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(Don't mention the sunset. Don't mention the sunset. Don't mention the su...)
The sun has set on our long term test of the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. We burned some 645 gallons of oil during the last year, and what follows is our final word on the Jetta, our Parting Shots. Read our take and then give us yours.
Time for another episode of What You Said.
2009 Dodge Challenger R/T: Challenge
We Read Car Porn for the Articles
By wrinklebump on September 14, 2009 3:06 PM
They're both pretty awesome.
The Camaro has a few flattering angles but the Dodge is all-around vehicular pornography.
Memories of Your First Car
By plumcrazy2 on September 14, 2009 7:50 PM
Back when I was looking for my first car everyone had one of three cars: a Camaro, Mustang or Cutlass (circa 1990). My friends dad took me to a Mopar car show I knew what I had to have. I found myself a 74 Barracuda and my dad and I spent 6 months on body and paint. I was the only one on the street on the weekends. This summer we went to my wife's class reunion, the most asked question - "What happened to the car?" (I still have it.)
I can understand why people like the Mustang and the Camaro, both good looking cars - but for me its the Challenger all the way. And if I'm the only one on the road with one, well that's fine with me too. I don't mind standing out in a crowd.
DCuerpoJr I agree I would love a drop top, but I have given up hope on that.
2009 Dodge Challenger R/T: Big Bruiser, Easy Cruiser
Grand Challenger
By jeepsrt on September 14, 2009 8:59 AM
I parked my Grand Cherokee next to one of these and was amazed at the size of the Challenger, my Jeep did'nt look so Grand next to it.
2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS: Animated Design
Car Foodies
By vt8919 on September 14, 2009 9:07 AM
That Camaro sure looks thirsty for a Sonic soda.
By altimadude00 on September 14, 2009 9:54 AM
Camaro Super Slurper?
By DCuerpoJr on September 14, 2009 10:28 AM
LoL @ altimadude00. How about Camaro Super Sonic.
More after the jump...
This is the temperature knob in our long-term Jetta. Note that in addition to color clues (blue dot for cold, red dot for hot) it labels the very coldest setting as 64 degrees, the midrange as 72 and the hottest as 80. Maybe it's just me, but I never think of how hot or cold I am in terms of actual numerical temps, even in vehicles that use buttons for temperature control. "Gosh, it's so 80 degrees in here!" I just ignore the numbers and go by the colors in this car. Am I alone in this? How does your car treat temperature control?
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com @ 25,308 miles
Our easy-to-like Jetta hit the 25 grand mark over the weekend while traveling over the 110 freeway. I pulled off into the breakdown lane (as far over as possible) to celebrate by quickly taking a pic.
Sadly, other than me, all the Jetta had for party attendees was the ridiculous amount of debris that littered the breakdown lane. This is not uncommon on LA's collision-riddled freeways. I've got an idea, how about we have some jailbirds take care of that problem? Hey, we could even let Chris Brown do it as part of his community service obligation.
Okay, back to the Jetta...
You've already heard Mike's sad tale of the two botched oil changes our 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI has received from our local dealer under the Free Scheduled Maintenance program.
Taking time out to visit the dealer and sit in a waiting room is bad enough. Having to go back because they grossly overfilled the Jetta is worse. Enduring this on two consecutive "free" oil changes was simply too much. Your local dealer may not be this incompetent, but it seems that our local gives you what you pay for.
Enough of this. Time to take matters into our own hands. Mike is standing here like an Oktoberfest bar-maid with 5 bottles of the uber-trick TDI-spec oil ($7.95 each) and a new filter ($12) that he just bought at a different VW dealer.
The 5th bottle is a spare because 4 should be plenty. The Jetta TDI's oil-change capacity is 4.3 quarts with a filter change, but these are 1-liter bottles, equivalent to 1.05 quarts. 4 bottles is therefore 4.2 quarts, and that's close enough to 4.3 for me.
Mike and I have this plan to measure the oil that comes out to see how overfull this beast is. The Jetta TDI's cartridge oil filter is a welcome DIY bonus -- I've never dealt with one before. What better way to learn than on someone else's car.
I hadn't been in the TDI for a while and upon getting in last night and firing it up, I was reminded of one of the reasons I like it so much. In addition to its comfortable seats, smooth ride, and effortless, low stress power delivery, the V-dub also has refreshingly simple controls, something increasingly rare with newer cars.
A few examples?
The other day I put a friend between my kids and their booster seats in the Jetta's rear bench for an ice cream run. The Jetta was a hit.
"Roomy back here."
"Yeah?"
"Much bigger then my 3 Series. What is this car?"
"VW."
"Wow, Passat's are roomy."
"No Jetta."
"Really, this is Jetta? Nice. Even has vents back here."
