After reading the Winding Road review of the 2010 Audi A3 TDI, there isn't a good reason to envy those forking over additional dollars to own the Audi (over $30K).

Comments from the review:

We relished the torquiness of the 2.0-liter TDI, with its 236 pound-feet of torque on tap for passing maneuvers. Strangely, this motor suffered from turbo lag, something we didn’t experience in its VW cousins. It takes a bit to get used to, with a lighter foot offering better initial acceleration than a mashing of the throttle. The turbo lag situation was exacerbated by the S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox, which was great when underway, offering quick upshifts and precise downshifts. From a stand still, though, it was annoyingly dimwitted. The gearbox waited too long before shifting from first to second, and was hesitant to transmit power in the first place. Audi was the pioneer of dual-clutch transmissions, which makes an issue like this frustrating. We would happily order a manual in our personal A3 TDI, except that Audi doesn’t offer one. We understand the DCTs are more fuel-efficient, but if a six-speed stick is offered on Jetta TDIs and Golf TDIs, why not the A3 TDI?

Hmm ... I'm not sure all Volkswagen Jetta TDI advocates are going to like some of these 'cost cutting' changes? See James Healy's comments in his USA Today article.

Among changes to keep costs down, items likely to be vilified as evidence Jetta has been "dumbed down" to get more mainstream buyers:

•Rear suspension is a so-called "semi-independent torsion beam" instead of true "multi-link" independent rear suspension on the previous version. The latter is valued because, when properly executed, it improves ride, handling and steering. A GLI sport version due next spring will have independent rear suspension.

•Rear brakes are old-style drums on most models, not the discs of the 2010. (VW insists third-party tests show its drums stop as well as, or better than, rivals' discs.)

•Trip computer, the device that tells you miles per gallon, miles to empty and so on, isn't offered on the lower models, though is standard on the top version.

For alternatives to petroleum, the hype has recently been about EVs and almost all auto makers are rolling out their electric vehicles, yet for most American automotive owners they are far from practical considering the miles of highway and distances we travel. For that, efficient clean diesels running biodiesel makes a lot of sense ... here's a NYTimes article offering some positive news on this carbon neutral renewable fuel especially if it is produced from genetically engineered algae.

Algae are attracting attention because the strains can potentially produce 10 or more times more fuel per acre than the corn used to make ethanol or the soybeans used to make biodiesel. Moreover, algae might be grown on arid land and brackish water, so that fuel production would not compete with food production. And algae are voracious consumers of carbon dioxide, potentially helping to keep some of this greenhouse gas from contributing to global warming.

Wouldn't it be nice to have this in North America?

After two years in production, Audi has just churned out the 10,000th example of its diesel-powered sports car, the TT TDI. The compression ignition TT is propelled by a higher output version of the Volkswagen Group's 2.0-liter inline four TDI that is also found in the Golf and Jetta sold here in the United States. The version in the TT is rated at 170 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The coupe version is rated 44.4 miles per gallon (U.S.) combined on the EU drive cycle, which would likely be somewhere in the mid- to upper-30s under the EPA's test procedures.

LINK

The popular automotive website Autoblog has put the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition in their long-term garage and will be posting on their findings over the coming months. For those wanting to follow on Twitter, their TheRealAutoblog account will be updating using the hashtag #ablongterm.

For many A3 and A4 Volkswagen Golf TDI diesel lovers, it was good to see the TDI badge back on the North American version of their favorite economical and comfortable hatchback -- some are glad to see the Golf badge as well. Boston.com's car reviewer Bill Griffith came to a similar conclusion in his recent review.

The TDI is rated between 30 miles per gallon (city) and 42 (highway). I carelessly forgot to note the odometer reading with the tank full, but it made four 70-mile roundtrips to Boston from Newburyport, plus a half-dozen other decent-length trips on barely more than half of the 14.5-gallon tank. My Kentucky-windage guess is we got in the 38 mpg range, though the on-board computer was saying 43.2 mpg.

VW officials point out that the TDI emits 25 percent less greenhouse gas and achieves more than 30 percent better fuel economy than comparable gasoline engines. Only a reassuring bit of clatter lets you know this is a diesel.

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Worth reading for performance enhanced TDI admirers.

 

Road test car review: 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Edition, diesel racer for the road

Race on Sunday, sell on Monday. That's been the motto of many auto manufacturers since the dawn of the automotive age. In fact, the first car race in the United States, in 1895, was staged to encourage domestic manufacture of automobiles. It's no surprise, then, that Volkswagen took the diesel powered Jetta TDI racing, and from there made a streetable replica that VW calls the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Edition.

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Worth mentioning if you're considering a new Volkswagen TDI this year ...