Volkswagen's '09 Jetta brings diesel back to U.S. mainstream

— -- After a three-year break that seemed interminable to fans, Volkswagen's back in the U.S. diesel-car market with a clean-burning diesel in its popular Jetta compact sedan.

It's the lowest-price diesel car in the U.S., with a starting price of about $23,000, or half the price tag of the German luxury brands. Outside Detroit work trucks, those are the only other diesels on sale in the U.S.

Strict anti-pollution rules have limited the number of diesels available in the U.S. Mercedes-Benz has soldiered through, and the diesel Touareg SUV has kept a toehold for VW.

Now, automakers have developed exhaust-treatment systems that clean diesel emissions and make the fuel-efficient power plants legal to sell anywhere in the U.S.

So VW diesels are back with Jetta now and Rabbit next fall.

The '09 Jetta lineup is the same outside as the '08, but got useful hardware changes, such as standard stability control, floor mats, cold-weather package and a better optional navigation system.

A wagon version, called SportWagen (not tested) also is available with the diesel engine.

Gripes about the diesel Jetta:

•Too much vibration at idle. Shifting into neutral, the usual cure, made no difference.

•Too little response at very low speed, mainly when cold. Once warm, lag seemed to vanish.

But Jetta's drivetrain generally was a delight. Amazing power at suburban traffic speed, almost unnoticeable shifts from the six-speed automatic, barely audible grumble from the engine, once warm (and typically diesel-noisy when cold).

The test vehicle had a generally premium feel, so exceptions stood out as if spotlighted. Evidence of cheapness that was the most disturbing:

•Hard plastic inside door pulls and armrests were woefully out of character with, and inferior to, the rest of the rich, tactilely pleasing interior trim.

•Climate controls felt about two generations old. The airflow knob was too stiff, the temperature knob not stiff enough.

•Road racket was startlingly high on rough and patched asphalt.