Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Diesel station wagon? Cool? You bet!

Honestly now, is this not a great looking car?

Admittedly, not everyone loves a wagon, and some people just don't like zee Germans, but still... this Jetta is one sweet looking ride.

For all the people who used to use the "I can't buy a compact car, I have to buy an SUV to fit my _______ stuff" excuse when shopping for a new vehicle, Volkswagen presents the Jetta Sportwagen.

Why are I talking about it here though? Because not only does this wagon looks great, but early estimates put the fuel consumption somewhere around 40-45 miles per (US) gallon. That's roughly 48-54 miles per (Imp) gallon. Or 5.88-5.22 liters/100km.

Yes, it's a diesel. But you can forget the old stereotypes about diesels being noisy, smelly, and spewing sooty black smoke. The latest generation of turbo-diesels from Europe are as clean and as quiet as an equivalent gasoline engine, with similar tailpipe emissions.

Performance wise, the 2.0L puts out 140 hp and a very impressive 258 lb-ft of torque. You'll be able to load this wagon to the gills and it'll still go without much effort at all. Mate that power-plant to the 6-speed gearbox (manual or DSG automatic) and the usual German "feel" and you've got a potentially fun car beneath you.

To read more, as well as see a few more pictures, click HERE.

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