Waiting for my next ‘diesel’ vehicle
Posted By RichC on July 19, 2007
The July 13, 2007 Businessweek offered a special report that showcased 10 diesel vehicles along with an article on The Coming of Clean Diesels. Not all models shown are available in the U.S. just yet, but these clean diesels might be something to look forward to. The luxury models from Cadillac, light trucks from Chrysler, GM and Ford, premium vehicles from Mercedes and Audi and the comfortable thrifty ones from Volkswagen should all eventually make it to our shores. (50 state VW spring 2008) The UK Honda models continue to stand out in my opinion; perhaps its the hope of economy, power and reliability that traditionally has come from Japanese designed vehicles?
Here are the Businessweek points. As a loyal VW owner, would you look at the Honda Civic, Accord, Pilot, Ridgeline, Odyssey, CR-V or Element if it were diesel powered? (need I ask?)
2007 Honda Civic Diesel CTDi
Fuel economy: 55 mpg in combined city and highway driving
Honda is expected to introduce its diesel technology into its U.S. cars in 2010. Look for a diesel Civic to start, and possibly a CRV SUV. The British Honda Civic Diesel 2.2 CTDi is a “green car” with a super-clean engine and very low carbon dioxide emissions. Honda has talked about how its engineers hated diesel technology until they figured out a clean system. An Accord diesel test car, though, recently set a record of 92 mpg.
2008 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Spring of 2008)
Fuel economy: 36 mpg city/45 mpg highway (estimated)
Volkswagen skipped the 2007 model year for diesels because its new cleaner technology wasn’t ready. The company regularly sells more than 30,000 diesels a year. The new TDI is due in dealerships next spring. Horsepower in this new 2.0-liter, common-rail diesel engine is up 40% over the previous 1.9-liter, four-cylinder, with torque up 33%. Those figures mean an increase in drivability.
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