Ever since Volkswagen admitted it rigged more than 10 million diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests by temporarily adjusting their performance, owners have wondered what will happen when the automaker's forced to recall their vehicles and "fix" the problem.
VW has said most of the affected cars will just need a software update, presumably so the engine always runs the way it does during EPA testing, and always meets emission standards. That's bad for drivers, because to meet NOx emissions standards, the cars in test mode sacrificed some fuel economy and performance.
To figure out precisely how "cheat mode" changed those numbers, Consumer Reports hacked its way into a 2015 Jetta TDI and 2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDI, tricking them into thinking they were being tested by the EPA, then put them on the track.
According to CR, both cars added less than a second in the 0 to 60 mph time. The Jetta saw fuel economy drop from 53 to 50 mpg, and the Sportwagen went from 50 to 46 mpg.
Fortunately for owners, those aren't dramatic changes. But that's unlikely to stop the lawsuits or potentially crippling penalties that are coming for VW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUPnAA_Y3XI&feature=youtu.be
