Volkswagen Golf TDI
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Photo: HybridCars.com. All rights reserved.
The Volkswagen Golf is one of the most iconic small hatchbacks of all time. Introduced in 1974, more than 27 million have been sold, making it the world’s third best-selling car. Now, in its sixth generation, the Golf returns with a full redesign and Volkswagen’s 50-state compliant TDI clean-diesel engine under the hood. The most recent generation was launched as the Rabbit in 2007, but Volkswagen reverts back to the Golf name for 2010. We test-drove this greener Golf on its mother soil, in Deutschland, on an open-road route that took us from Wolfsburg to Dresden to Berlin.
The Golf TDI powertrain utilizes an electronically controlled turbocharger and fuel injection system to achieve better fuel economy and performance than the standard gas-powered model. The 2.0-liter diesel engine provides 140 horsepower and a stout 236 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy is 30 city/42 highway with a six-speed automatic transmission, and 30 city/41 highway with a six-speed manual. That’s about 30 percent better than the Golf’s 2.5-liter gas engine. Volkswagen claims the Golf’s range is just short of 600 miles on a tank of diesel.
Expect to pay about a $3,000 premium for the Golf’s diesel version. The base 2-door, 2.5-liter gas-powered Golf starts at $17,490 and the 4-door at $19,190. The Golf TDI starts at $21,990 and $22,590 with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Like the Jetta, the TDI models come with a higher level of equipment.
Hybrid Comparison
Compared to conventional diesel engines, the TDI releases 95 percent fewer sooty emissions thanks to a trap and burn system—not the urea-based approach taken by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. (See our article on the "Two Paths to Clean Diesel."
Despite the advanced clean diesel system, the Golf TDI is not as squeaky clean on emissions as the cleanest hybrids. Moreover, in terms of efficiency, the Golf TDI falls 7 mpg short of the Prius’s highway mileage rating, and 21 mpg in the city. All of the top-tier hybrids, including the Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Honda Insight, and Honda Civic Hybrid, handily beat the Golf TDI’s city mileage—bringing the in-town benefits of hybrids into sharp relief.
In fairness, a similarly equipped Prius of Fusion would cost at least a few thousand dollars more than the Golf TDI.
Efficiency, Speed and Fun
With our automatic-equipped tester, we achieved an impressive 39.8 miles per gallon (after converting from liters per 100 kilometers) on our 326-mile triangular trek between the three German cities. That exceeds all gas-powered subcompacts and displays fuel-efficiency resembling many hybrid cars—although not quite in the league of Prius and Insight especially when driven with restraint (which we admittedly lacked in Germany). Approximately 80 percent of the journey took place at highway speeds ranging anywhere from 75 miles per hour to 120 miles per hour. After all, this is the Autobahn.
If our test had occurred on more speed-limited American highways, it’s likely that our combined mileage loop would have beat the EPA’s highway rating of the car. About 20 percent of our German mileage loop occurred on smaller country roads and slower, more congested in-town traffic. At the end of our trip, the fuel gauge showed exactly one-half tank of fuel, confirming VW’s claim of a 600-mile cruising range.
Photo: HybridCars.com. All rights reserved.
The Golf delivers lots of spirit and fun with a healthy dose of off-the-line performance and passing power. That’s what you get when you have a small car with an abundance of diesel-driven torque. Not so much that it overwhelms the chassis, yet enough to give the driver reason to let loose in traffic (when that's even possible on our crowded roadways).
Road Manners
In terms of drivability, the new Golf is smooth and solid. It offers a ride comparable to larger premium vehicles. This was best seen on the highway, where the Golf plowed ahead in a balanced and comfortable manner. Even at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, the car feels extremely steady. There is virtually no small car wavering or drifting. It holds its place on the road as larger cars and trucks pass by at higher speeds, unlike many compacts and subcompacts that get blown around by bigger vehicles or lateral wind gusts.
The Golf has always been a sporty handler, but even that attribute has been improved upon, thanks to a redesigned suspension. The Golf takes tight corners and twisty roads with plenty of confidence. Body roll is minimal, and overall, the Golf feels quick and nimble.
Stylistically, the Golf stays loyal to its genetics and heritage, with some modern interpretation. The front fascia has been revised and lowered for greater aerodynamics and a sportier show. And the car’s wider stance gives it more on-road presence. A number of other small details—like updated taillights and black trim—give the Golf a cleaner, sleeker look.
As with previous generations, the interior of the Golf is much roomier than one would think from the outside. It will seat four comfortably or five in a pinch. With two passengers, expect more room for gear than a couple would ever need. Stylistically, the Golf follows Volkswagen’s philosophy of smart looks, ergonomic design and minimal waste.
