Clean-Diesel Jetta Suits a Small Family

2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Loyal Edition

model as tested $24,190

Test Drove 1/20/09 – 1/26/09
reviewed by Emily Hansen

I’ve always thought of the Volkswagen Jetta as a small starter car best suited for a single person. After test-driving the 2009 Jetta TDI, I can happily admit that I was wrong. This car is great for hauling around the family. 

I was impressed by the Jetta TDI’s comfortable backseat, enormous trunk and distinctly European driving quality. I was equally pleased by its quiet clean-diesel engine and the 38 mpg combined mileage I averaged during my week-long test drive. The Jetta gets an EPA-estimated 30/41 mpg city/highway, but I got 45 mpg on a highway-only trip. If I’d really minded my speed on that trip, I bet I could have pushed the 50 mpg mark.

Apparently I’m not alone in my appreciation of the Jetta TDI’s gas-sipping ways. It won the Green Car Journal’s 2009 Green Car of the Year award at the 2008 L.A. auto show back in November, and Road & Travel Magazine awarded it the Earth, Wind and Power Car of the Year award.

The Jetta TDI comes in both sedan and wagon form. A lot of us at MotherProof.com aren’t shy about sharing that we love wagons! VW is one of the few, proud, non-apologetic manufacturers that understand the wagon isn’t dead to all of us out here in Mommyland.

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