Everyone is still buffed up about all of this Dieselgate Volkswagen scandal in the US and in Europe. However, not many went in-depth about this problem and tried to figure out just by how much the Volkswagen cars with the so called “defeat device” on lose their power and fuel efficiency. Some tests have been done, but the latest done by Consumer Reports from the USA is definitely the most credible.
Measuring the difference in fuel consumption and power with the “defeat device” on for the 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI and the 2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDI, Consumer Reports got some rather amazing results. In order to activate or deactivate the defeat device, Consumer Reports resorted to disabling the rear wheel speed readout thus disabling the defeat device to engage when needed. Making the measurements at the test track, the US Consumer Reports found out both cars had some differences when used without and with the defeat device on.
First of all, the acceleration measurements showed that with the defeat device on, the 2011 Jetta TDI had 0,6 seconds slower 0-60 time, while the 2015 Jetta’s acceleration was unchanged. However, more worrying is the fact that the fuel economy went down by approximately 8-10 percent on both cars. The highway values for the 2011 Jetta dropped from 50 mpg to 46 mpg, with a 3 mpg drop for the 2015 Jetta also. You may not find these results alarming at the first sight, but considering that these cars are bought for their fuel efficiency, every percent is simply vital.
All in all, when Volkswagen figures out the fix, it’ll almost certainly cripple the affected Volkswagen cars a bit.