The new Volkswagen Golf TDI is an excellent example of a practical and sporty diesel car for the masses. It’s efficient, powerful, and reasonably affordable. Volkswagen has had a great success with its clean diesel Jetta Sportwagen. The company should enjoy an equally enthusiastic reception to the 2010 Golf TDI, selling at a base price of about $22,000. The Golf will draw young urbanites who like getting out of the city on the weekends. And especially those who haven’t warmed up to hybrids, but want 40-plus miles per gallon with brisk highway performance.
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30 / 42 MPG 7.84 / 5.6 L/100km
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BODY TYPE:
Sedan
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TECHNOLOGY:
Diesel
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BASE MSRP:
$22,000
Volkswagen Golf TDI Photos
Of course, none of the TDI models available in the United States by any of the German manufacturers actually is capable of competing with the midsize hybrid sedans, and the Golf is no exception. The Jetta comes close, but isn't quite as big as a Fusion/Camry/Altima. My suspicion is that if, for example, Volkswagen had produced and marketed a Passat TDI, it wouldn't sell because it wouldn't be competitive mileage-wise with the midsize hybrids.
I have to admit this is an impressive car. Grudgingly though because its not a hybrid.
Adding Stop/Start Technology would really drop the CO2 numbers considerably, along with a big boost in city mpg. At any rate, by now a compact car should at least offer 35 mpg city, hybrid or not.
To the TDI bashing crowd: What is the hybrid that can run 120mph and still return 39.8 mpg? My TDI returns 53-57 mpg year after year.
Vik, I hope you are not suggesting that the Golf can run 120 MPH *regularly* and still get 39.8 MPG.
If you're talking about *being able to hit 120 MPH*, no, I haven't tried it yet in my Ford Fusion Hybrid (and won't try), but I don't have any doubt that it is capable of doing so.
Nelson Lu - VW will have a mid-sized diesel sedan soon... that's what is going to be built at the new plant in TN. We will see how they stack up.
I for one am really happy to see the Golf TDI return to the US. That is one hot hatchback. And there is no hybrid currently available with a six-speed manual!! Sweet!
Right on!, I mean they specifically state they were driving up to 120MPH which is double or nearly double the highway speeds allowed in most of America. Based off of my own cars and their gas mileage when speeds creep up, I would bet this vehicle would return about 45-50mpg on the highway if it was driven in the 65 mph range and that is some darn good mileage!!
To the TDI bashing crowd... Aw come on, we all know that hybrid is better for the city (where, realistically, we actually drive) and TDI has advantages for the highway. There was never any dispute about that. It actually is why hybrid is better.
The vw tdi has such a loud noise on at idel mode thayt i guess no one would like to have one.
You may compare with any gasoline enginne, from vw or any other brand.
Not considering que polution, as the particules filter does not reduce the nox and other pollutions from the diesel engine. And f
The points about the diesel being more efficient on the highway is true -- to an extent. Again, the Golf is a substantially smaller car -- two feet shorter than the Fusion, as a point of comparison -- such that its passenger space is seven cubic feet smaller. It gets 42 MPG on the highway -- but that is only six more than the Fusion Hybrid, leading to its being overall less efficient (34 MPG compared to the Fusion's 39 MPG) despite being that much smaller. The difference in size is not small.
So, essentially, we have a less-refined car that is a lot smaller and less efficient. (And this is not just the Fusion we're talking about; the Golf TDI has the same disadvantages compared to the Camry and the Altima Hybrids, although the fuel efficiency gap disappears.) I also tried to price a Golf TDI as closely equipped as possible the Fusion Hybrid I have (as closely as possible -- there are a number of features that the Fusion Hybrid has that appear to be simply not available on the Golf TDI, including a backup camera and the blind spot information system). It came out to $28,440, which is only $3,500 less than the price on my Fusion Hybrid. Given the substantial deficiencies it has, it really cannot compete with the midsize hybrids.
As Dom noted, Volkswagen may be soon ready to compete with a midsize TDI. I am skeptical that it would be competitive fuel-efficiency wise or price-wise. That's given that, in a larger application, the Volkswagen Touareg and the Toyota Highlander are virtually the same size, but the Highlander Hybrid blows the Touareg TDI away in fuel efficiency (27 to 18 in the city, both are 25 on the highway, leading to an overall 26 to 20 advantage for the Highlander Hybrid). Meanwhile, I am less familiar with either of those vehicles to know how to price them equivalently, but just based on base configurations, the Touareg TDI is over $5K higher in price than the Highlander Hybrid.
