http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/05/21/officially-official-epa-rates-2009-jetta-tdi-at-30-41mpg/The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is coming to VW dealers this summer as the first of the new batch of 50 state clean diesels and the official EPA fuel economy numbers are now out. The diesel has come in with ratings of 30mpg on the urban cycle and 41mpg on the highway cycle. Those numbers are a bit lower than expected, with Volkswagen having implied previously implied that 40mpg both city and highway were possible. More recently they have indicated that real world highway figures of up to 60mpg were possible.
Regardless of the expectations we might have had, these numbers are a huge improvement over the current 2.5L five cylinder and 2.0L turbo offerings. The 34mpg combined figure is a 41.7 percent improvement over the 2.5L and 36 percent boost over the 2.0L. The Prius is rated at 48/45mpg city/highway. We'll be looking forward to our chance to evaluate a new Jetta TDI to see how it does in the real world.
Update: We just talked to VW spokesman Keith Price about the EPA numbers and his response was that the VW TDIs typically do better in real world mileage performance than the official ratings. We'll reserve judgement until we get our hands on one in late June.
The EPA numbers are in for Volkswagen's 2009 Jetta TDI. Although the new diesels get good fuel economy, their official numbers fall short of VW's original estimates.
Early press materials for the new TDI motor claimed that, in Jetta form, the motor could return city mileage "in the mid 40s" and highway figures as high as 60 mpg. But newly released EPA figures (available online at www.fueleconomy.gov) say otherwise.
Jetta and Jetta SportWagons equipped with the 2.0-liter turbodiesel I-4 and a six-speed manual are EPA rated at 30 mpg city; 41 mpg highway. Opt for a six-speed DSG and the numbers drop to 29 mpg city, 40 mpg highway.
Those figures are approximately forty percent lower than VW's rough estimates, although the automaker maintains customers could see results higher than the EPA's numbers in real world driving. Even so, 30/41 is still respectable, particularly for the SportWagon - a Smart fortwo improves city mileage by only 3 mpg and returns an identical highway figure.
It'll probably add $2000, so maybe the average one will be $25,000, a loaded one will be $30,000.What is MSRP? Anyone happen to know what the invoice price will be?
HERNDON, Virginia — Volkswagen of America said the 2009 Jetta TDI sedan will start at $21,990, while the 2009 Jetta SportWagen TDI will be priced from $23,590. Both models go on sale in August and are rated by the EPA at 29 mpg in city driving and 40 mpg on the highway.
The TDI's clean diesel meets stringent emissions standards in all 50 states. But diesel advocates had expected much higher EPA mileage ratings on the VW turbodiesel, due in part to the automaker's own aggressive positioning. On its Web site, VW says the TDI engine has "an anticipated fuel efficiency of mid-50s highway (and) mid-40s city."
But even the company's own testing, conducted by an outside firm, fell well short of that mark.
In part to blunt some of the negative feedback generated by the lower-than-expected EPA numbers, VW hired a third-party company, AMCI, to conduct what it calls "real-world testing" on the '09 Jetta TDI. The automaker said the AMCI tests showed the TDI achieved significantly better results — 38 mpg in the city and 44 on the highway — than the official EPA ratings.
What this means to you: VW takes some of the sting out of high fuel prices — and steep new-car stickers. But diesel aficionados who expected to rack up huge mileage gains may be disappointed both by the EPA figures and their own real-world driving experience in the new TDI.
