I’m loving the car, except for the optional 17 inch wheels and tires. They looked great, but don’t parallel park with them. The wheel protrudes beyond the tire and they get scraped. The 225/45R17 low profile tires are also more prone to damage by chuck holes. I had one develop a sidewall buldge. I replaced all 4 tires and wheels with the 16 inchers. There is alot more rubber between the rim and the road now.

The one i test drove was a auto.. will a stick get better mpg?

Ken

Ken

I bought my 2009 TDI Jetta Automatic in June 2009/Summer. I bought it entirely because of the fuel economy as advertised/referenced by the dealer here. I now have 7,500 miles on the car. I drive 40%/city & 60%/highway. I started tracking the fuel in actual odometer readings against the amount of fuel to re-fill at fill-up. I set the computer on number 2 on MPG. The computer reads at 32/MPG and the actual fuel consumed is virtually the same, at each fill-up. I’d have to say that while I’m very disappointed in the fuel aspects of the car which aren’t as advertised the car itself is fine albeit slightly under appointed on the amenities none the less a nice car. The fule economy isn’t good, period. The dealer told me it’s how I drive the car. So I let me wife drive it on our weekend trips to our second home, in central Washington. 75 miles each way & all freeway driving and the “SAME” exact result, no changes. OK, so what else is there. I am given a “Demo” to drive. I’m driving it now. Same milage, 32/MPG +/-.

My goodness. What next?. I do want to say I’m not torked or upset at the dealer, at all. I just think when you put it out there that this car is a fuel saving car and a consumer accepts this and makes an acquisition based on this commentary it does give rise to a feeling of not getting what one paid for. I should say my other car is a 2007 Ford F-150 FX4 4X4. It gets 10 to 12 miles per gallon. Pretty crappy so I thought I’d buy the TDI Jetta. I must say I’m rather (if not totally) disappointed in this car since I “ONLY” bought it because of the preported fuel savings. Maybe my car will improve after it hits the 10K mark, I don’t know. Right now if I had it to do again I’m not sure I’d buy this car. I did drive the hybrid cars and didn’t like them for a number of reasons. None the least of which was they cost more and all the battery part time & fuel the other time confused me and I didn’t want to have to get a college degree to go and acquire one.

I’m not really very pleased at this time. Since it’s still in break in I’ll keep driving it but am waiting for the right now seemingly ficticious 50+ MPG story to evolve.

Regards,

Jim

I have a 40 mile commute, much of it in unimpeded highway. Under good conditions (constant speed) I can easily get 47-49 mpg during the commute- this requires that I get in 6th gear ASAP, and run it at 62 mph. If I am not disciplined or am doing some speed run, I can still come in at 40-44 very very easily.

Let me reiterate, it is that sixth gear that really makes the gas economy shine.

I can sometimes beat the mileage from the cruise control by ‘driving naturally’, i.e. don’t leadfoot it up an incline and let it drop below 60, then speed up on the downslope. In all circumstances the key is to not hit the accelerator for anything then quick spurts to maintain speed, and otherwise keeping it light.

In town I can go from 20mpg for local 1-3 mile errands to 33 in-town, so for the kind of driving I do my total tank value averages out to 40-44.

I CANNOT wait to put this pup on the road, I am convinced I can get 50+ easily.

So in summation, you really have to look at the kind of driving you do- if there is a lot of stops and starts and accelerations and loss of momentum, or a lot of hills, it likely will be dissapointing mileage for you if you are not the disciplined accelerator type. Treat the accelerator like you would a space craft, short bursts when needed but save that gas for when you need it, and you will do well.

A further note, I went with the Internet salesman, he got me a sweet price that was equal to a civic with the same safety features (most notably the Electronic Stability Control, a must-have), with all the features and a good repair record this car could be a civic killer if they keep it in the same price range.