mpg …

Results (238 Highway Miles)
Jetta: 45.4 MPG /// Prius: 44.8 MPG… [Read More]

CleanMPG members found similar results in our cross country head to head with the Civic iCDTi and the Prius-II this past winter in the 1908 Centennial Reenactment of the Greatest Automobile Race-II

[Elixer]

The Jetta is definitely a car for those who want to avoid all of the Prius' stigma associated with it, but still get great mpg. So much hypermiling ability with German engineering to boot. That VW is pretty much my ideal dream car right now.

[jkp1187]

On the highway, I guess. Prius is still the champ in the city. I suppose they were just looking for an attention-grabbing headline?

[aca2983]

I don't think "German engineering" is all its cracked up to be, but in any case the Jetta is definitely much more of a driver's car, and VW does nice interiors, with good ergonomics, and gauges and instruments in the places were they should be.

Originally Posted by Elixer

The Jetta is definitely a car for those who want to avoid all of the Prius' stigma associated with it, but still get great mpg. So much hypermiling ability with German engineering to boot. That VW is pretty much my ideal dream car right now.

[Vooch]

Good to see 2 solid choices in the well equipped family sized (106 inch wheelbase) cars with decent MPG.

Hope we get many more choices





Note - The Jetta comes in a Station Wagon model - which has a significant amount of cargo carrying capacity

[Xringer]

85% of my trips are in the city. Even when I do more than average highway travel,
every time I look at my scanguage or trip data on the GPS,
it always surprises me to see my average speeds are so low..

And, who knows what's going to happen to the price of diesel..?.

I've heard of more than a few Lemon-Law cases with VWs.
Never heard of a single one with Corolla...

[bnther]

I think that it's great what VW is doing, but I don't see this particular car as being on the same level as the Prius.
1) I think that the mileage figures they achieved are a little low for the typical Prius driver.
2) Diesel fuel is more expensive.
3) PHEV's are just around the corner; I don't know that diesels have the same future potential.

My2cents

[MissileStick]

Originally Posted by bnther

3) PHEV's are just around the corner; I don't know that diesels have the same future potential.

Why can't we have both? People act like diesel is this exotic technology. My mom has driven diesel VWs for as long as I can remember, so it's nothing special to me. Great torque, excellent thermodynamic efficiency, and they're built like a tank.

Diesel APUs are definitely the way to go for PHEVs, in my opinion. With direct rail injection and turbocharging, we should see mileage in the 90s with a decently efficient body.

[xcel]

Hi Misslestick:

___Most here would love to drive a performance diesel over a Prius or HCH-II! If it was the 5-door Honda Civic iCDTi that is They all have their place but a diesels 30% better thermodynamics with similar performance (the iCDTi bests the Prius-II and HCH-II in all aspects) is tough to beat…

___Good Luck

___Wayne