<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/economy/" rel="tag">Budget</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/hybrids/" rel="tag">Hybrid</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag">Ford</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/honda/" rel="tag">Honda</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/mazda/" rel="tag">Mazda</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/volkswagen/" rel="tag">Volkswagen</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/diesel/" rel="tag">Diesel</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/consumer-reports-performs-fuel-efficient-car-comparison/#continued"><img vspace="4" hspace="0" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/12/2011-volkswagen-jetta-tdi-sportwagen.jpg" alt="2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Sportwagen" /></a></div>
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Fuel efficiency is rapidly becoming one of the most influential determining factors when new car shoppers go looking for their next vehicle. And, as our friends at <em>Consumer Reports</em> correctly point out, earning top fuel efficiency marks generally means shopping in one of three categories: diesels, hybrids or subcompacts.<br />
<br />
As such, the consumer-oriented magazine has pitted four fuel-sippers against each other in their upcoming January, 2011 issue: the <a href="http://autoblog.com/model/fiesta">2011 Ford Fiesta</a>, <a href="http://autoblog.com/model/cr-z">Honda CR-Z</a>, <a href="http://autoblog.com/model/mazda2">Mazda2</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/jetta+tdi">Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI</a>. Of these four models, the Jetta is the only one that's currently Recommended - the Fiesta and Mazda2 are too new to have adequate reliability data and, though expected to be reliable, the last-place CR-Z <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/2011-honda-cr-z-hybrid-scores-too-low-for-consumer-reports-to-recommend.html">scored too low in CR's own road testing to recommend</a>.<br />
<br />
CR tested two versions each of the <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/mazda">Mazda</a> and <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/ford">Ford</a> subcompacts, one with a manual transmission and the other with an automatic. The Fiesta was ranked slightly higher than the Mazda2 overall, though the magazine seems to like both vehicles. Of the Honda, CR writes that "the ride is choppy, noise levels are high, and on-limit handling can be tricky." Couple those unfavorable traits with lower-than-expected fuel mileage of 35 mpg and limited utility, and it's understandable why CR wasn't particularly impressed with the CR-Z.<br />
<br />
Though somewhat pricey at $27,204, the <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/volkswagen">Volkswagen</a> Jetta Sportwagen TDI performed admirably, delivering 36 mpg overall and a superb 49 mpg on the highway in the hands of CR's testers. As an aside, CR also <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/fuel-doctor-fd-47-fails-the-consumer-reports-fuel-economy-mpg-test.html">took a look at the Fuel Doctor FD-47 fuel-saving device</a>, and rather predictably, found that it basically did nothing at all. Check out the full press release <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/consumer-reports-performs-fuel-efficient-car-comparison/#continued">after the break</a>, check out <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/2011-honda-cr-z-hybrid-scores-too-low-for-consumer-reports-to-recommend.html">CR's thoughts about the CR-Z</a>, or just wait until the January 2011 issue hits the newsstands for the complete results.<br />
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[Source: <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/2011-honda-cr-z-hybrid-scores-too-low-for-consumer-reports-to-recommend.html">Consumer Reports</a>]<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/vw-jetta-tdi-tops-consumer-reports-eco-roundup-honda-cr/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>VW Jetta TDI tops <i>Consumer Reports</i> eco roundup, Honda CR-Z scores too low to recommend</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/vw-jetta-tdi-tops-consumer-reports-eco-roundup-honda-cr/">VW Jetta TDI tops <i>Consumer Reports</i> eco roundup, Honda CR-Z scores too low to recommend</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:54:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/vw-jetta-tdi-tops-consumer-reports-eco-roundup-honda-cr/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19750076/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/vw-jetta-tdi-tops-consumer-reports-eco-roundup-honda-cr/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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<br />
Fuel efficiency is rapidly becoming one of the most influential determining factors when new car shoppers go looking for their next vehicle. And, as our friends at <em>Consumer Reports</em> correctly point out, earning top fuel efficiency marks generally means shopping in one of three categories: diesels, hybrids or subcompacts.<br />
<br />
As such, the consumer-oriented magazine has pitted four fuel-sippers against each other in their upcoming January, 2011 issue: the <a href="http://autoblog.com/model/fiesta">2011 Ford Fiesta</a>, <a href="http://autoblog.com/model/cr-z">Honda CR-Z</a>, <a href="http://autoblog.com/model/mazda2">Mazda2</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/jetta+tdi">Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI</a>. Of these four models, the Jetta is the only one that's currently Recommended - the Fiesta and Mazda2 are too new to have adequate reliability data and, though expected to be reliable, the last-place CR-Z <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/2011-honda-cr-z-hybrid-scores-too-low-for-consumer-reports-to-recommend.html">scored too low in CR's own road testing to recommend</a>.<br />
<br />
CR tested two versions each of the <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/mazda">Mazda</a> and <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/ford">Ford</a> subcompacts, one with a manual transmission and the other with an automatic. The Fiesta was ranked slightly higher than the Mazda2 overall, though the magazine seems to like both vehicles. Of the Honda, CR writes that "the ride is choppy, noise levels are high, and on-limit handling can be tricky." Couple those unfavorable traits with lower-than-expected fuel mileage of 35 mpg and limited utility, and it's understandable why CR wasn't particularly impressed with the CR-Z.<br />
<br />
Though somewhat pricey at $27,204, the <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/volkswagen">Volkswagen</a> Jetta Sportwagen TDI performed admirably, delivering 36 mpg overall and a superb 49 mpg on the highway in the hands of CR's testers. As an aside, CR also <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/fuel-doctor-fd-47-fails-the-consumer-reports-fuel-economy-mpg-test.html">took a look at the Fuel Doctor FD-47 fuel-saving device</a>, and rather predictably, found that it basically did nothing at all. Check out the full press release <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/consumer-reports-performs-fuel-efficient-car-comparison/#continued">after the break</a>, check out <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/2011-honda-cr-z-hybrid-scores-too-low-for-consumer-reports-to-recommend.html">CR's thoughts about the CR-Z</a>, or just wait until the January 2011 issue hits the newsstands for the complete results.<br />
<br />
[Source: <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/2011-honda-cr-z-hybrid-scores-too-low-for-consumer-reports-to-recommend.html">Consumer Reports</a>]<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/vw-jetta-tdi-tops-consumer-reports-eco-roundup-honda-cr/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>VW Jetta TDI tops <i>Consumer Reports</i> eco roundup, Honda CR-Z scores too low to recommend</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/vw-jetta-tdi-tops-consumer-reports-eco-roundup-honda-cr/">VW Jetta TDI tops <i>Consumer Reports</i> eco roundup, Honda CR-Z scores too low to recommend</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:54:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/vw-jetta-tdi-tops-consumer-reports-eco-roundup-honda-cr/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19750076/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/vw-jetta-tdi-tops-consumer-reports-eco-roundup-honda-cr/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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