Summer is here and so is the relentless sun. Whether you live in the dry heat like we do in Southern California, or in the more humid climates, you need a good air conditioner in your car.
Our 2009 VW Jetta TDI has a powerful, cold A/C with vents that are in the right places and simple old-school dials for control. The vents are positioned high enough so you can direct them at your face without them hitting your hands on the steering wheel. And as Paul mentioned in an earlier post, the dials may be simple but they are logical and easy to operate.
Saturday, when I was driving around doing my errands at high noon and ended up parking in an outdoor lot for an hour, I really appreciated the strong steady cool air. And later that night when the marine layer misted in off the sea, I dialed on the seat heaters to keep me cozy.
Sometimes, simple is best.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 16,590 miles
huyracing says:
12:30 PM, 06/29/09
it doesn't work so well in 115 degree temps, though...
dougtheeng says:
12:43 PM, 06/29/09
Simple is always the best when it comes to HVAC. 3 dials please!
clarkma5 says:
01:06 PM, 06/29/09
That's nice, the A/C in my MkIV GTI is not very strong, at least not until it takes a solid 20 minutes to get going. Then it could freeze your toes off.
billt9 says:
07:04 PM, 06/29/09
High noon yesterday in Santa Monica had a max temp of 72 degrees...
mikeolan says:
08:11 PM, 06/29/09
Only 4 fan speeds. Lame.
dderosa says:
09:12 PM, 06/29/09
I wasn't in Santa Monica.
dougtheeng says:
06:05 AM, 06/30/09
That radio display looks to have a lot going on in very small text. Is that the reality, or is does it just look bad from the photo perspective?
jeepsrt says:
08:54 AM, 06/30/09
It's kills me when people from southern Cali say they use seat heaters, especially in springor summer! I live in Colorado and rarely if ever use them unless it's below 20 degrees.
milt721 says:
09:42 AM, 06/30/09
@ mikeolan-
Of all the cars I've owned, all have had 4 fan speeds. If I'm using the HVAC (rarely), 95% of the time it's on 2; the rest of the time it's on 1. What's the beef?
tryan says:
10:20 AM, 06/30/09
doug - It's just a bad perspective. When you are sitting in the driver's seat, the display is legible and the characters well-sized, at least they are in my Mark V GTI which uses the same head unit.
carbuncle says:
12:27 PM, 06/30/09
What does all that nice comfy AC cool air cost you in diesel fuel MPG? My guess is that with all that engine torque the AC compressor is easy to crank, or is it electric like the power-assisted steering?
jay_r says:
03:25 PM, 06/30/09
the AC on my 2002 s10 worked better.... but once this setup gets the temp down, it stays nice the entire ride
dldave says:
12:28 PM, 07/ 1/09
It was about 110 here in Sacramento last weekend and the A/C in my 08 Jetta worked just fine. Also, my wife and I use the seat heaters in the winter when it dips in to the 40's and 50's :)
brianknight says:
07:43 PM, 07/ 8/09
I hope this bodes well for the A/C in the upcoming Golf TDI. While it doesn't get any where near 115 here by Lake Erie, we do get a fair amount of "high 80s and humid" days.
I'm going to be looking into a Golf TDI to replace my '99 Neon, which has an A/C like an icebox and a heater like a blowtorch - I'd hate to buy a $26k car and not have decent A/C - I simply HATE driving with the windows open.