2012 Toyota Prius V Three vs. 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI Comparison Test

We all love a rivalry. Ali and Frazier, Borg and McEnroe, Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson. And now, thanks to unstable fuel prices and carbon footprint feuds, we have diesel versus hybrids.

To help settle at least part of this fight, we brought together the all-new 2012 Toyota Prius V and the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI. One is a thoroughly modern diesel, the other is this decade's high-tech panacea, the gasoline-electric hybrid power plant.

Both look great on paper, but which drivetrain delivers the goods in the real world for real people?

First, a Few Caveats
This wasn't the perfect fuel-sipping wagon test. For one, Toyota has yet to price the 2012 Prius V wagon. Our as-tested estimate is exactly that — an estimate based on 2011 Prius hatchback pricing patterns and a tacit confirmation from Toyota personnel.

Problem number two: There aren't official EPA numbers for the Prius V yet either. Toyota has supplied its own estimates, so we used those for now.

Further, we didn't get quite as much time or mileage in them as we would have liked. You really need to stretch the legs on these cars to get the most accurate mileage readings. That's possibly why both the Prius and the Jetta delivered observed averages that fell 2 mpg shy of the EPA "combined" mpg estimates.

If you want some reference, there's always the standard Prius versus Jetta sedan comparison test we did two years ago. That Jetta won based on performance and value, so what makes this round any different?

Wagons Ho
Toyota is eager to capture even more of the family-friendly crossover market than it already enjoys, so it decided to combine the haughty feel-goodness of the Prius and the practicality of a CUV or wagon to create the 2012 Prius V. Toyota says the 2012 Prius V provides more cargo space than 80 percent of all small SUVs, not to mention 40 percent more cargo volume than the standard Prius. Not a bad selling point.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen has seen a surge in the sales of its diesel-powered vehicles, especially the compact Jetta SportWagen. Already a known quantity when it comes to design, style and practicality, the SportWagen TDI is also the only non-luxury diesel-powered wagon currently available.

Despite a lower profile that would seem to indicate otherwise, the Jetta SportWagen's interior capacity and seating accommodations are nearly identical to those of the plus-sized Prius V. With all seats occupied, the Prius V's luggage compartment is larger by just 0.4 cubic feet over the Jetta. With the second row folded flat, the Prius' advantage is only 1.5 cubic feet.

Fuel Economy
As we said earlier, official EPA fuel economy data has yet to be released for the Prius V, but Toyota estimates it will deliver 44 city/40 highway and 42 combined mpg. Our results nearly validated the "combined" figure with our own 40 mpg observed average over 919 miles.

The Jetta SportWagen TDI is officially rated by the EPA at 29 city/39 highway and 33 combined mpg. As expected, the gasoline-electric hybrid Prius V is more efficient around town, and the turbodiesel Jetta wagon is (nearly) as efficient on the highway, earning just 1 mpg less than the Prius V's 40 mpg. Even after absent-mindedly combining our notoriously thirsty track-testing day with normal driving, the Jetta still managed to earn an average of 31 mpg over 536 miles of mixed driving.

Fuel economy aside, there's no denying the chasm that lies between the Prius V and Jetta SportWagen's widely divergent powertrains — and the driving impressions each provides.

In the Jetta SportWagen TDI, torque is the overriding sensation. Torque (and gearing) is what makes a car feel "light" or "peppy" as it leaves a stop. The VW's 2.0-liter turbodiesel makes a maximum 236 pound-feet of twisting force from 1,750 rpm, or about 50 percent more "shove" than the Prius V's maximum of 153 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm. Consequently, the Prius V feels slow nearly all the time, while the Jetta SportWagen never feels underpowered, even on hills.

Two Very Different Transmissions
Another contributor to the very different personalities of these two wagons comes from the two different transmissions. Volkswagen's ultra-slick six-speed DSG automated double-clutch manual transmission (with Sport and Manual modes) does an amazing job of keeping the engine engaged with the driver's intentions and requests. Quick and nearly seamless upshifts are as good or better than a traditional automatic transmission, and the elimination of the torque converter lends a real sense of response and connectedness.

When it comes to the Toyota, there's no getting around the odd sensations produced by its continuously variable transmission (CVT). The Prius is always trying to balance economy with performance, and it's often stuck in the middle. This is in part because the transmission is constantly blending power from two different sources, which results in a "rubber-band"-like power delivery.

