Volkswagen Golf 2008 News

Australian car-makers have never quite grasped that many of us no longer live on quarter-acre blocks with white picket palisades in suburbs straight from Neighbours.But style, luxury, comfort and even performance needn't be sacrificed at the altar of practicality or forsaken in the pursuit of greenness.Only a decade ago, Volkswagen's Golf was considered a small car, but the current model is quite big enough for a family mobile.Beneath that, there's an emerging class of diminutive but dynamically pleasing, usefully spacious and (of increasing importance) eco-friendly city cars.It's the segment that shows less in terms of horsepower really can be more in terms of liveability and sustainability. In terms of luxury, too: you can downsize but up-spec - and cut quite a figure when you do.When a car weighs not much more than a tonne, low fuel consumption and low emissions are pretty much guaranteed.The Citroen C2 and C3 won't win any traffic-light derbies, but they do tick both those green boxes and the less tangible - but just as important - one marked “style”.In terms of reliability, it's said there's no such thing as French without tears, but it's hard not to be enamoured of the chic siblings.Our selections would be the C2 VTS with 1.6-litre petrol engine or the C3 Hdi with super-frugal, 1.6-litre turbo diesel (both from $23,990).The latter variant would also be the overwhelmingly popular choice in Paris.Italy gave the world the original city car, designed to provide affordable personal transport while being able to park on a postage stamp. It was the Fiat 500.The reborn, and instantly iconic, Fiat 500 fulfils that brief as a chunk of retro chic that's also fun to drive.Our choice is the top-spec Lounge variant, priced from $25,990 with a perky 1.4-litre petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual. If the 500 doesn't raise a smile, you probably don't like sunny days, either.There's also the option of a robotised manual transmission with auto-drive mode. It dispenses with both a clutch pedal and the emission spikes that occur when you change ratios in a conventional gearbox.And, with seven airbags, the ESP-equipped top models in the 500 range have better crash-safety credentials than a Falcodore.The Honda Jazz has been around longer than any other car mentioned here but, in several respects, it remains the benchmark for city cars.Honda's build quality is world-leading; the Jazz's space, practicality and economy are class-leading.Although a small engine combines best with a manual gearbox, it's equally true that changing gears for yourself is a dying art.So try the range-topping VTi-S with continuously variable transmission and 1.5-litre powerplant at $22,920.In the next-size-up Civic range, Honda offers a petrol/electric model which has been submerged beneath the decidedly eco-unfriendly mountain of print devoted to Toyota's Prius.The Civic Hybrid ($32,990) is massively cheaper than the Prius and at least looks like a car rather than a self-conscious eco-statement.Anyone who equates Hyundai with its old $13,990 drive-away-then-chuck-it-away days is labouring under a mighty misapprehension.The new Hyundai i30 has won car-of-the-year awards both here and in Europe (where this, the best car ever built in Korea, was designed).The 1.6-litre diesel-powered models take it up to just about any supposedly more prestigious European equivalent you care to name.The name of our preferred variant, the SX CRDi (from $21,490, plus $1500 for the safety pack) is the only clunky thing about it.More Australians spent their own money on a Mazda3 last year than on any other car. It's the fourth-best seller overall but, unlike the top three, there are no fleet sales among them.Sales-wise, the newer, next-size-down Mazda2 will run its bigger brother close this year. And so it should, being, if anything, an even more convincing package.Diminutive in stance but capacious within, cute to the eye but perhaps the best-driving car here, tolerably rapid but easy on fuel and easy to park, the Mazda2 Maxx (from $18,710) is the ideal city car. Nor will it fall short when freeway trips are required.Frankly, it's brilliant - and a cheaper, lighter, more efficient coupe version will arrive in Australia shortly.Look out also for the Peugeot 107, due mid-year. It will slot under the 207's entry-level ask of $19,990.If you remember the Top Gear episode in which a game of five-a-side football was played using Toyota Aygos, the 107 is the same car, made in the same factory, but with different badges.Actually, it's cars like the 107 and the Fiat 500 that make us look askance at Smart's ForTwo (from $19,990).Yes, it's very clever, but Sydney isn't yet Turin, despite the epic ineptitude of the RTA and our Roads Minister.Besides, you've got an allocated parking space downstairs. So why go without a boot and back seats?Toyota's Yaris shows how a small car can fit a family, although you really need to ignore the base models and go straight to the YRX (from $20,790).Of course, it's the Prius that gets all the attention in Toyota's range; as such, it's the world's most successful automotive marketing exercise.Granted, the hybrid-powered Prius uses staggeringly little petrol in the city, but on the open road we'd take a diesel such as Volkswagen's Polo Match TDI ($22,990). 

