Posted 06.16.2009

Executive wheels: 2009 VW Jetta SportWagen TDI

By Jeff Rundles

Finally, a diesel to love in America

Just over a year and a half ago, my wife and son and I visited Italy. Florence to be exact. We booked the trip through a website and arranged, blindly, to have a rental car waiting for us at the airport. Having no idea of what to expect, we were at first a little stunned to get a Renault Modus, a French car, because we thought it was a little on the small side – it was more than enough in the room department, mind you, but it looked small there in the airport parking lot.

Once we got out onto the road we realized it wasn’t small at all compared to everything else. We are, of course, Americans, and therefore, obviously, naïve.

That naiveté also extended to the fact that this car was had a diesel engine. Being American, my first thoughts were that it was going to be smelly, noisy and it would be too difficult to find diesel fuel. I imagined running all over the place to find the Italian equivalent of truck stops to fuel up. Silly Americans. The Renault didn’t smell. It wasn’t noisy. And there was diesel fuel at each and every gas station because, as I quickly found out, just about half the cars on the road ran on diesel.

And ran well. This Renault Modus got 55 mpg, as near as I could calculate what with the differences in gallons/litres; even if my math was off, I only had to fuel up a couple of times in a week, and we drove all over Tuscany and beyond, back and forth. Even if I didn’t do the calculations, I knew this was the least-thirsty car I had ever driven, including a Hybrid Toyota Prius I had test-driven a few weeks before the Italy trip.

You’d never even know the car was diesel if it didn’t say so on the back and on the gas nozzle. We Americans were turned off by diesel passenger cars back in the 1980s because the engines sounded like wood-chippers, and they put out black, smelly smoke all the time. Plus, there was some particular service issues and troubles with diesel Audis and VWs that put a taint on the whole idea of diesel.

But, I come to find out, Europe is teeming with low-sulfur diesel fuel, not the kind we Americans had back in the ‘80s, and the cars there have been vastly improved. My little Renault Modus sounded like any other car on the outside, was very quiet on the inside, and never once emitted any discernable black smoke.

And to add mystique to intrigue, all of these pleasant surprises, including the unbelievable gas mileage, came with a car that performed way above average. That little sucker was fast, maneuverable, just a kick to drive, easy to park (in Middle Age cities where parking is not easy, I can tell you), and I just kept thinking that I wanted to take it home.

That’s what America needs, I thought: an economical, diesel engine, fun-to-drive, easy-to-park automobile. Yeah, keep dreaming.

Well, it’s not a Renault Modus, and it isn’t – yet – one of the very cool, fun Fiat Pandas that I saw all over Italy, but it is one great giant leap forward: the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI. (There is also a Jetta TDI Sedan, if you prefer, and it’s very cool too).

I can only think of one drawback on the Jetta TDI and that is the American diesel thing. We have improved the fuel here in the ensuing years since the 1980s, and the car doesn’t smell or put out black smoke, but it is difficult to find diesel fuel.

You have to search around, go to truck stops and the like, and, yes, it is something like 10-cents-a-gallon more expensive than regular gasoline. But it is some 50 percent more fuel efficient, so the search-for-diesel is kept at a minimum, and I still believe you’d be ahead cost-wise. This Jetta TDI SportWagen is rated at 29 mpg city/ 40 mpg highway (the sedan is 30/41), compared to 21/31 in the normally aspirated, 2.5L I5 gasoline engine (170 hp), and the 2.0L I4 (turbo, 200 hp), also available in the line.

I bring this up because many, many people asked me about the diesel thing, worrying about both availability and cost. Frankly, I think both issues are not really problems. The cost thing, as I said, gets more than mitigated by the fuel efficiency, especially around town (the TDI is nearly 50 percent more efficient in town and some 33 percent more efficient on the highway). And from a “green” perspective, today’s diesel has it all over gasoline.

On the availability issue, well yes, that could be a problem depending on where you live. I checked the gas stations near my house (SE Denver) and could only find one handy that carried diesel out of about 15 choices. And there is none that I could find in and around downtown Denver where I work, so I would have to think ahead a little bit more than with gasoline when I needed a regular fill-up. On long trips, there are plenty of diesel pumps along major highways – I-70 and I-25 – but you would have to think about what you were doing if you got off the beaten path.

In the days before my test drive of the Jetta TDI, I checked with my usual websites to get some of the basics, and I was disappointed to discover that the car was to come with a 2.0-liter I4 diesel engine, putting out some 140 hp. I was set to be disappointed, especially since I remember the 1980s when diesels weren’t exactly speed demons (what we used to say was that diesels lacked hp, but had a lot of pulling torque; now I don’t go in for torque much because I was a perfectly awful student of physics.)

Anyway, I was just being a silly America, again. If I hadn’t know, and if you asked me, I would have told you this TDI had at least 250 hp. Yes, it is turbo charged, but it is still rated at 140 hp, but there must be something wrong with the measuring devices. This car is quick, fast, muscular and responsive. Once again, if I didn’t know going in, I would have guessed that a car this powerful would get awful mileage, but the truth is that I did everything I could think of to empty the gas tank – a lot of driving, speeding from corner to corner, doing whatever the opposite of “hyper-miling” is (extro-miling?) – and the needle just wouldn’t move.