My frustration with our Jetta's DSG transmission is growing. Right now I'm focused on the fact that the thing won't hold a gear. Pop it over into the manual gate (there are no paddle shifters) and it will still upshift on its own when the engine reaches redline.
That sucks.
In the manual gate (dash gear display pictured above) your control over the transmission should be completely manual. I should be able to bounce that little Diesel off its redline for 6 months if I wish. But it isn't. And I can't. Instead it's like fake manual mode. Want to hold a gear and save a gear change before the next corner? Nope. The warranty cost police have decided to drive the car for you. If you ask me this make DSG more of a marketing play then a real driver's tool.
Then again, if you want manual transmission control buy a car with three pedals.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
Last night at the gym a friend came up and wanted to talk about cars. He has been talking about replacing his rather evil 318ti with its tuned-up E36 M3 motor for at least a year now, and each time I see him, he's a little farther along in the process. When I last saw him, he had ruled out the Audi A3 and was leaning toward the VW GTI.
Still, I was taken aback when he said, "I'm really close to buying a Volkwagen Jetta TDI wagon."
"Really?!"
"I know, I know, but I can fit two bikes in the back and the backseat is roomy enough for carrying around grandkids if my kids ever have them. Plus, I've heard the diesel is really torquey [236 pound-feet at 1,750 rpm], and I'm interested in the dual-clutch gearbox. What do you think about this car?"
Sodaguy, August 25, 2009 9:32 PM: "The newer VWs wear out rear brakes very quickly. I would not be surprised if the long-term Jetta TDI needed new rear pads and rear rotors."
Close, Sodaguy...very close. The Long Term 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI does not need new rear pads and rotors, but the rear pads are 2mm from needing replacement. (Note: We are not going to replace the pads as this loan ends in just about a week. The brakes work fine and rarely squeak. Besides, the car will receive a complete overhaul once we return it. We'll spend the cash somewhere more fun-- that, and Dan and I have already spent too much time under this car in the past week. Check back this week for more on that.)
Late last week we brought our TDI to Volkswagen Santa Monica for the service its IP demanded. Here's the story:
Pulled into the dealership just a hair before noon without an appointment. I was the first person in my line and after 5-10 minutes, a service advisor came out to help me. After he took my information we went inside where at least 6 employees were huddled around one guys desk, chatting aimlessly. Nice. Anyway, he typed up the work order and gave me a 3:00 pick-up time. 3:30 rolled around and I called them. "Oh, it's not ready. Try 4:30. Maybe 5." That just wasn't going to work by my schedule. I told them I'd be there to pick it up at 4:30. He hung up on me, but called back at 4:15 to say the Jetta was done.
At 4:30 I pulled into VW Santa Monica and went to the cashier. The paperwork wasn't ready. I was told to "go find my service advisor and ask them where it is." "How about you get on the inter-office phone and find out?" I countered. He reluctantly called the advisor who took another 10 minutes to figure out the paperwork on a simple oil change, tire rotation, air filter and some various fluids. It finally arrived, I signed and walked out the door to wait-- more waiting-- for the porter to bring the car around.
The same instant I see the car swing around the building, the cashier runs out and waives off the guy driving our Jetta. "You have an outstanding balance I didn't see. You have to come back in." I looked down at the sheet and instead of the $0.00 balance from the estimate, there was one in excess of $500. I told him I absolutely would not go back to his desk and that I was going straight to the service manager I spoke with last time I was at that dealership...you know, that time they put in too much oil. The service manager there is a good guy and got me out the door in record time-- less than 2 minutes-- probably because the other customers were starting to notice the scene I was causing.
So I drive away, still fuming and circle the block a few times to heat everything up. Then, with the memory of the last service fresh in my mind, check the oil....damn thing is overfilled again!
I was mad, and a sleepy, so I left the car in our garage and went home. But not before sending an email to Dan Edmunds and Mike Schmidt saying that it's overfull, again, and that we should get to the bottom of this.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 24,493 miles
Below are the fuel economy numbers for August 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.
As always, a couple of cars are out on the road or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments.
