Short Take Road Test
Driving this special version of VW’s Jetta TDI will not remind you of the actual race-prepped TDI Cup car it’s designed to celebrate. (Now in its third season, the Jetta TDI Cup is a racing development series for young drivers.) Of course, not many people will know the difference. Only a select few people have had any real seat time in the racing version, and almost none of them is over the age of 26—that annum being the maximum age for participants. But if you do happen to belong to that select group of TDI Cup veterans, the Jetta TDI Cup Edition will probably be even less reminiscent of the race car.
To be fair, the TDI Cup Edition does provide some visual reminders of the race car—18-inch wheels and body-side graphics are standard, and options include a rear wing and a race-derived body kit comprised of front and rear fascias and rocker panel extensions. But its dynamics leave it far behind its racing cousins.
Road vs. Race
TDI Cup racing Jettas are stripped of all nonessentials, which keeps the curb weight well below that of the street car—2900 pounds compared with the street edition’s 3310. Amplifying the distinction between the street and track versions, the Cup car’s 2.0-liter turbo-diesel engine—from the Euro-market Golf GTD—generates 170 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. The streetgoing Jetta TDI and Cup Edition are propelled by just 140 hp and 236 lb-ft. The race cars send their power to the front wheels via VW’s Direct Shift Gearbox automated manual transmission. The street car provides a choice between a six-speed manual and DSG.
Equipped with the six-speed manual, our test car achieved 60 mph in 8.8 seconds and covered the quarter-mile in 16.8 seconds at 83 mph. We should note that these numbers are substantially slower than those of our long-term Jetta TDI, which reached 60 in 8.1 seconds and cleared the quarter in 16.4 at 84 mph. That car had the DSG, but we didn’t think our shifting was that slow.
Stiff vs. Supple
The Cup Edition street car would be no match for the Cup racer on a road circuit. Besides its power-to-weight advantage, the race car features adjustable shocks and spring rates high enough to support a good-sized truck. And of course there’s the tire factor. The Cup car rides on racing slicks, the Cup Edition on all-season Pirelli P Zero Neros measuring 225/40-18 all around. Although the street car’s rubber is far from terrible, we wished for a better approximation of the race car’s dynamic behavior. The Cup Edition pulls a so-so 0.84 g on the skidpad and stops from 70 mph in a disappointing 186 feet. Despite upgraded brakes—and the presence of red calipers—that’s longer than we recorded with our long-termer, suggesting that the Pirellis could be a little more aggressive.
On the other hand, an hour or so of driving the race car on the street would be about as much fun as most of us could stand. Besides its unyielding ride quality, it is surprisingly noisy inside—despite being surprisingly quiet from the outside. In contrast, the streetgoing TDI Cup Edition delivers that blend of firm but compliant ride quality that distinguishes most German cars, and its suspension tuning—essentially the same setup as that of the defunct-for-now Jetta GLI—makes it entertaining on a back road. And of course there’s diesel fuel economy: 30 mpg city and 41 highway according to the EPA, 33 during our driving.
Beyond that, the street car is quiet around town, and its front buckets—upholstered in VW’s Interlago plaid cloth—are essentially the same as those that help make the GTI such a Car and Driver favorite: perfectly shaped, highly supportive, and all-day comfortable.
Dollars and Sense
In the end, the question gets to be one of value. The base price for a Jetta TDI with a manual transmission is $23,580. The base price for the TDI Cup Edition is $25,740. If you want the TDI Cup body kit, add $2350. Add another $499 for the rear wing. Our test car was also equipped with a power sunroof ($1000), rubber floor mats ($225), and an iPod interface ($199), for a grand total of $30,013.
That seems like a pretty hefty sum for a race-car replica. Even omitting the sunroof and floor mats, you’re looking at a substantial premium for a lot of stuff—the body kit, for example—that contributes nothing to the car’s performance. But at $25,740, which includes the suspension elements, the upgraded brakes with red calipers, and the outstanding seats, the TDI Cup Edition looks far more palatable.
