You don’t traditionally associate fuel economy with high-end luxury brands, but Jaguar currently sells three of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market, with no electric motors in sight.
The one-time fuel economy laggard is now greener than ever, and it has an engine family with a stupid name to thank for it.
To say the 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI isn’t about fuel savings is to miss the point. But to say it’s about all-around money-saving is to tell a lie.
If your only mission was to spend less money on personal transportation in the new vehicle realm, jaw-dropping highway mileage generated by a 2.0L turbocharged diesel is not necessarily the ticket to personal financial freedom.
• USD Price As Tested: $30,020
• Horsepower: 150 @ 3500 rpm
• Torque: 236 @ 1750 rpm
• Observed Fuel Economy: 44.4 mpg
There are much less costly ways of getting around town than in a highbrow Jetta like our test example, with its leather seating, navigation, upgraded audio, and Volkswagen’s dual-clutch direct-shift gearbox.
So why can’t the two objectives comingle? I’d argue that they can, that a new car buyer can enjoy the benefits of an upgraded, torquey, semi-luxurious, and spacious German compact car – and spend the money that’s required to do so – while also enjoying weeks of fuel tank range.
Along with a facelift, the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK soft-roader will get a BlueTEC diesel option in the United States, in addition to the standard 3.5L V6 gasoline engine (now making 302 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque).
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