The long-awaited Volkswagen Golf VI appears to be the latest victim of downsizing due to soaring fuel prices. According to the company’s powertrain research division, the next Golf could play host to a range of engines with lower displacements or fewer cylinders.
The Golf VI is expected to break cover at this year’s Paris Motor Show in October and, although the engine line up has not yet been confirmed, a range of twincharged engines looks set to feature in the new car.
Volkswagen’s recently released 1,4-litre ‘TwinCharger’ (TSI) engine looks a likely candidate for service in the next-generation Golf. With 110 kW and 240 N.m of torque on tap, this motor already does brisk service in the company’s Tiguan compact SUV. However, if what VW’s powertrain research manager Wolfgang Seiger says is true, there could be an even smaller TSI unit on the cards for the Golf VI.
In an interview with , Steiger made mention of a 1,2- or 1,0-litre TSI unit developing 55 kW. This draws something of a parallel with news of a 64 kW TSI unit for the upcoming Audi A1 supermini displacing 1,2-litres. Steiger also speculated that Volkswagen may even consider developing a three-cylinder powerplant to move the new car further from the clutches of upcoming emission laws and fuel price hikes.
Such developments should help curb Volkswagen’s fleet CO2 emissions in Europe, along with the company’s range of Bluemotion vehicles which utilise revised engine management systems, enhanced aerodynamics and low resistance tyres to achieve better fuel economy and lower CO2 outputs. There is also talk of Volkswagen developing a diesel-hybrid Golf capable of returning just 4,0-litres/100 km
