Diesel has been long-considered by its proponents the "solution" to many of America’s fuel problems. The movement, though, suffered a bit of a setback with the Toyota Prius and its adherents.
Thus, there was tremendous anticipation by diesel fans of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, which VW claimed could achieve 60 mpg.
Unfortunately for those waiting anxiously the car “only” managed to reach mileage ratings 30 mpg city/41 mpg highway with the manual, and 1 mpg less for each with the DSG automatic.
Though not numbers to scoff at by any means, the numbers a quite a ways off of the possible 60 mpg highway.
Our take? Really, those are still great numbers and those numbers are likely conservative. Also, unlike hybrids, diesels can actually use a non-petroleum fuel like biodiesel. Talk about pulling away from foreign oil.
Don’t be so quick to judge. Based on the EPA’s own documentation, the window stickers may be as much as 18 percent lower than actual real-world economy for diesels. Also, if most of your driving is on the freeway, assuming relatively free-flowing traffic, diesels are superior to hybrids.