A long while back, I was thinking of getting a new car. And I almost got myself a little VW Golf TDI (diesel). It was a fuel efficient car getting about 40 mpg highway. The key point being TDI: Turbocharged Direct Injection.

But that was a long time ago and California car dealers could not sell the TDI. It was due to the state’s diesel compliant law. Luckily that is not the case anymore for Californians.

Here is the new VW Golf TDI. TDI vehicles is marketed by VW as “high-performance, fuel-efficient, and environmentally conscious”. Unfortunately the hybrid version is still only a concept car.

Photo from The Car Connection. The car was reviewed last year for the 2010 market starting at $23K.

I would love to own a hybrid electric vehicle. But even if I did need a new car, the price range of some of these hybrids are still too much for me.

Also mentioned from the writers of Green Car Reports, “the TDI delivers not only a 0-to-60-mph time of 8.6 seconds, but EPA mileage ratings of 30 mpg city / 42 mpg highway. And as we frequently note, Volkswagen’s Jetta TDI–which uses the same 2.0-liter diesel–often returns far better real-world mileage than its EPA ratings indicate.”

If anyone is in the market for this car, there’s one more reason to buy with a VW TDI Clean Diesel, you’ll get a vehicle tax credit of up to $850.

The front view. I would have prefer a 4 door version.

The Volkswagen Golf is one of the most iconic small hatchbacks of all time. Introduced in 1974, more than 27 million have been sold, making it the world’s third best-selling car. Now, in its sixth generation, the Golf returns with a full redesign and Volkswagen’s 50-state compliant TDI clean-diesel engine under the hood. - hybridcars.com

Are the millions sold found in Europe? As I don’t see much hatchbacks in the U.S. They seem to be more popular in Europe as they have limited space there. Not to mention the higher price of gasoline.

The one thing I don’t like about buying new cars is the fact that it depreciates so fast. A brand new car that cost about $20K ten years ago is now selling at $5K.

But there are people out there that buy only new cars because they are afraid of used cars. I can say buying new does not guarantee much. As a friend of mine got a brand new Jetta and 6 months later the transmission had to be replaced. Then again, it’s a Jetta.

This 2002 VW Golf TDI I saw on sale from SF Craiglist recently. It was the same car I was thinking of getting back then. Now it’s selling for around $8K. The neat thing is that it could be converted to bio-diesel car too.