During a recent trip to England, we had the opportunity to drive the current Jetta BlueMotion. This is a low-emission turbo-diesel not available in the US. It’s aimed at people looking to protect the environment and save money on gas. In techno-speak that means it was going got be slow, so frankly we were a little disappointed!

Always prepared to experience something new, we piled into the Jetta and started our first journey. We would be predominantly using the country’s congested motorway network that should theoretically give us the fastest time across country, if we could avoid the speed cameras and traffic jams.
As it turned out, the journey was trouble-free. After several hundred miles behind the wheel, the needle on the fuel gauge had hardly moved. Without even trying, we’d recorded over 60mpg on the car’s in-dash trip computer!
On a subsequent journey, with a seasoned diesel driver at the wheel (my brother), he managed to tease the figure up to 70mpg! This was getting ridiculous.
Driving across country on some of England’s famous green lanes, we were still returning over 45mpg, often nudging closer to 50mpg on most journeys.
It seemed that no matter what you did in this car, the fuel consumption numbers were extraordinary.
In most cases, the pay off for great gas mileage is very poor performance. The 1.9 liter TDI motor in our BlueMotion only had 105hp, but it did have 184 lb-ft of torque at 1900rpm, so it was easy to get the VW up to speed. In fact, it whipped along the country lanes with little fuss, seeming to give very little away to the more powerful 140hp Jetta TDI we use in the US.
On paper, the car hits 0-62mph in a slovenly 11.9sec, but we honestly never felt embarrassed by a lack of performance. The engine pulled us along nicely and we could easily keep ahead of traffic.
Looking at the official figures, the Jetta BlueMotion boasts an urban consumption figure of 48mpg, with 72mpg on the extra-urban cycle, and 61mpg combined. So the 45mpg on country roads and in towns, together with the 64-70mpg we were seeing on the freeways was exactly what VW predicted. Up to this point, we thought we’d somehow found a secret formula for getting great consumption from the Jetta, but it turns out anybody could do it. And this would certainly give a Prius hybrid a run for its money.
Although it won’t mean much to US drivers, the Jetta BlueMotion produces 122 grams of CO2 emissions for every kilometer driven – that’s the lowest of any Jetta model currently available in Europe. However, it’s overshadowed by the 80hp VW Polo BlueMotion 1.4 TDI. It produces only 99g/km and fuel consumption figures of 57/88/74mpg, respectively.
The BlueMotion technology takes a number of different approaches. It starts with a common-rail direct-injection turbo-diesel motor, but VW also adjusts the engine software to reduce idling speed and uses particulate filters to cut emissions. Then they introduce lightweight materials, fit low rolling resistance tires on lightweight wheels and increase the efficiency of the spoilers and radiator grilles. The BlueMotion range is only available with five-speed manual transmissions, and these have longer gear ratios to reduce cruising revs.
This holistic approach to fuel consumption and emissions certainly points the way forward for all car manufacturers, and VW is grabbing a large slice of the cake by making these cars very affordable and available now.
Having driven a Jetta BlueMotion for a week, the only penalty might have been a slight reduction in performance, but in reality it was perfect for real-world driving. And we can all appreciate the advantage of low emissions and saving money at the gas pumps.