Many say that the Mk6 Volkswagen Golf GTI is “just a Mk5” with a facelift. It’s not; there are subtle but significant differences, as we’ll discover throughout this report – but even if it really is just a facelift, is it that bad considering the Mk5 GTI was such as great performance car, one that re-energized the hot hatch segment and revived the legendary GTI lineage?
Continue reading the review after the jump.
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The Chevy Camaro is one of the most desirable (and well known) American cars on sale now, and the genius who penned its exterior design has left General Motors – to join Volkswagen. South Korean born Sangyup Lee has recently resigned from General Motors to be Chief Designer of Exterior at the Volkswagen/Audi Advanced studio in Santa Monica, California.
Lee leaves after 10 years at GM. Besides designing Bumblebee, his work also included the 50th Anniversary Stingray concept and had a hand in the C6 Corvette. Lee’s tenure included several international postings such as the Camaro production program for Holden Australia; a joint venture program for Subaru and GM in Japan; and a project between Bertone and GM in Italy where he developed the 2004 Buick Velite Concept car. The Velite project established the signature look of current Buick products.
With this, can we now expect bold, chunky and muscular designs to come out from VW/Audi’s US studio?
The UK market will get a new entry level Volkswagen Scirocco next year. It will be powered by a 120 bhp version of the 1.4-litre TSI engine which packs in 200 Nm of torque. Next step up is a 158 bhp/240 Nm version of the same engine while the just launched in Malaysia Scirocco GT comes with a 197 bhp/280 Nm 2.0-litre engine.
The entry level Scirocco comes with a six-speed manual gearbox. 0-100 km/h acceleration takes 9.7 seconds before reaching a 200 km/h top speed. Claimed average fuel consumption is 15.6 km/l.
The equipment list is still pretty good: a six-CD changer with iPod preparation, auto lights and wipers, 17-inch Donington alloys, ABS, ESP and six airbags are standard. Adaptive Chassis Control (ACC) is optional.
I have sampled this engine before in a Mk5 Golf with seven-speed DSG, and it performs much better than the modest figures suggest. No GTI style kick in the back acceleration, but there’s very little turbo lag, it pulls strongly from low rpm and is smooth and refined. In real world performance terms, it should have no problems matching 2.0-litre saloons.
It’s unlikely that this variant will make its way here, but here’s hoping that Volkswagen will bring in 158 bhp 1.4 TSI versions of the Mk6 Golf and Scirocco to lower the entry price of these very desirable cars.
Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, SEAT, Skoda, Volkswagen, Scania, Porsche, MAN and Suzuki. These are the automotive brands (passenger and commercial) linked to the Volkswagen Group. 12 so happens to be the magic number that Volkswagen board chairman Ferdinand Piech said he would like the group to have in number of brands before they call it a day. None of the brands are standalone motorcycle makers currently.
Since Suzuki isn’t officially majority owned by Volkswagen yet, technically it isn’t a brand yet. But 19.9% is more than 0%. So when the announcement came out, a lot of us assumed that it would be hard for Proton to be linked up with Volkswagen again anytime in the future. And now the latest is that Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn told a German magazine that he does not see any need for any further Merger & Acquisition activity after taking up a stake in Suzuki.
His exact words – “There are some who knock on our door. Some really want to come under our roof as they see we’re on a good path strategically. But we are satisfied with the current line-up.” As for the 19.9% stake in Suzuki, he says time will tell whether Volkswagen will increase that number.
Much like how BMW has M-Sport bodykits, Lexus has F kits and Mercedes-Benz has AMG sport packages for alot of its models, Volkswagen is expanding its range of “R-Line” designs with the latest kit you see here – the Passat CC R-Line. The R-Line package can be applied to any variant of the Passat CC and the package starts from 2,200 Euros for the Passat CC 2.0 TDI with the 6-speed manual.
The R-Line package includes a new front spoiler, side skirts, a three-spoke leather steering wheel, and four aluminium tread plates with R-Line logos on the front plates. When you opt for the R-Line package you also get front fog lamps and the Park Pilot system, which is basically a parking distance control system.
That’s a real must in a car like the Passat CC as the roofline kinda reduces rear and rear three quarter visibility, but the good news is our Malaysian spec Passat CC comes standard with the system and it even has a reverse camera.
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Volkswagen has started production of the B-segment Polo hatchback at its 110,000 capacity Chakan plant in Pune. Early cars will have 50 per cent local parts and VW targets 80 per cent localisation in the next three years. The supermini is set for a January 2010 launch at the India Auto Expo.
VW currently plays only in the premium segment with its new Beetle, Passat and Jetta sedans, Phaeton limo and Touareg SUV. The five-door Polo is a move to penetrate the mass market and increase market share. In India, the Polo will compete with the Hyundai i20, Maruti Swift and the Tata Indica Vista, among others. Next year will see the introduction of the Ford Figo (a refreshed previous gen Fiesta), a new version of the Nissan Micra and the Chevrolet Beat to this class.
