The 2010 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI diesel occupies a special place in the automotive market right now. It’s less expensive than its Audi brethren, and yet it uses the same 2.0-liter turbocharged clean diesel engine as the A3. Right now the Germans are the only folks selling diesels in passenger cars, but you can bet that everyone is about to get into the act – especially if the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico drives fuel prices back up to historic highs this summer.
San Francisco – It had been three years since we’d driven the quirky-looking Honda Element, so we decided to borrow one while in the Bay area visiting family for the holidays.
Introduced initially in 2003, the Honda Element was one of the first of the distinctive boxy looking wagons, which include the Scion xB, Kia Soul and Nissan Cube. Of the group, the Element is the largest, heaviest, most powerful and most expensive. A couple of other features that set the Element apart from the competition is it is available with all-wheel drive and has the ability to tow a small trailer (up to 1,500 pounds).