VW recently launced the VW Jetta TDI which is legal in all 50 states. A couple recently drove the new Jetta TDI thru 48 states and achieved 58.82 mpg setting a new Guiness World Record.
Helen and John Taylor took off in their new 2009 VW Jetta TDI and drove through 48 states in 20 days, covering 9,419 miles. Their little diesel powered Jetta returned an average 58.82 mpg, which beat the old record of 51.58 mpg. The couple said they were able to achieve that rating by staying within 5 miles of the speed limit. Throughout the whole trip the Jetta TDI only consumed 11 tanks of diesel fuel and traveled 853 miles between fill ups.
The EPA rated the Jetta TDI at 29 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway, but third party certifier, AMCI tested the Jetta TDI and certified it at 38 mpg in the city and 44 mpg on the highway.
Both the Jetta TDI and Jetta SportWagen TDI are eligible for a $1,300 tax credit as well.
Full Story: Kicking Tires
Related Stories:
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Gets 44 mpg and Starts at $21,990
Comments (15)
First of all...first
Second of all...great job.
Posted by D! | September 30, 2008 12:20 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 12:20
In yo face Prius!
Posted by Pedersen | September 30, 2008 1:11 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 13:11
Truly impressive, now if I could only trust VW to ever buy one of thier cars again?
Posted by zippy | September 30, 2008 2:31 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 14:31
I scanned over the article, it didn't say if they had a stick or automatic.
Posted by Tim | September 30, 2008 3:49 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 15:49
Love the Article-
Commonly forgotten are the '06 TDI's that get 40+mpg and can be had for 20k or so. Same exact body style (I believe)
Posted by Tom Bush | September 30, 2008 5:02 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 17:02
TDI's are VERY tough to come by... new or used. My wife and I both recently bought new cars and we wanted a TDI wagon but decided to hold off for a year or two because there's a ton of fuel efficient cars in the pipeline but right now there's not a lot on dealer lots. If you want efficient you pay a big premium right now.
The only way we'd have gotten a new tdi wagon would have been to order it and hope we didn't have to wait too long for it to come in.
Another consideration... it's claimed that the next release will get an EPA 60+mpg. That means real world mileage of 70+mpg... CRAZY.
Posted by Dave K | September 30, 2008 6:37 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 18:37
@zippy:
please no more whining about VW reliability... take care of your car and it will take care of you. my ex-gf's parents have more problems with their toyota camry than i do with my VW gti.
Posted by anon | September 30, 2008 6:46 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 18:46
Where are all the anti-VW whiners who complained about VW getting an independent company to test the mileage of their cars and they came up with higher than EPA ratings?
If I'm not mistaken, this figure beats both the EPA and the independent results by a wide margin.
Posted by reality | September 30, 2008 7:38 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 19:38
I don't care about their ratings, they make junk. It's a shame, too, because it's good looking junk.
Posted by Anti-VW Whiner | September 30, 2008 7:48 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 19:48
Good mileage, although staying within 5 miles of the speed limit will be an issue. I know I don't have the time to do that...if I do I miss my window and end up in traffic...so much for mileage. I still like the car although I'm interested in the performance specs and test specs. Does it have any power and were the tests really done with real world drivers in mind. That is...do they accelerate after a stop light with a 0 - 30 mph in 20 seconds mentality where any car will get much better gas mileage? Now we need the US to bring down diesel prices. I'd love a TDI...especially the Audi R8...haha.
Posted by Mike M | September 30, 2008 8:39 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 20:39
A team of hypermilers will probably destroy this number soon.
Posted by mf | October 1, 2008 12:03 AM
Posted on October 1, 2008 00:03
A team of hypermilers will probably destroy this number soon.
Posted by mf | October 1, 2008 12:03 AM
Posted on October 1, 2008 00:03
since it is about a couple, it must have had a stick.
Posted by lowest iq | October 1, 2008 6:07 AM
Posted on October 1, 2008 06:07
@mf
Hopefully when the hypermilers are drafting behind a truck, the truck will slam on the brakes and put them in a ditch or worse.
Posted by Rodger | October 3, 2008 1:35 PM
Posted on October 3, 2008 13:35
It was a DSG clitchless stick
Posted by Mike | October 13, 2008 11:04 AM
Posted on October 13, 2008 11:04