And the 2009 Green Car Of the Year Award by the Green Car Journal went to Volkswagen Jetta TDI at the LA Auto Show! For the uninitiated, Jetta TDI is a diesel-powered car with minimum engine noise. It runs on a technology called ‘clean diesel’ which actually means that the car has a clean tailpipe and an EPA estimated 41 mpg highway fuel economy. That is the reason why it surpassed hybrids and mini-cars to bag the title.

The diesel particulate filter in the Jetta is a blessing, as it further reduces particulate emissions. It uses a NOx-storage catalyst that temporarily traps the noxious emissions until they can be burned off during one of the engine cycles. This feature make it the first car to qualify a Tier II Bin 5 vehicle, which is equivalent to California’s LEV II rating. In other words, the Jetta has the permission to be sold in all 50 U.S. states.

The 2.0 liter engine in the car has a common-rail fuel injection system unlike VW’s traditional mechanical system. This enables the Jetta to permit higher injection pressures which atomize the fuel better, thus controlling pollution more easily and effectively. Plus it gets 38 mpg in the city and 44 on the highway. Some even claim that 50 can also be reach regulalry on this car.

Wanna test drive?

Via earthtimes