ArcaMax

Sometimes - oftentimes - a small car with a smallish gas engine will perform noticeably worse when paired with an automatic transmission - because smallish gas engines (especially if not turbocharged) tend to not make much torque and the torque they do make tends to be made fairly high up the rev range (around 4,000 RPM being typical). With a manual transmission, you can bring the revs up to get the car going expeditiously. But if you've got an automatic, it'll take a moment - or several - for the engine to work its way up to the RPM where it produces its decent power. Which is why smaller cars with small gas engines paired with automatics sometimes feel sluggish getting started.

The Golf's TDI engine, in contrast, will easily squeal the tires accelerating from a standstill - if you're not careful with the accelerator - because all that torque blooms full flower at just over 1,700 RPM. And it stays with you, as the revs climb. The TDI engine is especially punchy in the mid-rage, which is arguably the real-world-range most engines operate in. All that means is you don't have to spin the thing to redline to get a reaction. Half-pedal will get the job done almost every time.

It's like having all the power a gas engine produces immediately available - rather than having to wait a few for the engine to rev to produce it. And keep in mind that the TDI engine makes more total power (torque) than the gas engines in competitor cars. Torque - twisting force - is what gets a car moving and smart buyers will give more weight to that number than the other number (horsepower).

AT THE CURB

Though new, the '15 Golf is not obviously different - at first glance - from the old Golf. Exterior and interior styling changes are very conservative and minimalist - a good thing, I think. Why fix what's not broken?

So, the basic shape - and layout - remains familiar. And, sensible. The Golf has 22.8 cubic feet of cargo capacity with all seats in place. To get a sense of how much that is, the Chevy Cruze sedan - the only other car available with a diesel engine anywhere near the VW's price range - has only 13.3 cubic feet of cargo capacity. And the Cruze is - technically - a mid-sized car. The Golf is a compact. The Mazda3 hatchback wagon is a closer shave. But, alas, no diesel... for now.

The VW's cabin feels bigger, too - for people in the back seats, especially. Because the Golf's roofline doesn't slope rearward as sharply as in several competitor models. The result is second row headroom (38.1 inches) that's virtually the same as headroom up front (38.4 inches).

The rectangular shape of the Golf's doors is also smart policy, providing a larger opening to the interior. The sedan's rear glass is larger (wider) than the front door glass. It even has (fixed) rear quarter glass. It'd be extremely cool if VW - or any automaker - made these operable.

Though the TDI Golf is a step up in price from the base (gas-engined) Golf S ($20,695 for the four-door) VW does not charge an arm and a leg to step up to the TDI. The price difference is $1,300 - and to VW's credit, you get more than just the TDI engine.

Most of the amenities that are included in the gas-engined SE Golf - including a sunroof, power seats and the otherwise-optional Fender premium audio system - are included in the base TDI Golf S (yes, it's a little confusing). The relevant take-home point here is that the buy-in cost of the TDI is pretty low, which is pretty unusual for diesel-powered cars in the United States.

Chevrolet, for instance, charges $9,255 to step up from the base/gas-enginedversion of the Cruze sedan ($19,100) to the Cruze diesel ($28,355). It's true the diesel-powered Cruze is also laden with luxury and convenience features. But the Golf TDI's not a stripper, either.

It's much harder to make a case for the Cruze diesel than it is for the Golf TDI. Both are nice cars. But only one of them makes economic sense.

THE REST

The Germans are often odd about their diesels, parceling them out in this bodystyle but not that bodystyle. Mercedes-Benz and BMW, for instance, sometimes only let you buy a diesel in a wagon. And VW has decided to offer the TDI engine in the Golf sedan only. Well, for the moment. I hope.

On deck - slated to arrive at dealers a few months from now - is the Golf Sportwagen (German spelling), a wagon-ized version of the Golf. VW has not announced whether the TDI engine will be available in the Sportwagen. But it ought to be.

Probably the biggest sweat for VW is the narrowing gap between the fuel economy of the TDI - and the fuel economy offered by some of the gas-engined competition. The '15 Mazda3, for example. Its "SkyActive" gas engine rates 29 city and 41 on the highway - too close for comfort, especially given the Mazda's much lower buy-in price ($16,945 for the sedan). Three or four years ago, mileage in the 40s was exceptional - and exclusively the province of diesel and hybrid vehicles. Gas engines are catching up.

The problem - for diesels - is that circumstances increasingly favor gas engines. The fuel (ethanol-alcohol laden) allows for very high compression ratios, which makes gas engines much more fuel-efficient. Meanwhile, diesel fuel is now more expensive - courtesy of the government's "ultra low sulfur" requirements that have made refining it costlier. And modern diesel engines are rendered less efficient than they could be by emissions mandates which among other things have forced all manufacturers (including VW) to "DEF" their diesels. Owners must periodically top off the DEF tank, which fluid is then sprayed into the exhaust stream to chemically alter the composition of the exhaust to more government-agreeable compounds. Back in 1979, diesel-powered VW Rabbits (the Golf's predecessor) were knocking on 60 MPG.

That's what's needed today - to make diesel-powered cars like the Golf TDI really stand apart from the crowd.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Though it's a tighter race at the moment, the TDI Golf still makes a solid case for itself, if only because it hasn't really got any direct competition. If you want a diesel - and a manual transmission - and the prospect of 45 on the highway - and you don't want to spend more than about $22k - this one's got your name on it.

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www.ericpetersautos.com or EPeters952@aol.com for comments.