Vik and Dom, the Prius will do 130 mpg (with the electronic governor off), probably producing somewhere around 40 to 45 mpg, and doing all this with essentially one gear (there is no gear shifting transmission of any type in a Prius; the Prius has only a power split system instead of a geared transmission). Does this mean either the VW Golf or Jetta TDI are lesser economical vehicles than the Prius? Definitely no! The VW Golf or Jetta TDI are just a different type of economical vehicle that meets a different set of needs for some people while helping to do less damage to our environment.
Nelson Lu "So, essentially, we have a less-refined car that is a lot smaller and less efficient."
have you seen the new golf... definitely not "less-refined." It feels like a luxury car, plus it actually preforms. Nelson, you do sound kind of boring so maybe a fusion is good for you... but ill take my 0-60 in 8 seconds before i take the highly inflated fuel estimates of hybrids... also the TDI engine will last longer than 100 000k :)
Come on Jon,
I haven't heard of any Priuses being scrapped before 100K miles and I've been in Prius taxis with 300K miles on them and still going strong. On the other hand, most people I've know with VWs have had major engine or transmission work done on them before 70K miles, myself included (which, of course, they had to pay for).
I'm not going to call either a Prius or a Golf a luxury car but there's certainly a lot more passenger and cargo room in the Prius than the Golf or even the Passat so one can hardly consider them in the same vehicle class.
You can have your 8 second 0-60 time in your TDI, I'll just settle with my 3.9 second Tesla time. See you in my rear view mirror or at the gas station as I'm passing by.
According to Car and Driver, the Fusion Hybrid's 0-60 time is 8.5 seconds. Somehow, I don't think that 0.5 second difference is worth it to get a Golf TDI.
Good article. Thank you for the review.
The only issue with which I would somewhat disagree is the emissions issue. The TDI may have marginally higher "tailpipe" emissions (it's still certified ULEV in California), but since diesel fuel is essentially non-volatile, it has far fewer evaporative emissions than any vehicle which uses gasoline, including the gas-hybrids mentioned. This would make the emissions essentially a wash, regardless of what "bin" or green score is assigned.
Posting disclosure: I am a true blue car guy. I like to drive for the sake of driving and I put more emphasis on a cars' handling dynamics vs. outright economy and reliability. Ok, with that out of the way, let me continue....
The debate of hybrid vs. diesel is one that will never cease - what is important to remember is that each one brings its own set of strengths and weaknesses. What it boils down to is which car is best suited or appeals most to you based on your wants/needs. Having choices is good in my opinion.
With the TDI, its best performance is on long, sustained highway driving. If you do a lot of long distance commuting or take a lot of road trips, the TDI (Jetta sedan/wagon or Golf) is a capable platform. Having driven a couple of late model VWs recently, the highway road manners of these cars are very nice. Low road noise, comfortable seating, good outward visibility and a nice ride. Another element of the new VWs is their chassis dynamics. A good friend of mine has a bone stock 2008 GTI (I know, not an apples to apples comparison to the TDI...but very similar underpinnings) and it is a very rewarding car to drive on a twisty two-lane road. Turn-in response is quick and sure-footed. Sure the TDI won't be quite as spirited as the GTI, but no doubt just as enjoyable. For the owner who has 'car-enthusiast' coursing in their veins, this would be a great dual role car. Very respectible economy along with the fun-to-drive factor. A nice have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too compromise.
As for the hybrids, there is no question these cars are the undisputed mileage kings (particularly the Prius). If maximum mpg is at the top of your list, go hybrid. For the type of driving most people do - stop & go city driving - this is where having a hybrid makes a lot of sense. My aunt owns a 2005 Prius which I have driven many times. Its a great car for those quick jaunts around town and I am impressed with how much 'stuff' you can put in back (especially if you fold down the rear seat). No doubt, this is a very practical, fuel efficient and reliable car. My one and only gripe is that I don't find it to be a car I want to drive for the sake of driving....it just doesn't inspire me that way. But for everyday use of getting from Point A to Point B around town, it is a very very good car. Other hybrids like the Fusion or Civic (or SUV variants) are equally good in this regard. I'm sure as time passes and technology improves, the hybrid market will broaden and have offerings that are not just about maximum economy, but also fun and inspiring cars to drive.
Nor-cal,
It would definitely be nice if someone would come out with a good performing Hybrid for long road trips, however, I question whether the Golf TDI is a good road tripper, just because it is so tiny inside. I would think that, while not a great a handler, today's hybrids would be much better for that purpose.
If you like canyon cutting, you definitely need to try the Tesla. Nothing that burns fuel exceeds its handling and performance on winding roads. Nothing beats its energy efficiency either, including your 'undisputed mileage kings' (oops, I just disputed them)!
I'll admit that the TDI is a lot more affordable but the Tesla is the ultimate have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too. Its only compromise is on long road trips when, as I mentioned earlier, small cars are not right anyway.
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