sigh... greenwashing by a Walnut Creek VW dealer

Prius owners should organize a demonstration. Who can ignore a few dozen Prii....

 

I actually want to take a VW TDI for a test drive, all the car review websites are raving about it. I want to see what it's about. I won't buy it, because it doesn't make financial sense for me ( diesel is about 90 cents more per gallon than regular here). I won't call the TDI a green car, a corolla gets about the same mileage and is almost 7k cheaper and has almost the exact same dimensions (one inch thinner but one inch longer).

 

The Jetta TDI is a very nice car. I have a 2003 wagon, my brother has a 2003 sedan, a good friend has a 2006 sedan. I've also test driven the 2009 and it is just like my friend's 2006 but with noticeably more power. It is a very comfortable car that manages to be reasonably sporty and fuel efficient.

A Corolla would be less expensive to drive simply because the TDI is only offered in VW's highest level of trim. You can't buy a basic TDI anymore, it comes standard with leather, fully adjustable power and heated seats (driver and passenger), premium stereo, etc. Hopefully this will change in the future or at least VW will offer the 2010 Golf TDI is a lower level of trim. (The Golf has more passenger and cargo space then the Jetta and Corolla)

Historically diesel fuel is more than premium in the winter and spring and less than regular in the summer and fall. The swing in price is due to fuel stocks being diverted from making on-highway diesel to fuel oil used for home heating. Currently the national average for diesel is $2.229 while regular gasoline is $2.051. The difference is greatest in the North East and Mid-Atlantic. For current fuel prices and links to 20+ years of weekly data: Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update

Diesel also varies widely by station. Some stations sell diesel fuel and price it competitively. Others have diesel fuel and charge a huge premium for it. Diesel owners quickly learn which stations to buy from and which to avoid. For example, I filled up last week and paid $2.059 for diesel at my regular station. There were two stations within a couple of miles that had diesel priced at $2.599 the same day.

A diesel will also easily beat the EPA numbers by 15% to 20%. It is typical to get the EPA highway mileage as a combined average. Even the EPA admits that the EPA test rates diesels 18% lower than actual reported mileage. The EPA test is designed for gasoline cars and diesels are such a small fraction of total vehicles they have no incentive to fix this.

As to emissions. The Jetta TDI's rating of Tier 2 Bin 5 is misleading. The only pollutant category that the TDI emits B5 levels of pollution is NOx. All the other pollutants are much lower:

2009 VW Jetta 2.0L TDI (@ UL)
Pollutant ------- Measured ------ Bin #
NMOG ------------ 0.012 -------- Bin 3
CO ---------------- 0.4 ---------- Bin 2
NOx -------------- 0.05 --------- Bin 5
PM --------------- 0.000 -------- Bin 1
( http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onroad/cert/pcldtmdv/2009/volkswagen_pc_a0070271_2d0_l2_diesel.pdf )