Chris Adams

I found this review of the latest VW Jetta TDI curious:

But like many new clean diesels, which meet even California’s tough emissions rules, the Jetta scoffs at its sticker. Hoarding fuel like a mobile Scrooge, I averaged a remarkable 48 m.p.g. over more than 150 miles of freeway driving. That’s the best mileage of any American-market car I’ve tested — gas, diesel or hybrid. I never knew that driving a steady 60 m.p.h. could be so gratifying, and I vowed to try it more often.

Back when I bought my TDI in 1999 48 MPG would have seemed like a bigger deal but it's actually lower than the 52 MPG I averaged on the ~270 mile round-trip from San Diego to Pasadena and back, with an average speed over 70MPH (other trips weren't as precisely measured . I'm curious whether this is simply due to the extra power or the tighter emissions standards - intriguingly, the 42 MPG average for mixed driving matches the more or less constant value I measured for the last couple of years of mixed highway / city commuting. I know Volkswagen tweaked things to favor power-hungry American drivers for years - I'm curious whether we'll see that switch back now that everyone has rediscovered budgeting.