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My friends were telling me that Jetta's Golf's and Beetles with the Turbo Diesel Engines get more than 50MPG!!! Is this true? I know that they don't sell them here in California because of the tough smog laws here.

I wouldn't be surprised because I had a 78 diesel rabbit that got 56 mpg - which would have been grand if only it would have run a few miles without having to go into the shop for something.

Well, being that the TDIs cannot be sold in Calif., Mass., Maine, N.Y. and Vermont, they must be right up there with the dirtiest exhaust emissions. No thank you!

However, this might change in the next year as I heard today the EPA has ruled that diesel must be sold with 97% of it's sulfer removed. This is not only for cars, but buses and trucks...AWESOME!

probably. A test done here by a motor television programme netted 6.6L/100km for the Jetta and 5.1L/100km for the Prius under the exact same route. (other hybrids and their non-hybrid counterparts were also tested)

VW diesels shouldn't be that bad. They are noisy like most diesels on this side of the Atlantic and aren't that powerful even though they have gobs of torque (takes the Jetta 13 secs to go to 60mph tested by the same show) which is longer than the Prius and ~ same as the new HCH (or at most .5 sec slower).

The Jetta TDI wagon and Prius were the final two on our list for our family car. We went with the Prius because of the diesel pollution issues-- as you said, they are not permitted in CA. After having had a gas and diesel Golf, a diesel Vanagon, and gas Jetta, it was hard to leave the VW family, but we are very happy with our move to Prius. Hopefully the pending ultra low sulfer diesel will help clean up the pollution act. Until then I'd recommend the Prius.

PA P

There is an article about "VW to drop 3 diesel models for '07".
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 1002/RSS02
VW is going to sell dirty '06 diesel Jettas in 2007.

Ken@Japan

Doesn't diesel fuel cost almost as much as premium gas? If so, there goes the fuel cost savings compared to Prius.

Well, you are getting the same milage figures as the Prius at practically the same price. Of course you are still driving a "specialized" vehicle and there is usually just one place in town where either can be worked on.

They did point out:

"A new diesel Jetta that meets emissions standards in all 50 states should be available for the 2008 model year."

'Course, this will not bode well for the I hate anything non-Prius groups, who tend to paint a broad brush.......

I drive the Prius, hubby drives a Jetta TDI wagon. As often as possible, he fills it with biodiesel so as to avoid adding to the pollution problem. If we could switch to using B100, the pollution issue would be almost null, as well as the petroleum consumption. Hubby gets about 43 mpg, but that's usually loaded down with computer equipment, and a heavy right foot.

Yeah, and no. I'd feel more comfortable taking a Jetta TDI to a jiffy lube or a pep boy's for a tire change than I would my Prius. And any foreign car mechanic worth his/her salt can work on a diesel (in my town we have one Swedish Car specialty shop and one European car specialty shop). And given that diesels last forever, engine issues shouldn't really be a problem.

Except that VW's have a terrible reliability record. If you look at the April 06 auto issue of Consumer Reports, not a single model year of any model has an above average reliability rating. Most are below average or well below. Their gasoline engine reliability is fairly poor so I don't see why their diesels should be much better.

They were also 3rd from the bottom for problem rate 5 year old vehicles. The only two worse were Cadillac and Mercedes. Lexus was #1 and Toyota was #2. On the same page they stated "Overall, eight-year-old Toyotas are about as reliable as three-year-old Fords and Chryslers and two-year-old Volkswagens. Toyotas have about half the problems of Volkwwagens when new and only a quarter of the problems when five years old."

Seems like a penny-wise and pound-foolish to buy a VW diesel. What you make up in savings at the pump will be more than negated by hassle and repair costs.

Is it still under warranty? If yes and you care about it, you're taking a big risk. VW recommends no more than 5% biodiesel (B5) per http://www.vw.com/contactus/faqs.html#5.1.

They also say "In summary:

1. Volkswagen recommends the use of standard diesel fuel or commercially supplied biodiesel blends of no more than five percent (“B5”) biodiesel.
2. Never use any fuel, whether diesel, B5 biodiesel, or otherwise, that fails to meet the latest petroleum industry specifications or that is not purchased from a commercial retail diesel pump. If you are unable to determine whether a particular fuel blend is B5 biodiesel that meets the latest biodiesel industry specifications (ASTM D6751), ask your service station for more information.
3. Never use any fuel for which the contents cannot be identified."

This is not true.
There are still a lot of NOx and PM pollution.

Ken@Japan

I had a Jetta before my Prius, and it had it's share of gremlins. But it never, ever died on the road on me like my Prius did (twice). It didn't have a steering column that could snap on k-turns or by hitting a bump. It didn't have misaligned panels and gaps between dash panels. It didn't rattle like pennies in a coffee can going downhill.

So yes, I would say the my previous Jetta was a much more reliable car than my Prius.