On the highway, the Prius V often produces a constant-rpm drone that's off-putting and relatively loud. In fact, it's louder than the Jetta's turbodiesel under wide-open-throttle conditions by 2 decibels. At rest when the Prius literally shuts off, and at a 70-mph cruise, the Prius is, indeed, quieter.

In a Straight Line
Neither of these fuel sippers could be considered quick. Our test-driver's best results illustrated that in a race to 60 mph, the Jetta SportWagen TDI is quicker by 1.5 seconds with a time of 8.8 seconds. Neither one is what we'd ever call anything other than an economy car, but the Jetta SportWagen clearly comes out ahead.

During 60-0-mph panic stops, the Prius V had a slight advantage, with a 129-foot stop to the Jetta's 132-foot best performance. Further, the Jetta SportWagen's brakes weren't as resistant to heat, so distances grew to a greater extent with repeated stops.

In terms of typical braking sensations, the Jetta's hydraulic-based system responds to pedal pressure and travel in traditional analog fashion. In another demonstration of the blending of two systems, the Prius V's brake-by-wire system often feels vague and non-linear as the computer attempts to utilize both mechanical disc brakes and electricity-generating "regenerative" brakes in the most efficient manner.

Through the Turns
To its credit, Toyota has made noticeable progress with each generation of its hybrids in terms of their drivelines, steering and braking. In fact, this largest-to-date Prius V rides better and steers with a much more natural feeling than any previous version, but that's a pretty low bar to jump over.

Where we once criticized the Prius for a ride that felt simultaneously too soft and too tippy, with steering that offered little feedback or feel, the 2012 Prius V feels relatively buttoned down. Still, it's nowhere near as refined or confident as the Jetta SportWagen when it comes to overall handling.

Perhaps because of its larger footprint and more predictable responses, this Prius V fractionally outpaced the last Prius hatchback we tested in the slalom (with a 59.5-mph average) despite both Prii having non-defeat electronic stability control (ESC) systems.

The Jetta SportWagen TDI (also with non-defeat ESC) ran through the same 600-foot course with immeasurably more poise and assurance at a significantly higher average speed (4.2 mph faster at 63.7 mph), earning it a "Good" track rating from the test-driver. In terms of maximum available grip, both cars were ESC-limited to an artificially imposed fast walking pace, both orbiting our skid pad with between 0.74 and 0.76g of lateral acceleration.

Value and Break-Even
Because we don't have official pricing for the Prius V wagon as of this writing, company representatives would only assure us trim-level pricing patterns will follow those of the Prius hatchback. With that, Toyota did not convulse when we proposed $27,500 for our 2012 Prius V Three test car.

It has been our experience that when comparing gasoline-electric hybrids to either fuel-efficient gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicles, we have observed roughly a 5-to-8-year break-even point. This time, however, the time frame has narrowed — due in part to fuel costs and in part to vehicle prices.

Inputting estimated fuel economy values into Edmunds.com's Gas Mileage Savings Calculator, we discovered that despite what appears to be a rather large 9-mpg difference and a relatively small $635 price variance, it would still take about 2 years to recoup the higher initial cost of the Prius V (assuming 1,250 miles driven per month at a cost of $3.75/gallon for fuel). However, add more miles driven and/or increase the price of fuel, and the calculator will produce results that increasingly favor the Prius V.

The Winner
We understand the rationale behind the Prius V wagon. It's a natural progression from the smaller hatchback, and quite frankly we wonder what took Toyota so long to bring it to market.

That said, the Jetta SportWagen TDI is simply more rewarding to drive in nearly every situation. Modern turbodiesel engines do not rattle, smoke or smell, nor are they inherently underpowered or slow. You don't have to go to truck stops to fuel them anymore either. Today, turbodiesels offer an undeniable alternative to hybrid-powered vehicles that, while providing a slight advantage in terms of fuel efficiency, also are rife with intrinsic concessions in terms of driving dynamics.

We know it sounds like we've beat this drum before, but the Jetta drives, looks and simply behaves more like a "regular" wagon. Call us crazy, but when we press the accelerator, turn the steering wheel or even want to manually select a gear, the Jetta SportWagen actually goes, turns and shifts like we expect. It's something you can't see in the numbers, but you feel every time you're behind the wheel. So as this rivalry goes, score another round for the diesel.

The manufacturers provided Edmunds these vehicles for the purposes of evaluation.