2009 Volkswagen
Jetta Sportwagen Retail price (msrp)
$23,000-$25,000 Standard engine 2.0-liter tdi
diesel Horsepower 140 Torque (lb-ft)
236 Fuel economy, city (mpg) 40
Highway (mpg) 55
(All numbers
are estimates)
In gay parlance,
words can have multiple meanings. Take diesel: It could
be a brand of sunglasses, an action-movie star, or a surly
gal whose wardrobe consists mainly of tank tops and
motorcycle boots. And beginning this year, diesel
could also mean the eco-friendly, fuel-efficient car
parked in the driveway.
In the past 20
years diesel cars have fallen out of favor in the United
States. They tended to be slow, make a lot of noise, and
burp foul-smelling black smoke. That last quality
caused the cars to fail the strict emissions standards
in New York and California. In 2006 a new ultralow
sulfur diesel fuel -- which removed the rotten-egg smell and
lowered the emission of soot and nitrogen oxides -- paved
the way for resurrection. And now, thanks to a big
push from Germany’s automakers, new diesel
technology, including particulate filters and a diesel
version of a catalytic converter, is making the engine
even cleaner and more refined.
Only three
automakers currently offer diesels in the United States:
Mercedes-Benz, with its 3.2-liter turbodiesel V6 available
in SUVs in the R, GL, and ML classes as well as the
E-series sedan; Jeep, which uses a Mercedes-derived
3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 in the Grand Cherokee; and
Volkswagen, which, for those on a budget, will bring the
frugal 2.0-liter TDI engine option to the 2009 Jetta
and Jetta SportWagen models this summer.
And the future
looks even more diesel-inspired: Audi will introduce its
diesel Q7 SUV and A4 sport sedan this year. Honda also has
diesel plans for a fuel-miserly Odyssey minivan and
Acura MDX SUV.
With gas prices
steadily heading north, fuel economy is perhaps
diesel’s strongest selling point -- diesels get
roughly 30% better fuel economy than gas engines.
While the diesel Benz and Grand Cherokee offer gas
mileage in the low 20s to 30s, VW promises to get it above
50 miles per gallon.
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