Lovers of both fuel mileage and torque can finally rest easy; Volkswagen of America is now officially selling its 50-State-approved, clean diesel engine in either the Jetta sedan for $21,990 or Jetta SportWagen wrappers for $23,590. Equipped with the six-speed DSG transmission, both Jetta gets an EPA rating of 29 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on the highway. We expect to see better real-world numbers, though we're a bit wary of VW's advertising its alternate rating of 38/44 -- a number that is impossible to compare with anything else currently available. In any case, the $2,000 premium for the TDI engine will be lessened somewhat by the Fed's $1,300 tax credit which applies to either TDI model. Look for an early test of the oil-burner on these pages shortly.
[Source: Volkswagen]
Press Release:
THE WAIT IS OVER
Volkswagen's all-new clean diesel is right for the times and now available in all 50 states
HERNDON, Va.-Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced that their all-new, and highly anticipated 50-state compliant clean diesel Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen are now available for customer delivery.
"We're proud to be the first manufacturer to offer a clean diesel vehicle for sale in all fifty states," said Stefan Jacoby, CEO/President, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "We believe our Jetta TDI's truly offer a no compromise alternative fuel driving experience, that provides the customer the best of both worlds-excellent fuel efficiency combined with a dynamic driving experience."
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the Jetta TDI at an economical 29 mpg City and 40 mpg Highway. Volkswagen went a step further to evaluate the real world fuel economy of the Jetta TDI. Leading third-party certifier, AMCI, tested the Jetta TDI and found it performed 24 percent better in real world conditions, achieving 38 mpg in the City and 44 mpg on the Highway.*
EPA research has concluded that if diesels were to power one third of all light duty vehicles in the United States, the shift would save approximately 1.4 million barrels of oil a day-equal to the daily shipments from Saudi Arabia to the U.S.
Providing even more value to the Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen, a $1300 Federal Income Tax Credit was recently announced. The Internal Revenue Service issued a certification letter affirming that both vehicles qualify for an Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle income tax credit.
The Jetta TDI's come standard with Volkswagen's Prevent and Preserve Safety System, consisting of numerous standard safety features. Jetta TDI's include six airbags, with optional rear side airbags, and like all 2009 model year Volkswagens, Jetta TDI's also feature standard Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP) for added safety.
Also standard for 2009 is Volkswagen's carefree maintenance program, with this program there are no charges for the scheduled maintenance described in the vehicle's maintenance booklet for the length of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty-three years or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
Recently Volkswagen announced pricing for their Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen would start at $21,990 and $23,590, respectively.
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Volkswagen of America, Inc. recently announced Electronic Stability Program (ESP) as standard equipment on all its 2009 vehicles. As a result, Volkswagen is one of the only original equipment manufacturers to offer an electronic stability control system on their entire product line – ahead of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) deadline requiring vehicles in the 2012 model year to include stability control systems. Volkswagen's ESP technology works in conjunction with anti-lock brakes and helps reduce loss of control and rollovers to avoid crashes. NHTSA predicts nearly 10,000 lives could be saved each year if automakers included stability systems as standard equipment.
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Va. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, Tiguan and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
catgirlshyla @ Aug 18th 2008 3:11PM
"50-State-approved,"
THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!!!
Woo @ Aug 18th 2008 3:14PM
Why only Jettas? Only old folk drive Jettas in Europe. I want a clean diesel Golf!
Kitko @ Aug 18th 2008 3:23PM
Jetta is a Golf with a trunk.
montoym @ Aug 18th 2008 6:32PM
@Kitko
Exactly. In Europe, people prefer hatchbacks to sedans in most cases. The Jetta has never been a big seller in Europe. For a while, the Golf was the World's best-selling car.
It's similar to how hatchbacks have never been a big seller in the US but sedans are.
Count me as one waiting on a TDI Rabbit as well.
