Since the implementation of the Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards created bythe US Government EPA, diesel vehicles have been forcedly snuffed out like a cigarette butt. While the number of new hybrids seems to grow by the month, it's still possible to count the number of diesel passenger cars available on the market with one hand, plus a couple of borrowed fingers. There's the Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, ML-Class, R-Class and GL-Class. Then there's the new Touareg 2 TDI with its monstrous 5.0-liter V10. But by far the most important vehicle that's powered by a diesel engine is this, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
You may be wondering what a review of a 2006 car is doing midways through 2007. After all, | | The Jetta TDI is one of only two diesels VW currently has on sale today... well, it was... (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press) |
2008 models have been rolling out of dealership lots for a few months now. The story is pretty complicated, but let me attempt to explain. When Volkswagen was told that it couldn't sell diesel vehicles in North America in 2007 due to the fact they couldn't meet unusuallycruel emissions designed to crush any hope of diesel power getting a foothold, they wisely stockpiled thousands upon thousands of Jetta TDIs | | For such a fuel miser, the Jetta TDI is rather plain looking... but that doesn't matter. It's all good... (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press) |
as a sort of stopgap until the company would be able to produce new, emission-compliant turbodiesel cars. Even when model year 2007 Jettas were being produced in Puebla, up until the very last day of 2006, Volkswagen had the right to build and sell 2006s. As such, it's still possible to head to a dealership (although make a phone call first) and snatch up one of these completely new, older cars.
Diesel technology is tried, tested and true. Its predominant use as a fuel for commercial vehicles in North America has | | Horsepower doesn't matter much with the TDI. It's all about torque, which is where the Jetta excels. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press) |
helped to foster an image of a dirty, smelly and polluting fuel, but in truth it's one of the cleanest and most efficient ways of providing power, and is responsible for powering most cars and nearly all SUVs and pickup trucks sold overseas in Europe. Many of the technologies that are being introduced to gasoline engines, such as direct injection and variable geometry turbochargers were bred andrefined on diesel engines.
We will have to wait until the next generation of Volkswagen TDI engine before receiving common rail injection, as found in the DaimlerChrysler diesel engines. Instead, the engine found in the Jetta TDI is the last of Volkswagen's | | Diesels can't rev high; this one redlines at 4,500 rpm. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press) |
traditional “PD” or Pump Duse engines, which have the old school individual injectors per cylinder design. In terms of output, it makes a paltry 100 horsepower, but delivers 177 lb-ft of torque, which is plenty to whisk this sedan forward in brisk fashion, a car that straddles the compact and midsize borders. Fuel economy is almost unbelievable when reading VW's brochure, and in practice such advertised figures can easily be attained. 700 miles from a tank of fuel? You betcha. My usual weekly routine involves traveling a good mix of city and highway driving, which requires me to refill most cars twice, if not three times. I only filled the Jetta up once, averaging well over 34 miles per gallon!
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