The Audi A3 TDI diesel is on a winning streak. Last week, the 2010 Audi A3 TDI clean diesel hatchback won the title of 2010 "Green Car of the Year" at the Los Angeles Auto Show. This week, the fuel efficient luxury premium hatchback wins the title of "Car of the Year" from the Detroit News.
Here's what Detroit News automotive guru Scott Burgess says about the Audi A3 TDI:
"In a world of growing hybrids and the soon-to-arrive electrics, one of the oldest types of engines still continues to push the globe forward: the diesel.
But Audi AG's little 2-liter direct injection turbo diesel is not much like anything Rudolf's namesake might remember. This little four-banger cranks out 230 pound-feet of driver-friendly torque. If the world really wants to get over itself and start to select cars with significantly better fuel efficiency and drivable power, it's going to have to realize the technology is already here.
Maybe the world didn't see it because the A3 TDI is just so much fun to drive. The six-speed automatic transmission is butter from first to sixth, and the car's road-handling skills are an absolute joy. The car bites into corners and shoots out of them.
Better yet, it's an Audi and the interior reflects the luxury carmaker's growing reputation for excellent execution and style. But there's another kind of luxury the A3 TDI offers: practicality. The A3 TDI has the length of a wagon and nearly 20 cubic feet of space behind the second row. Drop those 60/40 folding seats and load up the flat-screen TV or anything else you want.
The 2010 Audi A3 TDI may not usher in a new age of dieseloveability, but it should."
Diesels are hot. The 2009 VW Jetta TDI clean diesel was named Green Car of the Year at the New York Auto Show this past spring, and the 2009 VW Golf TDI was a finalist for the title at the Los Angeles Auto Show that the Audi won. The two most important Green Car awards of the year, and they are both won by clean diesel cars. Diesels. Not hybrids.
- Related articles of interest:
- Mercedes unveils diesel hybrid concept
- BMW promotes diesel cars on Mad Men TV series
- More than 50 clean diesel, hybrid and hydrogen cars on display at 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show
Obviously the Germans know a thing or two about diesel engines. After all, Rudolf Diesel tinkered around with engines a hundred years ago with a couple of buddies named Gottlieb Daimler and another Rudolf -- the one named Benz.
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook @evelynkanter. Find more green car and green travel news at www.car-and-travel.com
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