Yet another special edition has popped up, and this one, from Volkswagen, is meant exclusively for the Australian market. It’s called the Tiguan 132TSI Pacific, and helping to distinguish the vehicle as a SE are a host of comfort and convenience items as standard fitment.

Among the items in the kit bag are Park Assist 2, auto dimming rear view mirror, dual zone climate control, vanity mirror with lighting for driver and passenger, automatic headlight sensors, coming-and-leaving home function, rain sensing wipers and front fog lights.

VW Australia has four engine variants of the SUV on call, but the one that has been chosen to wear the Pacific tag is the 177 hp 2.0 litre TSI, which comes equipped with a six-speed manual transmission and 4MOTION all-wheel drive as standard, though there’s the DSG box available as an option.

Volkswagen will assemble “Semi Knocked Down” (SKD) units of its Transporter and Multivan vans in Indonesia. Both based on the current T5 platform, the vans will be for the local market. Indonesia is ASEAN’s most populous country and people carriers are the most popular choice of vehicle there.

The T5 Transporters and Multivans will be built at Volkswagen’s Hanover plant in Germany before being transported to its SKD Center in Bissendorf/Wedemark nearby. Here, the vehicles will be partially disassembled and before making the long journey to Jakarta via Hamburg. At the destination, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ partner Indomobil/Garuda Mataram Motor will pay duty on the SKD units before piecing back the vans.

“We are very pleased that this successful and trusted partner is now also assembling our models for this growth-oriented market. This ensures the product quality which Volkswagen customers are accustomed to, and which they expect from a premium product like the T5,” said Jens Ocksen, Member of the Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles for Production.

A hassle yes, but the duties and taxes saved over bringing in a fully CBU car from Germany must be worthwhile. VW plans to assemble around 220 T5s this year, and the first vehicles will be delivered this month. Do you think a Hyundai Starex type of Volkswagen passenger van will work in Malaysia?

You’ve seen the cool Volkswagen E-Bugster earlier, now here’s something less exciting but nearer to the showrooms, the Jetta Hybrid. The Jetta’s zero-flair bodyshell now houses a hybrid powertrain which marries a 150 PS/250 Nm 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine to a 20 kW electric motor.

Together, the combo delivers around 20% better fuel consumption over an equivalent petrol-powered Jetta (19 km/l) and decent performance – 0-100 km/h takes less than nine seconds.

Like the Touareg Hybrid, the Jetta is a parallel hybrid, using a decoupling clutch that can disengage the petrol motor for pure electric drive (or when coasting or braking), disengage the electric motor (for higher speeds or when the battery charge is low), or combine the two units for maximum power. Power is directed to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch DSG gearbox

Using electric power alone, the Jetta Hybrid can be driven at speeds of up to 70 km/h and over a distance of 2 km, depending on conditions. For maximum performance, both the TSI engine and the electric motor combine for peak power of 170 PS.

A lithium-ion battery supplies energy to the electric motor. It is located behind the rear seat bench, making no compromises on interior space. The 38.5 kg pack is made up of 60 individual cells, and together they produce a nominal voltage of 220 V and an energy capacity of 1.1 kWh.

Cooling is provided by an integrated fan, operated by the battery’s own management system that performs diagnostic, monitoring and safety functions, including disconnecting itself in an accident.

If the battery has enough juice, the Jetta Hybrid is switched to electric drive mode either automatically (at speeds of up to 60 km/h) or at the press of a button next to the gear lever (up to 70 km/h).

When the driver releases the gas pedal at higher speeds (up to 135 km/h) the TSI engine is decoupled, reducing drag torque losses. Under braking, it switches to battery regeneration mode. At higher speeds, or when the battery is depleted, the engine provides extra power to recharge the battery.

Despite the extra weight of the battery, motor and extra safety mods to the vehicle structure, the Jetta Hybrid weighs only 100 kg more than the non-hybrid sedan at below 1,500 kg. Externally, the Jetta Hybrid can be identified by aero mods including a new front spoiler, a rear diffuser and a rear spoiler that help to improve the car’s Cd value by 10%.

With a 1.4-litre engine, the Jetta Hybrid qualifies for Malaysia’s tax incentives for hybrid cars – will this be the first non-Japanese hybrid player in our market? Read our review of the Jetta 1.4 TSI here.

In a move that should hopefully unshackle the idea that work has to follow one home, Volkswagen has agreed to stop sending emails through Blackberry devices to its workers in Germany after working hours.

According to reports, an agreement was reached between the company and its labour representatives that will see the email function being deactivated at night for the 1,154 pay-scale employees at VW’s six plants in Germany who have a smartphone device furnished by the company.

These workers will only receive e-mails from half an hour before the start of flex-time working hours until half an hour after they end, but will still be able to receive and make phone calls. Board level execs will however continue to receive emails via their Blackberry devices.

The move came about following complaints from employees that being reachable all the time blurred the lines between work and home life as well as heighten the risk of burnout. Needless to say, the response to the decision to deactivate e-mails at night has been very positive.