Jeremy Bass•27 Jun 2013
NEWS
Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion ruled out for Oz
The 3.2L/100km BlueMotion variant is the leanest Golf ever, but won't be coming hereVolkswagen has announced its most fuel-efficient Golf ever with the pending launch of the mark VII TDI BlueMotion variant.
Rated at just 3.2L/100km and 85g/km CO2 on the combined driving cycle, the new model posts a 15 per cent improvement over its predecessor’s 3.8L/100km and 99g/km. It outstrips by a considerable margin its Golf 110TDI counterpart (4.9L/100km), Toyota’s petrol/electric Prius (3.9L/100km) and MINI’s Cooper D (3.8L/100km).
The new car’s 81kW 1.6-litre TDI four is good for 250Nm peak torque from 1500-3000rpm, getting it from zero to 100km/h in a claimed 10.5 seconds.
Modifications differentiating it from its standard 2.0-litre TDI counterpart include low-friction piston rings and cam bearings, exhaust gas recirculation and a heat management system remodelled to hasten it up to operating temperature. The water-pump helps conserve energy by operating only on demand.
To help cut particulate emissions, the Golf BlueMotion VII’s catalytic converter includes nitrous oxide storage, while the particulate filter is installed as close to the engine as possible, maximising efficiency by getting them while they’re hot.
The new BlueMotion’s manual gearbox gets an extra cog, with the six-speed Golf VII gearbox modified with a taller top gear and new, low-viscosity oil.
Volkswagen has lowered the chassis by 15 mm, almost closed the grille and partially closed the lower air inlets, reducing cooling airflow from maximum to optimum. Underfloor panels and a subtle roof spoiler all work to the greater good, providing the VW a 0.27Cd drag coefficient, which is close to slippery leaders like Toyota’s Prius (0.26) and Benz’s just-superseded E Class (0.25). Weight reduction measures have pared 49kg off the car.
It also gets the efficiency suite Volkswagen has rolled out across the entire Golf VII lineup: auto stop/start, brake energy regeneration and low rolling resistance tyres.
European pricing will start at around $31,000. Unlike its predecessor, however, the new Golf TDI BlueMotion won’t be making these shores.
“We’ve just launched a Golf lineup that already employs much of the BlueMotion technology, so the new cars are already extremely economical,” Volkswagen Australia spokesman Karl Gehling told motoring.com.au.
“Even though it was quite competitively priced [$28,990 plus ORCs], the outgoing model didn’t sell in sufficient numbers to add the new one to our rationalised lineup. We’ve worked to simplify things, and past the upcoming wagon, GTi and R variants we’d rather keep it that way.”
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Written byJeremy Bass
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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