Volkswagen is using September’s Frankfurt auto show to reassert its stature as a maker of efficient diesels in Europe. The new Golf BlueMotion will be one of six models with the environmentally friendly powerplant (the other five have not been disclosed).
The Golf BlueMotion will get 52 mpg, VW claims, an improvement on the already enviable 46 mpg of the outgoing model. The automaker says the compact car can go almost 750 miles on a 14.5-gallon tank of gas. Those wanting to do their part to save the planet can also feel good about the reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions.
The Golf BlueMotion is slated to go on sale at the end of the year in Germany, joining the Polo, Passat, and Passat Variant wagon with the clean-diesel technology. The BlueMotion label means it is the most efficient model in the series.
VW of America officials tell us BlueMotion is a European thing and is not legal here in the States, where the automaker has its own clean-diesel technology set to bow on the 2008 Jetta TDI next spring. With a new 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, and either a six-speed manual or DSG automated manual, the 2008 Jetta TDI will be cleared for sale in all 50 states, as opposed to 45 states for all diesels currently on sale and some coming in the next few years. “Our downstream exhaust treatment is absolutely different [from that of the European-spec BlueMotion],” a VW spokesman tells us.
