VW Jetta TDI Gets Green Car of the Year Nod at LA Auto Show
Considering the fact that diesel cars have been nearly non-existent in the US for the last decade, the Green Car Journal’s choice of the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI as the Green Car of the Year comes as a bit of a surprise — especially because its competition included two hybrids, and a Smart fortwo.
- » See also: Teenage-Built Diesel Hybrid Does 0-60 in 4 Seconds, Soon to Break 100 MPG
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This is the first time that a clean diesel car has won the annual award since it was initiated in 2005. According to Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com:
The 2009 Jetta TDI “raises the bar significantly in environmental performance with its EPA estimated 41 mpg highway fuel economy, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and extremely low tailpipe emissions. This is all the more impressive when you consider the Jetta TDI is a clean diesel, achieving the kind of fuel efficiency offered by gasoline electric hybrids but in a more affordable way.”
The car has a 2.0 liter turbocharged direct injection engine that uses clean diesel emissions-reducing technology developed in partnership with Audi and Mercedes-Benz. To reduce NOx emissions, the Jetta has a temporary NOx-storage catalyst that holds the emissions until they’re combusted later in the engine.
Even though it’s listed at 41 mpg highway and 30 mpg city, many people are reporting that if they drive a bit slower on the highway and don’t accelerate too hard, they can see nearly 50 mpg on the highway. And, while stingy on the fuel, the car doesn’t sacrifice on performance, boasting huge amounts of low end torque and a 0-60 mph time of 8.2 seconds.
The Jetta TDI starts at $21,990 and is available now — but good luck finding one. I was quoted a 9 month waiting list from my local dealer.
Chuck,
Couple of points:
-As much as possible, we shouldn’t be using petroleum to fuel cars at all. Biodiesel would be a much better option with lower emissions and a neutral (or net sink) carbon balance - especially something like algae diesel. Biodiesel from algae or even a crop like canola is a much better source of biofuel than ethanol, so the more diesel cars we can encourage on the road means a better potential market for biodiesel. Plus, diesel cars tend to last far longer than gas cars so you would have less raw material usage over the life of the car.
-When a barrel of oil is turned into a petroleum product such as gas, diesel, plastics or fertilizer, none of the barrel is wasted (meaning that extra amount of petroleum used to make diesel doesn’t just disappear). Your statistics take the issue out of context.
Give em hell Nick. So do you think VW winning this award may open the door for other high mph diesels to hit the market? Like the Ford that supposedly gets 60 + mpg.
Thanks Doug,
Due to some recent advances in making diesels cleaner, there are a whole slew of car makers bringing diesels back to the US this coming year.
Look here for some more details:
http://gas2.org/2008/05/21/clean-diesel-cars-coming-to-us-this-fall-2008-2010-timeline/
As far as I know, the Ford Fiesta Econetic is still off the table for the US.
http://gas2.org/2008/09/09/new-fiesta-gets-73-mpg-but-ford-says-its-not-for-the-us/
Nick,
Amazing! With all of the trouble Ford is having in the small car market, this would be an atom bomb. It would dominate the small car market even with diesel being more expensive.
Nick, you totally beat me to this - I just noticed this announcement on VW.com and was hoping to write about it. I recently got an ‘09 Jetta TDI and LOVE it. I was ready to upgrade to the most fuel-efficient car I could find, and this was it. I’m glad to hear that it’s getting so much recognition. This confirms what I thought was true when looking for a new car: the Jetta clean diesels are the greenest cars on the market right now. I’m glad I went with it instead of a Prius.
My only beef with Loretta the Jetta (I named my car, I know, I’m a dork) is that the warranty only covers using up to B5 (5% biodiesel). I would like to at least be able to use B20, and there’s a local biodiesel collective that makes B100 from waste veggie oil that I’d love to support. But I don’t want to void my warranty. Hopefully with more testing, VW will up the ante and allow the use of B20 or more without voiding the warranty.
I am stoked about my new “volksvegan”, it’s nice to have a VW that’s reliable and luxurious (my other VW is a 1982 Diesel Vanagon that runs on veg oil, and needless to say it’s been in the shop way too much for our liking). Go VW!