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Hybrid SUV Passes "Long Range" Diesel SUV
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One of my recent articles was not kind to VW's latest ad campaign, which touted that with one of their TDI's, an owner would almost never stop for fuel. According to their own website, a VW TDI Touareg has a 26.4 gallon fuel tank. In their ads, and via simple math from their EPA MPG numbers, they claim you can go 580 miles or better on a tank of fuel and their TDI qualifies for an eco-credit, just like a hybrid.
Let's do some quick number crunching. A 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid starts at $31,500 with an EPA 34/31 MPG, while a 2010 VW TDI Touareg starts at $40,440 with 18/25 EPA MPG. In a side by side comparison between the two vehicles, the Touareg costs and average additional $762 in fuel a year, consuming an extra 9 barrels of Petroleum while emitting almost double the amount of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere per year. It's odd then how VW tries to advertise their cars as being eco-friendly and that if everyone had TDI's, we'd save 9 million barrels of oil a year.
When I started writing the last article, I had wanted to include how far I could go in my 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid on 26.4 gallons, but it has taken me a little over a month to actually use that much fuel. I used a device to measure my exact fuel consumption and noted my miles at exactly 26.4 gallons; I do realize that most people wouldn't run their vehicle to empty, but I think the point remains. I drove 1,058.6 miles, or 182% of the distance a TDI achieves with the same amount of fuel. Furthermore, I was doing this in September and October, with non-optimal temperatures and weather conditions.
Add in the fact that at yesterdays Consumer Reports press conference, owners rated the VW Touareg as the worst car in America in terms of reliability and it seems to me that VW really has some problems on every front.
Lastly, I want to make it clear I'm not trying to badmouth diesels. They have their advantages and I've got an upcoming article touting such, but the angle that VW is pursuing is problematic at best.
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