Hey Don, not to change subjects but do you have any numbers on the new Jetta? I was looking at those a couple years ago.
It's ok...I think I majorly changed subjects when I posted about my VW on the 7173 mustang board! But that's how comfortable I feel here as compared to many of the other forums I belong to. This forum rocks!
Jett #s: it really sucks that my golf can hit 54 sustained mpgs over hand calculated and repeated tanks of fuel and has been repeated by others who own 00-03 golfs or jetties, BUT as new technologies are put into the engines & cars, with each model revision the mileage gets worse! For example, the 00-03 cars had a more mechanical diesel ingestion pump that basically shoved the fuel through the injectors, engine size is 1.9L. The latest engine is a 2.0L with direct injection via the fuel being under very high pressure with the injectors opening 5 times per power stroke for a more efficient & cleaner burn. On the exhaust side the car first has a diesel particulate filter that collects soot. As the filter fills up with soot, fuel is injected into the exhaust stroke to heat up the filter and burn off the soot as ask (imagine the self cleaning setting of an oven in a house). This happens about every 400 miles or so. The the new cars have 3...yes 3 catalytic converters. The thing is stopped up! Due to emission requirements! So which is better??? Better mileage which uses less fuel or burn more fuel to have cleaner air? Is it that much cleaner if I have to burn more fuel to get there?
The new Jetta is an awesome car that gets 42 on the same trip IF I try really hard to do it. If I just drive it I'll get 38 or 39mpg. If I just drive the golf I'll get 47...try harder I get 54.
None of those numbers are shabby. I think the new (2011) jetta's are ugly, mine is a 2010 and I'd definitely buy it again.
The gas/diesel equalizer is cost per mile and is very simple to compute.... Current price of gas / car's mpg and compare to current price of diesel / jetta's mpg. I don't know how much gas is since I haven't bought any lately...say $3.30/gal / say 25mpg for a decent gas car = $0.132 per mile.
2009-2011 golf or jetta: $3.55/40mpg= $0.088 per mile.
2000-2003 golf or jet: $3.55/48mpg = $0.074 per mile.
...for every mile!
If anyone is interested the best VW diesels called TDIs is a 2000-2003 golf or jet 5-speed. The automatics for thees years ARE prone to easily break. The 04-07s are fine but have a slightly less mpg rating. The automatics are fine from 04 forward...those are called DSG transmissions which is really an automatic shifting manual transmission. I have a DSG in my 2010. It rocks, feels just like a manual when I take my foot off the go pedal. My wife thought something was wrong with the car until I explained it was downshifting the way I do in the golf.
Anyway I'm a pretty big fan of Powerstrokes and VW TDI's and could go on and on. I'm even a bigger fan of Mustangs though!
If anyone is interested in finding a good TDI I can point you to some good resources...just ask.
Also, check out www.fuelly.com. You can view world mpg figures from users like us for all kinds of cars.
Sorry for the typos, I didn't proof it and am on a small keypad.
) can even do that. Not bragging I only have this car for these trips b/c I know how much $ I wd spend to not drive this car!
