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2012 Detroit Auto Show

2012 Detroit Auto Show

2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI: smell the oily masculinity

By Patrick Frawley | Jalopnik – Thu, Feb 9, 2012 7:12 PM EST


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Volkswagen just unveiled the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI, an oil-burning version of the recently revised and manliness-infused Beetle. America's only diesel two-door (VW considers this a coupe and the Golf a hatch) will go on sale this summer.

The engine is VW's familiar 2.0 liter turbocharged and direct-injected 4-cylinder, now sporting a common-rail fuel injection setup and putting 140 horsepower and 238 lb/ft of torque into your choice of six-speed transmissions: either a traditional manual or the DSG semiautomatic. EPA fuel economy scores of 29 mpg city and 39 mpg highway have been confirmed.

From the outside it's hard to tell this is a diesel model without the badging, but under the chopped-roof there's an additional set of instruments that include a boost gauge, oil temperature display, and a stopwatch... so you can time how fast you're saving fuel?

The compression-ignition Beetle will be available in three trim levels: TDI, TDI with Sunroof, and (deep breath) TDI with Sunroof, Sound and Navigation. We hope that the retro-perfect hubcap wheels from the standard model will be available. Pricing has not yet been announced.

 

29 comments

  • Truth
    Truth  •  3 months ago
    At least in New York State, the prices for diesel are regularly more than for premium fuel. A lot of the efficiency advantage of diesel goes to the higher state taxes. Diesel is a less refined form of sweet crude oil and should always be cheaper than gasoline.
    • l g
      l g 3 months ago
      But the demand for Diesel fuel is way higher in Europe so my understanding is; they export alot so it ends up costing about 20% more than gas.
    • Terence
      Terence 3 months ago
      There is a 25 cent additional Federal tax on diesel in the US and efforts to eliminate this continue, but the typical eco credit may be $2500-$3500 (? fact check) on these cars so that a $3K credit @ $4/gal = 750 gal = 30,000 miles @ 40 MPG
    • Larry
      Larry 3 months ago
      i had an 2002 TDI New Beetle, and i would get 50 + mpg on the highway... the best i ever got was 57 mpg ... they are good cars, but i had trouble getting it worked on ...
  • Paul
    Paul  •  Houston, Texas  •  3 months ago
    It doesn't look like a good deal to me. The Diesel Beetles used to get 50 mpg...and this is progress ? 39 mpg?
    • twinstick
      twinstick 3 months ago
      You have to remember that it takes a diesel motor about 50,000 miles to get worn in. After that, the power increases and it becomes more fuel efficient. The EPA also runs the piss out of the motor, so that figure is most likely the WORST that you're going to see.
  • experience
    experience  •  Cameron, Wisconsin  •  3 months ago
    I will keep my 1999 Jetta TDI, at 45 to 55 miles, why would I want to get rid of it?
    • tellthetruth
      tellthetruth 3 months ago
      45 to 55 miles. Won't it go any faster then that?
    • Larry
      Larry 3 months ago
      keep it until the wheels fall off... it has a lot of years left...
  • StephenM
    StephenM  •  3 months ago
    Why is VW making this car? Just get a golf or jetta.
  • Bryce
    Bryce  •  3 months ago
    I'm a 6'7" male and I've driven a New Beetle for about ten years. I still don't get the "girly car" comments -- as far as I can tell, the car has no ovaries. And I doubt I'd fit in the newer "more masculine" version.
    • Charlie
      Charlie 3 months ago
      Beetles were not considered feminine back in the 60's and 70's when some of my relatives owned them. I had a 2000 model and loved it but it was totaled by a guy passing in traffic. It held up VERY well even though my dog and I spun around in the street for what seemed like a long time. I was GLAD I was in that Beetle!!
    • Bryce
      Bryce 3 months ago
      Wish I still had my '64 Beetle. Not good in a crash, but a great little around-town car.
    • S.
      S. 3 months ago
      the "girly" car comments usually come from guys riding the bus, skateboards, & bicycles
  • Charlie
    Charlie  •  Memphis, Tennessee  •  3 months ago
    Sexism in car ownership is petty and the critics of "girly cars" should find something else to do. Maybe politics?