| Car |
Best
|
Worst
|
Average
|
|
| 2009 Audi A4 Avant |
26.8
|
15.2
|
21.7
|
|
| 2009 Audi S5 |
22.3
|
11.8
|
16.5
|
|
| 2008 BMW 135i |
27.7
|
13.9
|
19.9
|
|
| 2009 BMW M3 |
20.5
|
10.8
|
15.7
|
|
| 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS |
21.7
|
14.7
|
17.5
|
|
| 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T |
26.4
|
10.3
|
16.7
|
|
| 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 |
16.3
|
10.5
|
13.2
|
|
| 2009 Ford Flex Limited |
26.7
|
13.3
|
19.2
|
|
| 2007 Honda Civic GX |
47.3
|
12.7
|
31.7
|
|
| 2009 Honda Fit Sport |
39.0
|
24.9
|
30.6
|
|
| 2010 Honda Insight EX |
43.9
|
27.9
|
38.0
|
|
| 2009 Hyundai Genesis |
27.5
|
14.3
|
21.1
|
|
| 2009 Infiniti FX50 |
22.0
|
10.7
|
17.3
|
|
| 2009 Mazda 6 |
30.2
|
18.7
|
23.5
|
|
| 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR |
22.6
|
11.0
|
17.0
|
|
| 2009 Nissan 370Z |
24.4
|
13.7
|
18.4
|
|
| 2009 Nissan GT-R |
21.8
|
11.5
|
16.4
|
|
| 2009 Pontiac G8 GT |
24.0
|
12.0
|
17.6
|
|
| 2009 Suzuki SX4 |
28.3
|
17.6
|
23.0
|
|
| 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI |
43.0
|
28.0
|
34.5
|
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
Not too long ago a wrote about the Jetta's great seating position. This time it's the VeeDub's driver's seat itself I'm going to rave about.
Aside from its odd combination of manual and power adjustments (only the seat back rake is power) the Jetta's seat is an example of how to do seats right. It fits me perfectly; not too wide, not too narrow (especially at the top of the seat back) and its cushions are just the right length. By the way, I'm about six feet tall, about 185 lbs and have a 34 inch inseam.
True, if the Jetta was more athletic I'd would want the seat to have more aggressive bolsters, but for a car with the Jetta's cornering ability and long fuel range its driver's seat is dead on.
This is one of those things that makes you wonder.
Check it, our Jetta TDI has a better steering wheel than our Camaro SS. Actually, the Jetta has a better steering wheel than most cars. It's just about perfect. Just the right diameter. Just the right thickness. Just the right shape. It even looks good and it feels great.
Um, now that I think about it, the Jetta has better gauges than the Camaro too. How does this happen? Come on Chevy, figure it out.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
What do you want to know about the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI?
How do you feel about diesel vs. hybrid?
Let us know what you think in the comments section.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Volkswagen announced another possible problem with its direct-shift gearboxes. Some VW and Audi customers have reported transmission performance problems. The recall addresses a "faulty component inside the Mechatronic unit" of about 43,000 VWs and over 10,000 Audis.
The 2009 VW Jetta is listed among the models being recalled. We're not sure if this includes our TDI or if that is a special case. But we'll look into it.
Read more details in this Inside Line news article:
VW Continues To Tackle DSG Woes
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Just got these hot off the asphalt in Death Valley, a 2011 Volkswagen Jetta mule caught moving the kids to college hot weather testing. No new information to report at this time, but we did manage to, with great threat to life and limb, obtain an interior shot.
While not radically different-- it is a Jetta after all--styling cues from the new Golf are clear.
What's your take? Is this different enough from our Long Term 2009 Jetta? Is it better to stay with what works, or should VW have taken a step in a new direction?
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant
There aren't many cars outside of hybrids that can run for as many miles as our Jetta diesel before stopping to refuel.
I feel this especially now since I've been driving the short-range Mini E for a week.
As our long-term fleet turns over car by car, our 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI will be leaving us in a month or so. So, let's give it another run as Car of the Week.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Thanks to manuelc for this week's favorite caption
There were a lot of good ones this week. I especially love all the WWII movie references. But this one made us laugh the most.
Here are the other funnies:
Wait, you forgot your lunchbox! (oldchap)
Military budget cuts, gone awry. (rick8365)
What kind of driving? ARRRMY DRIVING, SIR! (ergsum)
TDI technology, Patton pending. (ergsum)
Tired of spy photography in the mojave, VW's PR department hires some help... (dougtheeng)
Now tell me again that I look like a Corolla... (dougtheeng)
Questions arise regarding the logic of the latest IL comparo. (rick8365)
Das Entourage (canadia)
Sir, all he'll tell us is his name, rank and VIN number! (ergsum)
VW's Desert Fox edition (stpawyfrmdonut)
Dr. Rangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Diesel (ergsum)
Operation DIESEL Storm (bluepunk82)
What was your favorite?
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Here's a nice desert shot of our VW Jetta TDI hanging out with some pals.
We suggest: Diesel Do Nicely
Can you do better?
Technically, I'm on vacation, so I'm not sure what time I'll be posting the winner. Hopefully, 4:00ish.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Our 2009 VW Jetta TDI has spent the last couple of weeks skulking around the hot Mojave Desert, and now that the torquey sedan is back home in Santa Monica, it's time to address its desire for regular service.
As of this morning, it's also developed an audible brake squeak, so we'll add that to this week's service appointment as well.
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 24,542 miles
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