Volkswagen Scirocco and eco-tech at Geneva

By Ben Pulman

First official pictures

28 February 2008 11:29

Volkswagen will show off the new Scirocco and a Golf TDI Hybrid concept at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show next week. The Scirocco will come with four engines, in TDI and TSI forms, ranging from a 1.4 TSI (120bhp) to a 2.0T (197bhp). Adaptive chassis control will also be available, and prices are expected to be slightly more than the equivalent three-door Golf.

CAR Online will bring you the first pictures of the Scirocco on Monday night, but until then you’ll have to make do with details of VW’s eco-friendly announcements. The company went green with envy at the 2007 Frankfurt show when Mercedes rolled out 19 fuel efficient cars. Now it’s VW’s turn to prove it’s a friend of Mother Nature.

The VW Golf Hybrid

The Golf TDI Hybrid concept is claimed to achieve a staggering 83.1mpg. It can run on electric power only, while a seven-speed DSG gearbox is tuned for better fuel consumption and emissions. Don’t expect to see the system in this generation of Golf, though: the Mk5 Golf will become Mk6 at the Paris Motor Show later in 2008.

What else will Volskwagen show off?

Also on display will be a 148bhp Passat Estate TSI EcoFuel which runs on natural gas. The gas-fuelled TSI engine will reach production before the end of 2008, in both Passat saloon and estate forms.

VW will also show a Bluemotion version of its Sharan MPV. The 13-year-old car will apparently achieve 45.6mpg, hardly stunning when the regular 1.9-litre diesel will do 43.5mpg. The Sharan Bluemotion is, however, based on the 2.0-litre TDI, and betters that car's 42.8mpg and CO2 emissions (177g/km to 159g/km).

There will also be a Golf Estate 4Moition with four-wheel drive at Geneva, and the Passat CC will also make its European debut.

CAR Online will be reporting live from the Geneva Motor Show all next week, so make sure you check make each day for the latest news and new metal

Volkswagen group goes crossover crazy

By Georg Kacher

Spyshots

25 January 2008 09:49

Volkswagen is about to launch a slew of small crossovers – led by the Audi Q1, Skoda Yeti and VW Polo SUV. The joint Cayenne/Touareg/Q7 project has been seen as a success, so the Germans are repeating the plan with a family of smaller 4x4s. Skoda’s baby mud-plugger will arrive first in 2009, followed by the Audi Q1 a year later and the Polo SUV in 2011 - but all our eyes are on the baby Audi.

Ingolstadt reckons that up to half of the 200,000 A1s it plans to build a year could be the tall-roof, four-wheel drive baby off-roaders. Whereas the Yeti and Polo will be sold as five-doors, Ingolstadt’s junior mud-plugger could be sold in sporty, three-door-only trim.

Audi is talking about prices from £16,000 to £20,000, on the Continent at least – pitching it squarely against the upcoming Mini Crossman (which has been delayed so many times that pessimists believe it may never materialise), the Land Rover LRX and a potential Volvo XC30.

Audi is planning a narrower range of engines for the Q1, with only two displacements: a 1.4 petrol four (in power outputs spanning from 122 to 170bhp), and a 1.6-litre common-rail diesel (from 80 to 130bhp). All engines will be offered with six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG twin-clutch gearboxes. As previewed on the A1 concept car in Tokyo, the Q1 will eventually be offered as a mild hybrid.

Audi Q1: the looks

Visually, the Q1 is tipped to follow the theme set by Q5 and Q3. The trick is to ensure sufficient differentiation between the three model lines and to establish a strong visual link to the base models, in this case the A1. So the number of doors, the position, width and angle of the C-posts, the relation between grille and headlamps, the plan view and the proportion of the overhangs will all echo the A1 premium supermini.

Expect a coupe-type roof, a tall windowline and a minimalistic greenhouse. There may be a five-door version, and design chief Wolfgang Egger’s team are pondering a shooting brake theme (check out the A2 Open Air and Steppenwolf concepts).

Audi’s electric future?

By 2015 at the latest, all Audis will switch to electrically operated brakes. In a parallel development, the Ingolstadt R&D wizards are working on electric wheel hub motors which may one faraway day put the conventional internal combustion engine out of work.

How about unsprung masses, you ask? Well, Audi has already patented a new inertia-neutralising suspension concept which is said to cure this problem at speeds higher than 30mph.

Audi and GM: similar ideas

The intermediate mild hybrid approach will in the Q1 feature a small diesel engine which drives a generator and thus the battery. This effectively means full-time electric propulsion, a solution remarkably similar to GM’s E-Flex idea. Highlights include electric launch and complete cycle brake regeneration with engine-off under a trailing throttle.

Volkswagen Routan show debut

By Ben Pulman

First official pictures

07 February 2008 14:38

Volkswagen’s Routan minivan is here, with European-inspired style for the US masses. Based on a Chrysler Grand Voyager the Routan is over five metres long and will use the American car’s engines.

In standard form the Routan will be powered by a 3.8-litre 194bhp V6, mated to a six speed automatic ‘box. If you want more grunt then there’s a 4.0-litre V6 with 248bhp and 259lb ft.

But while the engines are American asthmatics, Volkswagen is claiming the suspension is European-tuned. Quite how far such purported tweaks will go towards correcting the woeful driving experience of the Grand Voyager remains to be seen.

What is definitely American is the cupholder count. Volkswagen is claiming a frankly ludicrous 13, and all for less than $25,000 (sub-£13,000). And for such a paltry amount of cash you also get ESP, dual sliding electric doors and an electric tailgate, and touch-screen sat-nav. To keep the kids happy there are two nine-inch headrest-mounted screens, and to keep an eye on the kids there's a conversation mirror.