Atomicbri @ Aug 18th 2008 7:21PM
I am all for a TDI Rabbit! Come on VW, ramp it up and offer one again (You offered the last gen Golf here in a diesel, only fair to bring it back again!)
AngeloD @ Aug 18th 2008 3:21PM
If people want to buy high mileage cars, that's commendable. But why the hell should they should be getting a Federal subsidy?
Presumably this purchase will already benefit the consumer with lower operating expenses. Why do the people with the cash to buy one of these VW's have to reach into everyone else's pocket?
BigMcLargeHuge @ Aug 18th 2008 3:25PM
I feel the very same way on principle.
But this subsidy makes it fair since they've been doing it with Hybrids for years.
FSM @ Aug 18th 2008 3:33PM
Because buying a diesel could help the country with some of its gas problems. However buying diesel is risky because the cost of diesel is high and could go higher if it becomes popular here in the US. Tax incentives are often offered to technology trailblazers, those that are willing to pay a premium for new unproven technology. I say unproven because we still don't know how diesels will fair in the US economy. The tax money is not coming out of your pocket, it actually came out of my pocket and is just going back into it.
Xcountryflyer @ Aug 18th 2008 3:21PM
Finally...hopefully it is a sales success to show other makers that diesel is worth the effort for all 50 states.
zamafir @ Aug 18th 2008 7:04PM
VW never, ever, had issues selling the MKIV TDI.
As it stands, most TDi sedans are currently spoken for out to about five months from now. My dealer just received three last night, all with deposits, all be purchased today. 50mpg sedans that actually handle aren't going to have any issue moving, just as the previous iteration.
Travis @ Aug 18th 2008 3:22PM
Rabbit with a 6sp manual for $19k, please.
Woo @ Aug 18th 2008 3:28PM
Kitko, you missed my point. The whole is greater than the mere sum of its parts. Hence, throwing a trunk on a lovely Golf makes it an ugly car. I want my Golf.
Jim in Tampa @ Aug 18th 2008 3:27PM
I can only imagine how much the "additional dealer markup" will be for this!
Markus @ Aug 18th 2008 3:32PM
29/40mpg would be ridiculously low in my opinion. I understand that mileage might differ from the euro model due to the different emission systems, and I also know that the EPA cycle differs somewhat from the Euro cycle. Still, in the Euro Jetta this engine is rated at 33/52 mpg(US) for city/overland cycles respectively.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Aug 18th 2008 4:11PM
The European measures are a joke. The Prius does 55mpg (US) on the European combined cycle. And it's the same car as here.
Markus @ Aug 18th 2008 4:37PM
@LS2LS7
While they could use some improvement, I wouldn't call them a joke. They overestimate real world mileage somewhat, but all mileage ratings do that. Based on people's real life mileages (magazine tests, ADAC tests, database websites), the Euro NEFZ doesn't overestimate nearly enough to make the EPA ratings realistic.
Whoever manages to achieve as little as 29/40 mpg with the VW 140hp 2.0TDI should probably not be allowed to drive on public roads ;).
chewy @ Aug 18th 2008 5:24PM
The EPA has admitted on paper that the average diesel driver gets 18% more mpgs than what the EPA says their diesel should do. The 38/44 figure from the third party is much closer to what the TDI should be rated by the EPA.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Aug 18th 2008 5:32PM
Chewy:
If they've admitted it on paper, it should be easy to find the info. Do you have a link?
chewy @ Aug 18th 2008 6:48PM
The EPA has admitted on paper that the average diesel driver gets 18% more mpgs than what the EPA says their diesel should do. The 38/44 figure from the third party is much closer to what the TDI should be rated by the EPA.
montoym @ Aug 18th 2008 6:48PM
@LS2LS7:
http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/420r06017.pdf
See Page 16(of the pdf, it's pg. 8 of the actual document) for the quote below and a Table showing the difference diesels have over other vehicles types including hybrids.
Quote from link - "With respect to the mpg-based label values, diesels still perform the best of the four types of vehicles, now exceeding their label values by 18%."