Showing posts with label volkswagen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label volkswagen. Show all posts
Monday, August 26, 2013
Volkswagen comes with a plug in hybrid

The Volkswagen Golf Plug-in Hybrid is currently explained in detail during a presentation in Germany. The exact details will follow, but underneath the Volkswagen Golf almost identical to yesterday unveiled Audi A3 E-Tron.
That means a 1.4 TSI engine with 150 hp with a 102 hp electric motor. The combined power is 204 hp, torque is 350 Nm. The Audi A3 consumes 1.5 l/100 km CO2 emissions 35 g / km) in the Volkswagen Golf that will differ little or nothing.
The car can only electricity or only on the internal combustion engine drive - or a combination of the two. As I said, we get a quick update on the Golf Plug-in Hybrid. He will anyway in Geneva at the stand of Volkswagen stand.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
2012 Volkswagen Passat Review
2012 Volkswagen Passat Review
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As with other Volkswagens, the Passat has light-effort steering whether you get the gas engine, which uses hydraulic power steering, or the diesel, which has electric power assist. For a big sedan, body roll is well-controlled. All versions of the Volkswagen Passat have the same suspension tuning, but wheel sizes range from 16 to 18 inches.
Volkswagen expects most Passat buyers to choose the 170-horsepower, 2.5-liter inline-five-cylinder engine, which is new to the Passat for 2012.
My five-cylinder test car had an optional six-speed automatic transmission (a five-speed manual is standard). I actually liked it better than Volkswagens dual-clutch six-speed automatic, which is optional with the diesel engine (a six-speed manual is standard). The five-cylinder Passat gets an estimated 21/32 mpg city/highway with a manual transmission and 22/31 mpg with the automatic. The power difference narrows at highway speeds, but the diesel still feels a little stronger. The Volkswagen Passat has grown some with its redesign — 4 inches in length, half an inch in width and half an inch in height — but the cabin feels substantially roomier than the outgoing Passat.
The 2012 Volkswagen Passat will be larger, roomier, and less expensive than VWs previous midsize sedan, with fuel economy ratings up to 43 mpg Highway and decidedly conservative styling.
VWs new factory should deliver considerable cost savings, and the company promises a base Volkswagen Passat price of about $20,000. Indeed a larger vehicle, it measures 191.7 inches bumper to bumper, on a wheelbase of 110.4 inches. Thats about four inches longer the old Volkswagen Passat. The front seats in the base car have multiple adjustments, with standard lumbar control. While VW hasnt published interior dimensions, most of the Passat extra length and longer wheelbase translate to a noticeable increase in rear seating space. The 2012 Passat will be offered with two different gasoline engines. High-line Passat can be equipped with VWs compact, 3.6-liter VR6 six-cylinder engine (280 hp, 258 lb.-ft.), matched with the companys 6-speed dual-clutch DSG automatic. VW expects an EPA rating of 28 mpg Highway with the VR6.
The mileage king in the new Passat range will be powered by the only diesel engine available in its class. The 2012 Volkswagen Passat will be available across the U.S. by late fall 2011Not Volkswagen. Despite the deepening global recession, VW is forging ahead with a new U.S.-built midsize sedan designed for the heart of the American car market.
It may seem foolish to pursue a multimillion-dollar project in a deteriorating economy, but the 2012 Volkswagen America is a carefully calculated risk. VW has finally clued-in to a big reason for the long-running U.S. success of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, which are not only built locally but also customized for this market, whereas most VWs have been resolutely Euro-centric.
For starters, the 2012 Volkswagen America will be priced between todays midsize Passat and VWs compact Jetta, but will be larger than Volkswagen Passat.
Labels:
2012,
passat,
review,
volkswagen
Saturday, July 6, 2013
New Car Review 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid
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| The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid whispers its green credentials rather than shouting them. |
The de-gimmickification (give me until this afternoon to make a Wikipedia entry) of hybrid vehicles has been a tricky thing. As we noted in our review of the Toyota Prius C, the vast majority of hybrid buyers seem to want to call attention to themselves. The "big" (compared to the Prius C) Prius has attained a good chunk of its best-seller status by being instantly identifiable as a "green" vehicle. Honda, a strong candidate for major player with the environmentally sensitive, has struck out with its hybrid offerings thus far, the Impact and CR-Z being too small to be practical and mainstream and the Accord and Civic hybrids having been virtually invisible...looking for all the world like regular Accords and Civics with "hybrid" badges on them...never mind what was under the hood and what wasnt coming out of the tailpipe.
So its a huge surprise to this writer that Volkswagen, out to conquer market share in leaps and bounds, has taken the Honda Civic approach with the Jetta Hybrid.

Like the Hondas, youll never know the Jetta Hybrid is a Hybrid unless you get close enough to read the very discreet badge on the trunklid or catch the subtly different aero grille in your rearview mirror.
And once at the wheel, theres very little to tell you youre in something different...its quiet when rolling on pure electric power, but thats a novelty that wears off fast. Within a day or two of our week and 600 or so miles, I was forgetting this was a hybrid. They even make the proof of performance a "look if you want to" type of thing.

Front and center in the instrument cluster? No, thats too flashy...the whiz-bang animations showing how much fuel youre saving and how little youre polluting share space with your audio and nav systems. Youll forget its even there.
Theres really only one reminder that this Jetta is a hybrid...its fuel economy. The EPA estimate is 42 MPG city/48 MPG highway and for all the controversy these days over cars not meeting their numbers, the Jetta Hybrid we drove did.
The price? Well, hybrids always cost more, and compared to a stock Jettas under $20K price tag, the $26,999 base price for the Jetta Hybrid is a jump, but VW has gone out of its way to bump up the value equation...making its nicest interior appointments standard equipment. And that makes the car very complete. All that was added to ours was a first aid kit and the delivery charge. Bottom line: $27,820. Which undercuts most of the Priii weve driven lately by anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000.
The Jetta Hybrids a fine piece. Itd be on our short list if we were in the market for a hybrid. Lets hope for them that VW can find a thus far untapped market of green folks who dont need to shout about it with styling.
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