'09 Jetta TDI 55 MPG ?

Hi Vooch:

___55 highway is a bit optimistic on the 08 EPA but lower 50’s may be within reach. See the following for more details …

2007 LA Auto Show Wrap-up

___Good Luck

___Wayne

 

Hi Vooch:

___The next gen 2.0L TDI slated for the US is the exact engine that will power the new VW TDI’s overseas plus the new NOx/PM emissions tech. That is the only difference between the 2.0 we will see here and the one they will see in Europe.

___As to how they are going to get there, have you read the Honda Civic 2.2L iCDTi review? The 2.2L iCDTi is 2 generations ahead of the old 1.9L TDI’s the US is familiar with and the upcoming VW 2.0L TDI is another generation ahead of the iCDTi in that review! By all appearances, ramping up injector pressures with multiple injections via Piezo electric action, adding an intake swirl/constrictor for low, mid and high speed operation and the new VVT tech is increasing the efficiency of these monsters in lockstep. The neat thing is they (Audi/VW, BMW, Ford/Peugeot, GM/Opel, Honda and MB) are achieving even higher performance, lower emissions before the after treatment and another step change increase in FE all the while running even lower compression ratios reducing NVH. **** near magic and after you drive one of these modern miracles, you will wonder why it took so long to get these excellent engines into the US!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

 

A 4l / 100km rating is very good, probably out of reach for a 2.0 TDI Jetta. I would guess the new TDI will be similar to the current 2.0 TDI and 2.2 i-CTDi: Low 7's (l/100km) in the city and mid 5's on the highway, which would be around 33/44 miles per US gallon. Somebody from VW originally said 40/60 but I think that's optimistic unless they have some major magic going on somewhere. A good hypermiler should be able to extract much more than that though. The engine probably has close to the same potential for high mpg as the i-CTDi that Wayne tested, likely a little lower because of tighter emissions requirements.

Sean, the Mk 5's (current Jetta/Rabbit) are supposedly better than the Mk 4's (previous Jetta/Golf) but there is clearly still room for improvement. Hopefully the Mk 6's will be another step in the right direction. Many of the common issues on the Mk 4's seem to be caused by over-enthusiastic cost cutting. Poor solder is sometimes a culprit, window regulators using plastic clips instead of metal led to the commonly mentioned power window problems, and I think the popular 1.8T / VR6 coil pack problems started to come up when VW decided to go with a new supplier. I know much less about the Mk5's because I don't own one, but from what I've read, there seems to be much less of the penny pinching problems. Germans do, however, often like to make things more complicated than they need to be, which probably leads to some problems. Even in my car, I see many sensors, switches, and assemblies that seem to be oddly placed or not even present on American or Asian cars.

My biggest hesitation with the new TDI and emissions systems would be clueless dealers. I have confidence that my dealer will get on top of things very quickly once they see how things work, but there are way too many dealers who still don't know how to work on the 1.9 TDI, which has been around in various forms for around 10 years. I really think VW of America should be trying to figure out how to fix their service departments. If VW's service departments were on par with Toyota's, I believe VW's reliability ratings would go from near the bottom to about average.

I'm getting too excited here. I need a break.

 

Hi Mike:

___The VW reps in LA said to expect high 40's to mid 50's on the 08 EPA.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

 

High 40's to mid 50's would be amazing if they can get it. That is a big improvement over their current engines.

 

The current Jetta TDI is only rated at 37 on the highway from the EPA. It is very easy to beat the EPA with TDI's, though. Getting over 50 mpg on the highway with the upcoming engine should not be a problem, but seeing an EPA rating that high would really impress me.

 

Hi Vooch:

___The upper-level manager did not really hint at anything in the 30’s but simply stated mid 40’s to low 50’s would be optimistic. It will do 65 + for most here as it is more fuel efficient then the 1.9’s while being far more powerful and cleaner as well.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

 

Hi Koreberg:

___I asked about both the Rabbit and the Golf using the 2.0L TDI. He looked back at me and smiled

___Good Luck

___Wayne