Diesel fans that have been waiting patiently for the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI will now finally have some relief. Two months after dealers began receiving their demonstrator models, regular customer units are now available and dealers can now start customer deliveries. Volkswagen is charging a $2,000 premium over the base 2.5L gas engine for the fifty-state legal diesel but the Jetta TDI is eligible for a $1,300 federal alternative fuels tax credit. The EPA has rated the Jetta at 29/40 mpg with the 6-speed DSG transmission but drivers of older Jettas have long reported that the EPA estimates for diesels underestimate real world performance. We hope to provide our own evaluation on a regular production unit soon.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Volkswagen dealerships are reporting strong demand for the brand-new 2009 Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen TDI. Some dealers have even sold out before their first TDI even showed up on the lot, despite the fact that customers won't actually be getting their cars for at least another month or so. The two-thousand dollar premium buyers are asked to pay along with diesel prices, which are hovering in the $4.70 to $5.00 range, have not hampered buyers' hankering for a new fifty-state diesel passenger car. It probably doesn't hurt that VeeDub oil-burners have a reputation for über-reliability, with a number of sales coming from past TDI owners.

In contrast to strong Jetta TDI sales, VW's other recent model, the Tiguan, is not doing as well as hoped. How about adding a diesel engine option to the little crossover? Apparently, dealers are asking and they may get what they want. After all, the Tiguan's engine bay readily accepts the TDI engine from the Jetta since the two vehicles share a similar Golf-based platform. Our affection for the oddly-named mini-ute would surely increase exponentially if it were granted the turbo-diesel.



[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

The initial batch of Volkswagen Jetta TDIs have started to appear at Volkswagen dealers around the country and at least one dealer in Virginia is reporting a lot of interest. Jay Pichardo of Greenbrier Volkswagen posted a photo of the first demo vehicle and some initial stats. In the first 24 hours, thirteen people took the car out for test drives and ten people put down deposits on the new fifty-state legal diesel. According to Pichardo, the car has averaged 49mpg over the first 120 miles. Interestingly the car is emblazoned with graphics that emphasize the fact that the car is not a concept. We're waiting patiently for Volkswagen to send a Jetta over to the ABG Garage for our own evaluation of real world mileage. Keith, you know where to reach me.

[Source: Motive Mag]

The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is coming to VW dealers this summer as the first of the new batch of 50 state clean diesels and the official EPA fuel economy numbers are now out. The diesel has come in with ratings of 30mpg on the urban cycle and 41mpg on the highway cycle. Those numbers are a bit lower than expected, with Volkswagen having implied previously implied that 40mpg both city and highway were possible. More recently they have indicated that real world highway figures of up to 60mpg were possible.

Regardless of the expectations we might have had, these numbers are a huge improvement over the current 2.5L five cylinder and 2.0L turbo offerings. The 34mpg combined figure is a 41.7 percent improvement over the 2.5L and 36 percent boost over the 2.0L. The Prius is rated at 48/45mpg city/highway. We'll be looking forward to our chance to evaluate a new Jetta TDI to see how it does in the real world.

Update: We just talked to VW spokesman Keith Price about the EPA numbers and his response was that the VW TDIs typically do better in real world mileage performance than the official ratings. We'll reserve judgement until we get our hands on one in late June.


[Source: FuelEconomy.gov, thanks to Joseph for the tip]

Click David Jurca's Jetta for a high res gallery

The second Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup race went into the books today with David Jurca taking the checkered flag at the Mosport track near Bowmanville, Ont. For the second straight race, Josh Hurley started from the number 1 position on the grid but failed to capitalize in the race. This time around he finished fifth in the thirty-minute race. This time around the weather wasn't as good as the first race at VIRginia International Raceway with intermittent rain causing issues for the drivers running on slick tires. Of the four Canadian drivers in the field, Chris Holman of Burlington Ontario had the best result, following Jurca home in second place. Unfortunately a coming together of cars in the first turn quickly brought out the yellow flag which lasted for almost half of the race leaving only 15 minutes of real racing. Hopefully, VW will succeed in getting other race organizers to extend the length of future races to 45 minutes allowing for more track time. Full results are after the jump.