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VW Jetta GL TDI vs. Toyota Prius in new Popular Mechanics

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by paprius4030, Jan 5, 2005.

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  1. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    Just got my new Popular Mechanics magazine in the mail and they have a few short tests comparing comprable size cars of diesel vs. hybrid technology. One test was the Vw Jetta GL TDI vs. a Silver(like mine) Prius. While they didn't knock either car they seem to get caught up with the new technology of the Prius. The Bottom Line comment they had was"There's a reason these cars are so desirable, and it's not just the hype. The Prius is that good." Although short it was an interesting test. The Prius was neck and neck with the VW in acceleration, braking, slalom and a little better, of course in mpg, but VW was alot cheaper. They also tested the Accord vs. the Mercedes E320 CDI I didn't realize the Accord is 30 grand???? They also tested the Liberty Sport vs. the Ford Escape. Seemed like they didn't think much of the Escape.
     
    #1 paprius4030, Jan 5, 2005
  2. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    Was this a diesel VW Jetta, or the regular version?

    Thanks for the pointer!
     
    #2 bookrats, Jan 5, 2005
  3. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    Diesel VW Jetta
     
    #3 paprius4030, Jan 5, 2005
  4. Tempus

    Tempus Senior Member

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    Size wise wouldn't Passat be a better comparison?
     
    #4 Tempus, Jan 5, 2005
  5. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    Not sure if the Passat comes in a diesel? Does it? They were more concerned with comparing diesel's vs. hybrids
     
    #5 paprius4030, Jan 5, 2005
  6. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    Looking forward to a web link. The folks at VWVortex are going to go mad, especially RogueTDI.
     
    #6 Danny, Jan 5, 2005
  7. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    I just checked their website and there's nothing there about the prius, guess they want you to buy the Magazine LOL
     
    #7 paprius4030, Jan 5, 2005
  8. snarfo

    snarfo New Member

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    Re: VW Jetta GL TDI vs. Toyota Prius in new Popular Mechanic

    Not to be a Toyota booster (riiiiight), but let's not forget the more long-term value. In the last Consumer Reports roundup of the 32 most reliable cars, 16 were Toyotas. Honda came in second with 7. And who was at the bottom? A bunch of domestics as usual--- and Mercedes and VW among other German makers. The CEO of VW even admitted they need to work on reliability.

    ...and the CEO of Chrysler/Mercedes said they hoped to get the domestic line to match Toyota quality in a couple years. :lol: Of course they've been saying that for years...
     
    #8 snarfo, Jan 5, 2005
  9. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    After searching their website.. www.popularmechanics.com I found a test drive report for the prius(must be when it first came out) and they also mentioned Toyota quality as a reason to buy a Prius. In the owner survey it said they were impressed that Toyota was able to make such a complicated car so realible "right out of the box"
     
    #9 paprius4030, Jan 5, 2005
  10. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    Let's not forget emissions!
     
    #10 DanMan32, Jan 5, 2005
  11. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    Yup -- I think that's the main reason I didn't consider a diesel.

    My friend has an '04 diesel VW Golf; he uses bio-diesel (Dr. Dan's Special Blend), and gets very good gas mileage around town -- around 42-46 MPG.

    However, while not experiencing the fumes of the diesels of old, even these modern engines are pretty high-emission for particulates. (I've been told that in Europe, "cleaner" diesel fuel is available, and this will make a considerable difference.)

    [My other reason for not considering the Golf was VW's extremely poor reliability/maintenance reputation.]
     
    #11 bookrats, Jan 5, 2005
  12. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Re: VW Jetta GL TDI vs. Toyota Prius in new Popular Mechanic

    Biodiesel cannot be used at any ratio higher than 20% without special additives, to prevent it from turning to a gel in the cold. That obviously adds to the extremely expensive price (over $3 per gallon).

    Also, notice how transmission always seems to be overlooked. The automatic simply can compete with Prius for MPG, it is pretty much always the manual they used to compete with... which is totally unappealing for 90% of the population in the United States, since they prefer not having to shift.
     
    #12 john1701a, Jan 5, 2005
  13. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    john ur so right about the transmission factor. Also since the price of diesel is so much more than gas, which is REALLY a ripoff! I pity the truck drivers who have to pay so much but i guess actually it's all of us in the end that pays LOL
     
    #13 paprius4030, Jan 5, 2005
  14. Speedracer

    Speedracer New Member

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    Re: VW Jetta GL TDI vs. Toyota Prius in new Popular Mechanic

    VW isn't that great anymore, I uses to buy or lease but last GTi which I was leased turn out to be POS/POJ. VW is totally luck of quality control and specially Brazil and Mexico build VW is totally POS. Only better VW come from home land in Germany. TDI technology is great, and European love diesel. Recently I think Ford introduced the concept for Diesel Hybrid
    To owning Prius is better value then VW thats I would think.
     
    #14 Speedracer, Jan 5, 2005
  15. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yeah, I notice they rarely compare apples with apples. They always choose the manual transmission to compare MPG figures but I'm thinking, most TDIs sold are automatics and the Prius' tranmission is considered an automatic. There is a Passat TDI (and Golf and Touraeg) but most of the TDIs that VW sells are the Jettas. The engine (with the exception of the Touraeg) is more suitable to the Jetta's lighter weight compared to the Passat
     
    #15 Tideland Prius, Jan 5, 2005
  16. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Re: VW Jetta GL TDI vs. Toyota Prius in new Popular Mechanic

    By the way, biodiesel actually *INCREASES* smog-related emissions. Did you know that?

    This document... http://www.epa.gov/otaq/models/analysis/bi...odsl/p02001.pdf ...proves it.

    In the executive summary (on page 4), it very clearly shows an increase in NOx emissions as a higher ratio of biodiesel is used in blended diesel fuel. At 100% biodiesel, the emission increase reaches 10%.

    Diesel supporters don't want you to know that.
     
    #16 john1701a, Jan 5, 2005
  17. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    I just looked at the test report again and sure enough the VW they were comparing to the Prius had a 5 spd. manual
     
    #17 paprius4030, Jan 5, 2005
  18. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    The Prius weighs 1310kg (2890lb) as opposed to 1347kg (2970lb) for the manual Jetta TDI & 1393kg (3071lb) for the auto. (oddly, the US VW site shows a heavier weight)

    The Passat weighs in at 1552kg but has a more powerful TDI engine 134hp @ 4000rpm vs. 100hp @ 4000rpm on the Jetta and more torque - 247lb-ft @1900rpm vs. 177lb-ft @ 1800-2400rpm. Despite more torque, it takes 10.2 secs to reach 62mph with a 5-spd auto. No official numbers for the Jetta.

    Note the Jetta is smaller at 85 cu. ft. of pass. volume as opposed to 96cu. ft. for the current Prius. Also, with the new Jetta/Passat models coming out, diesel versions of these won't be available for a while.
     
    #18 Tideland Prius, Jan 6, 2005
  19. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    Re: VW Jetta GL TDI vs. Toyota Prius in new Popular Mechanic

    One thing to remember about Bio Diesel is that is smells good. When I get behind one of our Bio Diesel busses I get the urge to pull in to Mickey D's and get french fries.
     
    #19 hdrygas, Jan 6, 2005
  20. scott

    scott New Member

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    Re: VW Jetta GL TDI vs. Toyota Prius in new Popular Mechanic

    Ford didn't create diesel hybrids first. Your basic Diesel-Electric Locomotive Engine is essentially a diesel-electric hybrid. Kinda like generation 1 prius hybrid.
     
    #20 scott, Jan 6, 2005
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