Most people in America have never thought about buying a diesel automobile due to bad perceptions about diesel engines and/or diesel fuel. I had the same preconceptions but starting researching fuel efficient vehicles 2 years before I bought this car. I had test driven scores of cars and the only one that put a smile on my face was this one. I loved it from the moment I got in the driver's seat. Besides being very peppy, it's a joy to drive. You wouldn't even know it's a diesel except when you go to the filling station.
VW has done a lot to modernize their diesel engines and make them less polluting as well as easier than ever to live with. It's also a solid car, built of quality materials, as opposed to the cheap plastic you find in other cars of this price (and even more expensive ones!). I've been really happy with my Golf so far and think it is one of the most amazing cars on the planet! Below you can read more about my long term road experience with this car.
How does the Golf TDI compare with Hybrid Electric vehicles?
I support all efforts to decrease petroleum fuel consumption and think that hybrid electric vehicles are an important step in this direction. However, Hybrid electric is an expensive and unproven technology compared to the simplicity of the diesel engine which has been time tested for over 100 years. Cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid are great cars, but who knows how their exotic and expensive hybrid components will hold up over time? What will it cost to replace the batteries for example? Diesel engines routinely last for hundreds of thousands of miles and the Golf offers the added benefit of running biodiesel and/or vegetable oil, the ultimate green fuel. Plus, the Golf offers the thrill offahrfergnugen - a car designed and engineered for the joy of driving. The Japanese cars are relatively dull to drive by comparison.
On the plus side for Hybrid Electric Vehicles is the fact that they do very well in stop-and-go urban traffic. Diesel engines perform better on long trips and their mileage decreases in the city. If you're buying a car and live in a city where you make frequent short trips, HEV's may be a better alternative. But if you're buying a car to commute long distances, a diesel engine is a better option since the electricity won't be recharged in an HEV while driving on the highway. In short, if you do live in a city, make frequent short trips, and don't care about sporty handling, the Prius or another HEV may be a better choice for you.
Running Biodiesel:
Biodiesel is a 100% vegetable fuel that doesn't derive from petroleum. The diesel engine, invented in Germany by Rudolf Diesel in 1893, was originally designed to run from peanut oil and not petroleum diesel as is most commonly used today. While modern diesels can still run peanut oil,canola and soy are more commonly used to make biodiesel as they are abundantly available from farmers here in the US and around the world. Biodiesel differs from regular vegetable oil (also referred to as straight vegetable oil or "SVO") only in that it is chemically modified using a mixture of lye and methanol to make it more suitable for running in cold climates, and to meet strict industry specifications (ASTM D6751) for vehicle usage. SVO can power the Golf, but it can clog the fuel system at low temperatures because SVO congeals very easily if it has not been modified into biodiesel. You can however purchase a vegetable oil kit for the Golf, which allows you to run SVO when the engine is warm, and regular diesel or biodiesel when it's cold. The system adds a second fuel tank with a switch and fuel warmer, at a cost of about $800. With this system in place you can run your car with used cooking oil collected for FREE from restaurants. That's right folks!
Commercial biodiesel (the kind the Golf CAN run without any modifications) is sold either pure or in mixtures of diesel/biodiesel at biodiesel filling stations (see photo below). Biodiesel is sold in B100, B50, B20 and other mixtures. The number here refers to the percentage of biodiesel in the mixture compared to petroleum diesel and both fuels mix very well (B100 = 100% biodiesel, 0% petroleum diesel).
During the winter in cold climates, it's best to run on B20, which is a mixture of 20% biodiesel and 80% regular diesel, due to the high gel point of B100 (it gels at around 30 deg. F vs. -15 deg. F for B20). During the warmer months B100 works great in the Golf. An added benefit of using biodiesel is that due to its much higher lubricity compared to petroleum diesel, engine life is extended because of reduced component wear and less "gunk" build up. It also reduces emissions by 90% compared to petroleum diesel, to say nothing of the reduction of dependency on foreign oil.
How does the Golf run on biodiesel compared to regular diesel? Well, most people can't tell the difference. Power and fuel economy are almost the same (some claim it's better, some worse with biodiesel). The engine does run a little smoother, probably due to the higher lubricity of biodiesel but the biggest difference you'll notice is the lack of smoke and diesel odor from the exhaust pipe.
One thing to remember if you're running biodiesel on an older car: the strong solvent properties of biodiesel will clean out the fuel system and can clog your fuel filter with old gunk. It's often a good idea to replace the fuel filter after your first few tanks of biodiesel. The easiest way to tell if you fuel filter is getting clogged with gunk is if your engine starts sputtering at higher speeds. This happened to me after a few tanks of B100. Changing the TDI's fuel filter is an easy process to perform yourself.
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