It would be a tad bit disappointing if the only thing that the Golf R had over the GTI in terms of looks were the different bumpers. The good thing is that’s not true – the Golf R has upgrade headlamps and tail lamps.
The new tail lamps are smoked and has outward curving lines going through them – you can see what I mean in the photos above. Each “angle” consists of 11 LEDs, and they border a centre LED dot. There are a total of 48 LEDs in this design. Being lit with LED, they respond faster to activation and can light up about 0.2 seconds faster than a conventional lightbulb, which is equivalent to 5.6 meters of braking distance when you are at a speed of 100km/h.
On the front end you get bi-xenon headlamps with dynamic cornering lights, which turn according to your steering angle. They also adapt according to your car’s speed, for example up to 35km/h the lane boundary on the driver’s side is illuminated brighter.
The good news for buyers of the Mk6 Golf GTI here in Malaysia is that these new headlamps and tail lamp can be ordered as an optional upgrade for your car. Volkswagen Malaysia has confirmed that they are able to bring it in, and upon order an estimated delivery time would be in about three months, though if you’re lucky it could possibly be sooner. No Malaysian prices yet but in Europe, the headlamps will cost you 1,295 Euros and the tail lamps will cost you 350 Euros.
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The funny-looking little gizmo you see above is called the “Snakey” and it is sold by the Volkswagen Accessories division. Volkswagen says the Snakey will help keep your car organized so you won’t have to chuck your coat or bag on the seats or something like that.
All you have to do is remove your headrest and slide Snakey onto the headrest struts. Then refit your headrest. Snakey is made of expandable and resilient material and is good for up to 2kg of weight. No worries – if Volkswagen ever takes over Proton, you won’t have to wonder if future Proton models will continue coming with teh tarik hooks!
The idea for this product was born out of the design forum that Volkswagen Accessories regularly organises in collaboration with the design faculty of the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.Young design students get a chance to demonstrate their creativity, to get thinking about automotive-specific subjects and problems and to transform these thoughts and possible solutions into concrete product ideas.
The tale of the hungry giant called Volkswagen continues! Days after acquiring majority stake in Porsche, Wolfsburg has announced the purchase of 19.9% of Suzuki for US$2.5 billion. The deal, which is billed as “a comprehensive partnership” will also see the Japanese manufacturer invest up to half of the sum received into buying VW shares. This cross buying arrangement sounds similar to the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Both companies will establish a cooperative relationship while respecting each other’s independence as a stand-alone entity, says VW.
“In terms of product portfolio, global distribution and manufacturing capacities, VW and Suzuki ideally complement each other. The strengths of each company make for a perfect fit in exploiting their respective advantages as well as rising to the challenge of the global market. Both parties are focused on achieving synergies in the areas of rapidly growing emerging markets as well as in the development and manufacturing of innovative and environmentally friendly compact cars,” the press statement reads.
This partnership has real potential to upgrade the standard of motoring in developing markets. Think about it; Suzuki is a small car expert and VW is among the best in making efficient, frugal and clean drivetrains, and the merger of these qualities could bring about a revolution greater than the Tata Nano.
Conveniently, Suzuki is the market leader in India with its Maruti brand and VW is deep rooted and hugely successful in China, so both sides have something great to offer the other. We reckon that the fruits of this marriage will be really sweet – how about a Maruti up! or a next gen Swift Sport with a 1.4 TSI engine?
German tuner Wimmer RS has unveiled this 386bhp Mk6 Volkswagen Golf GTI, which it describes as a “weapon”. By adding a new turbo and intercooler, tweaks to the intake, exhaust and manifold, a modified fuel pump and opening up the TSI engine for major surgery (new injection valves, piston rod, ECU update), the Solingen based outfit also managed to massage 455Nm of torque from the GTI’s EA888 motor, which in stock form produces 207bhp (210PS) and 280Nm of torque.
We certainly agree with the weapon description – Wimmer RS’s innocent looking GTI could potentially wipe out not only other sports cars, but its driver as well! The standard GTI is already a very fast car with urgent acceleration and we can’t imagine how the tuner can channel those newfound horses to the tarmac, through the front wheels. Max speed is now 267km/h (from 240km/h) but amazingly there’s no mention of uprated brakes! Of lesser consequence is a height adjustable coilover suspension set and Motec Antares wheels wrapped with Dunlop Sport Maxx GT rubber.
How much is too much? When your car is harder to tame than a rodeo bull! We’re trying to get a test unit of the Mk6 Golf GTI (in standard form, of course) so stay tuned for a test drive report!
