Jetta TDI dethrones the Prius!
May 14, 2006 – 6:51 pm by Matt Radel
Filed under Volkswagen Jetta
The Jetta TDI rocks faces in an Autoweek road test.
Actually, the road test was a 349-mile (round trip) beer run! A few folks from Autoweek decided to make the trek from their offices to a Lake Michigan brewery to pick up some seasonal brew and test some “fuel sipping” rides in the process. Among those tested where a Jeep Commander, Chevy Corvette, Honda Accord V6 Hybrid, Toyota Prius and a Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
Running on B20 biodiesel, the Jetta killed both hybrids in the test by making the entire trip with more than half of it’s tank remaining. The testers felt it was “stronger than the Toyota and smoother than the Honda,” and “found that the TDI had significant advantages other every other car in the test.”
The biggest thing I take away from this article (read it here) aside from the positive comments about the TDI are what they say about the Prius. While the Jetta beat it, drivers where still taken with the “dazzling displays” that gave them constant feedback on not only their gas mileage (the TDI was a bit stripped down and didn’t have an equivalent display in the dash), but exactly how the power was distributed when shifting gears. This should be a message to VW that a little bit of feedback to the driver goes a long way.
Granted, this is only one test. But this might get folks who are riding the fence between hybrid and diesel to take another gander at the good old TDI. I know I’m kicking myself for not holding out for one!
Found via Digg.
Jetta TDI dethrones the Prius!
May 14, 2006 – 6:51 pm by Matt Radel
Wow. If gas conditions stay the way they are, I may just have to pull the trigger. Have you heard if the new Rabbit is gonna have a TDI option? I imagine it will.
I dunno. I’m sure it will, given the market.
Since you can get the new Jetta in a TDI, of course we’ll get the Golf (er, Rabbit) in a TDI. They’ll be hitting the showrooms very soon from what the dealer in Austin told me the other day.
> Lake Michigan brewery and test some “fuel sipping” rides and celebrate Earth day … Chevy Corvette
Huh?
Hahaha. I guess that’s why you don’t write a post in a hurry. Way to call me out there Justin!
Wasn’t sure if there was some new, fuel-efficient Corvette coming out. I know that’s a total oxymoron, but still, I had to ask :)
Ah, I see where you where goin’. I’ve actually heard a few folks that consider it to be a gas sipper for it’s class, since it gets 27 mpg, but I had a tough time swallowing that one too. I’m thinkin’ this was just an excuse for some of the Autoweek fellas to make a beer run on company time/money.
And frankly, I say more power to ‘em!
I’ll be honest, though a Dub lover and owner, I dig me some Prius. I have not had the pleasure of riding in a Jetta TDI (although the boyfriend’s grandma just bought one so I will soon), but the boyfriend owns a Prius and it has grown on me. My one complaint is the pick-up on it (but what do you expect?), but other than that 53 mpg ain’t so bad, ‘specially with gas hovering just below $3. Of course, to get that 53 mpg, you gots to drive like a grandma, but hey. So I agree with the mRizzle – VDub should take a cue from the Prius, cause the display is phenomenal – it’s a nerd dream car.
There is an optional display for veedubs that tells you MPG and all that good stuff, though the one in the Prius is certainly more feature rich.
> but other than that 53 mpg ain’t so bad
45-48 isn’t much worse, and it’s certainly waaay more fun to drive a TDI than a Prius. Anyway, I’d look like a real jackass driving a Prius the way I drive my Golf ;)
Looking for some help here. A year or so ago I stumbled onto a series of bulletin boards where VW owners were discussing various problems. Unfortunately, I did not bookmark these sites. Now I have a serious problem with my Passat and cannot find these boards. I want to post my electrical problem for discussion. Can anyone direct me to some of these sites. THANKS!
hmmm…you wanna go and check out vwvortex.com – thye’re the undisputed king of owner discussions and resources. You should at least be able to post it there.
Good luck!
Hey Jim, yeah VWvortex is your number one source for information. We hope to be up there as well some day. ;) However, what problem is your Passat having? We have a couple in-house techies who might be able to help diagnose it. And welcome to Volksbloggin!
Not only is the Jetta a MUCH better DRIVERS car…..it gets 100 mpg on petroleum fuel when you run it with a 50:50 bio-diesel blend. And if you run pure bio-diesel you are getting 1000 miles to the gallon of crude oil. Ok, I’m having fun with math…but the truth is the Prius still uses imported oil and the Jetta can run on Texas soybeans….which is way cooler.
Good point Mark – down with the Prius!
I love my MkV Jetta. I have the mulitfunction gauge panel. Typically I get 40 in the City and 45 Highway calculated at fillup with the AC turned on. I’m at 21,000 miles on the clock now. At 150,000 miles I will still get 40 & 45 hopefully with running AC.
The Prius uses NIMH batteries. Even with significant Electrical Engineering magic NIMH batteries will age… not gracefully. As the charging demand goes up the fuel mileage will go down.
Interesting point there David. I hadn’t even thought about how the batteries would age.