    • hollander
      hollander 3 months ago
      How about going to Beale Street and having a good time? I love Memphis!
  • Johnny Lee
    Johnny Lee  •  3 months ago
    The front end looks like it's laughing at me.
  • wombat
    wombat  •  3 months ago
    The Beetle is made in Mexico and owned by Germans. Both Axis enemy nations during WW2. Mexico made a deal with Germany that when we lost, they would get back all of their native lands. Buy Ford and forget it!!!
  • Tom
    Tom  •  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  •  3 months ago
    Why the :oily smell" comment. The author apparently has not been around any of the new Diesel models-from any company. My boss has the Passat TDI and I cannot tell any clues from smell to noise.
  • kermit
    kermit  •  Meriden, Connecticut  •  3 months ago
    I have a 2012 TDI volks wagon and it is giving me 41 to 45 on any kind of highway trip and
    38 around town. It is fantastic and I left a BMW x3 to get it. My fuel expense is less than
    half. My cost for diesel is consitent @ 304.9. I just might buy the beetle too.
  • l g
    l g  •  3 months ago
    Where the he*ll is HONDA on this?!
    They were supposed to have a diesel engine approved for the USA LAST year.
    WAKE UP Honda!
  • Steven B
    Steven B  •  Indianapolis, Indiana  •  3 months ago
    America is more than ready for the clean diesel technology of today but the "Big 3" says no one wants them. Huh? If Chevy brings the 2.9L diesel Colorado here they will end up being the benefactor of filling the public desire for diesels. I have my checkbook open and am ready to drive something smaller than my F350; as long as its diesel and "sort of" American. They are being built in Thailand and, I think, Mexico then shipped here as "American made." Sure wish Ford hadn't dropped their 4.4L half-ton diesel combo. Oil burners are the answer to our (almost) desperate times.
  • tellu l
    tellu l  •  3 months ago
    TDI,HDI,CRDI motors have been around in Europe for over ten years and there are some models that get 60MPG. With new emission standards,these cars are just as clean if not cleaner than a lot of gas powered models. The only reason that I could come up with for the medias continual bashing of Diesel cars was that they would have posed a direct threat to the American auto industry so the media helped to make them look bad. Smaller 4 person cars get 60MPG or just below and Minivans like the Chrysler Grand Voyager with the 3.0L CRDI motor are up around 30MPG and are see as gas guzzlers. Passats and Audi A6's will net around 40MPG but both have 6spd transmissions and can whistle down the highway at speeds of up to 150-160MPH and are just as quiet as gas powered cars. There's nothing like a nice Crown Vic or a Cadillac Seville,but these cars could be turned into supercars with TDI or CRDI technology that would give you the driving range that you had when gas was 30 cents a gallon. Big oil would surely love that though right?
  • Paul
    Paul  •  Boston, Massachusetts  •  3 months ago
    Tall like Bryce and agree with all he said. What happend to the great diesle mileage?
    My 2001 TDI always got at least 45 MPG.
  • Zarathustra
    Zarathustra  •  3 months ago
    O.K. Did they get rid of the ball-bearings shaken in a tin can noise that diesels make?
  • wombat
    wombat  •  3 months ago
    VW bugs are chick cars. No real man should ever be seen driving one of those rainbow mobiles!!!!
  • skinny
    skinny  •  Vestal, New York  •  3 months ago
    Beetles should have a 1.6L air-cooled flat-four in the back. That car's just a Jetta with a different body on it.
  • yahoo user
    yahoo user  •  Pleasanton, California  •  3 months ago
    Still a girls car. love my convertible beetle.But sorry it's for girls.Nothing wrong with that.If I see a guy driving a beetle,it just looks weird.
  • wombat
    wombat  •  3 months ago
    VW is in the bottom for reliability and customer satisfaction. Better off buying a Ford Focus made in Wayne Michigan USA!!!!! Say no to foreign made cars!!
  • Andre G
    Andre G  •  Florissant, Missouri  •  3 months ago
    When I had a Rabbit diesel 25-30 years ago, everyone called them "oilburners" and I guess that is still hanging around for use as a description. The current crop bears little resemblance to what was out back then!
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