Thursday, July 5, 2012

Daily Life with VW’s Jetta TDI Nets High MPG, Joy of Driving


The ever-popular VW Jetta sedan emerged in 2011 an all-new iteration of a mainstay model, offering North American buyers a lower base price plus three gasoline engines to choose from, including 2.0-liter, 2.5-liter RS, and 2.0-liter TSI (turbo stratified injection) variants. The fourth choice, though – the Jetta TDI with a 2.0-liter turbo direct injection clean diesel engine and six-speed DSG automatic transmission – is our hands-down favorite. No doubt, that powerplant was instrumental in earning the 2009 VW Jetta TDI Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year® honor two years ago.
With an all-new version of this acclaimed sedan on the market, we had to revisit the Jetta TDI with a long-term test to see what the new 2011 model would bring to buyers. We have not been disappointed. Our road trip featured last issue proved the Jetta TDI a notably comfortable, accommodating, and pleasing vehicle for long drives. That’s important to know since most buyers shop specs, prices, and styles before selecting a new vehicle purchase, and test drives are typically short and to the point. Ours was significantly longer and you can benefit from our take on things.
What do we like about this car? To begin with, it’s powerful with loads of low-end torque to push you back in your seat, all the while delivering an EPA estimated 30 mpg in the city and an astonishing 42 mpg on the highway. Our road trip and daily drives show those are legitimate numbers. In fact, carefully driven, you may well do better than 42 mpg in highway driving as we have.
This is a bigger, yet lighter, car than the previous version that had already ‘wowed’ us, feeling roomier inside with exterior dimensions that have also grown enough to be noticed. It’s stylish and sporty, with a slightly angular and more muscular look. Many features enhance daily driving that we’ve come to really appreciate like heated seats, premium audio, keyless pushbutton start, and the optional navigation system with Bluetooth cellphone connectivity. We also like the trip computer with miles-to-empty readout because, with this fuel efficient car, it’s often a long ways to the next fill-up.

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