From the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, Cars.com's Mike Hanley takes a look at the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI SportWagen.
Transcript
(upbeat music) <v Narrator>Cars.com Auto Review. Hi, I'm Mike Hanley with cars.com and we're here at the Chicago Auto Show taking a look at a car that's a fuel efficient alternative to hybrids.
Hybrids get a lot of the news, but this mode, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Sportwagen gets pretty good fuel economy itself. It's rated at 30 miles per gallon in the city and 42 on the highway. The diesel engine is optional in the Jetta and it makes 140 horsepower and 236 pounds feet of torque at a low 1,750 RPM. So you have lots of power at low speeds when taking off from a stop. Now, on a recent mileage drive that we took a Jetta Sedan on, we got much better fuel economy than the 42 miles per gallon on the highway that the EPA rates this car at, so it's possible to get, in real-world driving, pretty good fuel economy. The Sportwagen gets some styling changes for 2010. They're mostly up front with this new horizontal grill. But if you go with the wagon, you do get some versatility with this car. Comes with a standard roof rack and you get more cargo room. There's 33 cubic feet with the back seats up. And if you fold the back seat, you get up to 69 cubic feet of cargo space. One of the things we like most about the Jetta TDI is that, even though it's fuel efficient, it's also still a lot of fun to drive. And this model here starts at just under $25,000, but you can knock a little bit off that price thanks to a $1,300 federal tax credit. <v Narrator>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog, kickingtires.net.