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VW Golf 1.4 TSI
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| Forced induction is a wonderful displacement replacement - lots of power without having to have a bigger, more powerful engine. But Turbocharger or Supercharger, which is best? Now, thanks to VW you no longer have to make that choice. | |
| Thanks to turbochargers and superchargers you can get avoid the need for a large capacity engine, by getting more out of (or more correctly putting more into) a small capacity one. And most car enthusiasts will have pondered and studied the relative merits of an exhaust driven Turbo vs a belt driven blower. | | | Hands up all those who thought it would be possible to fit both to one engine at the same time. Not many of you then, and we admit that the idea would never have crossed our minds either; not in a million years. | | | But those clever people at Volkswagen have done just that with their new TSI engine: is it a Turbocharger, is it a Supercharger; no, it's both. And once you see what they've done, it's obvious really. | | | Turbochargers have the disadvantage that they take a while to spool up because they depend on exhaust gasses to drive them, and Superchargers are driven by belts which sap power from the engine. So why not use a belt to get the thing going, but once the power starts to flow, let the Turbo take over. | | | The end result is an engine which delivers 167 bhp @ 6,000 rpm and 177 lb ft of torque right across the range from 1,750 rpm through to 4,750 rpm, and which does all this efficiently. With some manufactuers starting to shy away from high performance engines (for very good reasons) the development of an engine that's both powerful and efficient is great news for petrolheads, and the planet. | | | In the Golf, the engine's performance translates to a 0-60 time in less than 8 seconds, together with a combined fuel economy of 38.2 mpg. Compare that with the much lighter Golfs of yesteryear, and you'll see that it's a pretty fine compromise. C02 rating for the new Golf is 175g/km which translates to a tax band of 22%. Short of going down the high performance diesel route, you're not going to find that kind of performance in many other vehicles without paying a lot more for fuel, or else paying a lot more tax if you're a company car driver. | |
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Other Information
| A new Mini Cooper S will be seen by the public for the first time at the Paris Motor show in September 2006. | |
| Ford's new Ka is due to arrive in the UK in 2008, and early indications are that it will be a popular new release. | |
| Toyota are said to be developing mind reading devices for inclusion in future models of their cars, and these will be used to adapt your car's settings according to how you are feeling. | | | But don't expect to your Celica, MR2, Avensis or Corolla adjusting itself to your mood any time soon. | |
| Hyundai have facelifted their popular Coupe once again, and it looks good. | | | The 'Korean Ferrari' has changed shape several times in its life and not always to the customer's liking. However, this latest revision, which will be on sale towards the end of 2006 looks great; the lines are leaner and meaner with a relatively agressive look from the front. | |
| Yet another peformance car built on the Golf platform will be available from early 2007 in the shape of the incredible Audi S3. | |
| A Californian Company (Tesla Motors) have developed a 100% electric version of the Lotus Elise with input from the Norfolk company. And before sports car enthusiasts switch off, thinking that electric cars are slow and boring, the new car is claimed to have a 0-60 time of about 4 seconds! | |
| UK Performance specialists Ralliart have released a 366bhp variant of the current Mitsubushi Lancer Evo. | |
| VW have stepped up the ante in the value for money stakes with their Blue Motion Polo; the new model is capable of over 72mpg and has a C02 rating of 103g/Km. | |
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