Doing a little research, I discovered that this Jetta is the fifth generation of the venerable line, launched just three model years back, and with this Sportwagen version making its debut in the 2009 model year (they have had other station wagon models in the line before). My involvement with the Jetta goes back to the early 1980s when my wife had one and continues to this day as my daughter drives one, and they have always been fine cars.

The first few years, the Jetta was built on the VW Beetle platform, but that only lasted until 1984 when they moved it over to the Golf platform, deciding that the American public wanted was classic sedan more than a hatch-back. They were right. Jetta instantly became the “poor man’s BMW,” as it was a nice, somewhat upscale sedan like the BMW 3 and the Mercedes C – or for that matter the Audi whatever it was called then, the Saab and the Volvo – for a lot less money. VW has upgraded the Jetta over the years, but it still resides in the very nice category just under the others mentioned in price, but above average. There have been several auto reviewers who complained that the new fifth generation lacks the styling of the fourth, but I am not one of them. The thing I like about Jetta is that it has evolved over the years, retaining all the good things but going forward, while at the same time being a recognizable VW is all respects. Too many other car lines lack such distinctiveness.

Just this morning as I write, I parked the Jetta Sportwagen in front of a 7-Eleven, and a guy pulled in next to me in an almost identical car—a silver E320 Mercedes Wagon – and they looked virtually like the same car. Same size, same shape and styling. I love the Mercedes (the newer one is the E350 and it is somewhat different), but it made me feel even better about the Jetta Sportwagen. It ranks right up there among the best.

This car is a handsome package. It drives beautifully, with road-hugging FWD, wonderful handling and it is among the most quiet on the road. About the only thing I didn’t like is that with a turbo there is a little annoying gap between placing one’s foot on the accelerator and when the engine kicks in; not too much, but you notice, and this is endemic on all turbos. On the other hand, there is no turbo torque in the driving, so you don’t get that Saab-like surge and pull when the turbo kicks in. Except for a minor gap, this is a smooth operating vehicle.

Inside, it is also a very handsome vehicle, and I would have guessed it cost more because it had all of the nice stuff, done in a very BMW 3-Series way. The six-speed automatic transmission is very responsive (a big bugaboo in earlier Jettas that often were criticized for having a power drag in auto transmissions). The “leatherette,” whatever that is, seating is very comfortable and smooth, and all the gauges, shifter and equipment is handsome, easy to use and reach. The seats are roomy and comfortable.

What I really like is the second-row seating and the rear. In the second row, while not large, there is ample room for three adults sitting comfortably. In the middle seat, there is a fold-down armrest/cupholder combo that, folded up, doesn’t make for the most comfortable back position, but it’s fine for around town. The foot room is better than I remember in older Jettas. The second seat folds down 60/40 with ease so as to increase the cargo space, and there is a pass-through in the middle (behind the armrest) so you can place a few pairs of skis and still have the two more-comfortable seats for passengers. In the way back, the lift gate is very easy to use, doesn’t go up too high (so bringing it down is easy) and there is plenty of room for gear, dogs, whatever.

About the only annoying this is the automatic locking system. The car features remote keyless entry, which just about everyone has now, and the thing locks up for security reasons all the time. You have to have the key fob to get into the back or the back doors. You get used to it.

From a price point of view, I was pleasantly surprised. They have taken Jetta up in price over the years – it used to be a solid under-$20k model – but then, everything is up. On the Sportwagen, the base prices start at $19,075 or the PZEV model, and go up to $26,066 on the SEL. This TDI carries a base price of $23, 870, and it is a nice package. On my test-drive model they added DVD navigation for $1,990, a very nice panoramic sunroof for $1,300, the aforementioned six-speed automatic transmission for $1,100 (manual is standard) and they upgraded the 16” wheels to 17” alloy wheels for $450. Add in $700 in destination charges and the bottom line was $29,410. It carries a three-year/36k miles overall warranty, a five-year/50k miles powertrain warranty, a 12-year corrosion perforation warranty, three-year/36K miles roadside assistance and six months of Sirius Satellite radio service for free.

Scheduled maintenance is free for three years or 36K miles (all of these ranges are “whichever comes first).  And, of course, standard is a very nice sound system with all the usual stuff; MP3 and auxiliary input, etc.

This is not a “wow” car. It is awfully nice, unbelievably economical on gas, a great performer, a versatile hauler for its compact size and, I think, priced right given the competition these days. It also rates four and five stars on all the crash tests—pretty good.

The interesting thing is the parts content. The sticker says that 9 percent of the parts are American/Canadian, with another 30 percent from Mexico and 35 percent from Germany. Where the other 26 percent comes from is a mystery. The engine and transmission are German, and the car is assembled in Puebla, Mexico, in a plant that has been making VWs and Jettas since the 1970s.

  
Every time I get a Jetta I think, yes, this is a car I could own and drive with pleasure for many years. And I love the diesel. I just wish there was more diesel availability in this country. Maybe it’s a chicken or the egg thing, and it will take care of itself as more great diesels are sold. The Europeans, as this car so amply displays, are way ahead of the rest of the world on that score.

RATING: FOUR WHEELS (out of four)

 

  

 

 

Last updated on Nov 10, 2009 at 10:04 AM