The Golf TDI Hybrid uses a diesel engine returning 3.35 litres/100km and 89g/km of CO2. The hybrid combines an advanced diesel engine with an electric motor and the latest generation of seven-speed DSG gearbox. Around town, the Golf TDI Hybrid reverts to purely electric mode to be emission-free. At the core of the new Golf is a highly efficient 1.2-litre three-cylinder common rail TDI diesel engine developing 100kW and 180Nm of torque. Working either in tandem with the diesel engine or, if required, on its own, is an electric motor developing 20kW and 140Nm of torque. The electric motor also replaces the conventional starter motor and alternator to save weight and improve packaging. It can also operate as a generator, recovering kinetic energy from the car during braking to charge the 220-volt, 45kg nickel metal hydride battery which has a capacity of 1.4kW hours. In practice, the electric motor powers the vehicle from standstill with the diesel engine only engaging should additional acceleration be required or at higher speeds. In these situations the diesel engine takes over with the electric motor only working if required to supplement the combustion engine – for example, during overtaking manoeuvres. When at a standstill the diesel engine shuts down completely to conserve fuel and increase efficiency. Drive on the concept car is channelled through the new seven-speed DSG twin-clutch gearbox. This features a pair of dry clutches as opposed to wet (lubricated) clutches and sets a new energy efficiency standard for automatic gearboxes. Visual changes which differentiate the Golf TDI Hybrid include a new grille design, smaller front air intakes to reduce aerodynamic drag and subtle TDI-Hybrid badging. The Golf TDI Hybrid also sits lower than the standard Golf on revised suspension and adopts the front splitter from the Golf GTI Edition 30 to help further reduce aerodynamic drag. The interior further distinguishes the Golf TDI Hybrid from the conventional vehicle. The Golf TDI Hybrid is a concept vehicle, but a version is likely to go into production in the future. This study follows the recent launch of the efficient new Golf BlueMotion. Adopting an optimised 1.9-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine linked to a revised gearbox and more efficient aerodynamics the Golf BlueMotion can achieve a combined 4.4 litres/100km, while emitting just 119g/km of CO2, meaning it will be exempt from the London Congestion Charge from October 27 onwards.  

The Swiss show this week turned a significant corner, brushing aside traditional glitz and glamour to tackle the more sombre environmental issues.The show's displays confronted visitors with the speed and breadth of low-emission vehicle development.The change that is sweeping Europe and is relentlessly marching on other markets, including Australia, is spurred by consumer demands for low-emission cars and future European legislation that will dramatically curtail exhaust pollutants.Ford Europe's vice-president for environmental affairs, Wolfgang Schneider, said there was a global move to reduce emissions and create energy independence through minimising the use of fossil fuel.But rather than make hybrids, or wait for fuel-cell vehicles that use hydrogen, European car companies are seeking less radical and less expensive options.“The mainstream solution is to take conventional technology and turn it green,” he said.“Consumers want what they have now — cars that are well priced, have sporty driving manners, are comfortable and affordable to run — but they want to be environmentally aware. More importantly, they don't want to pay for it.”Ford released its new Fiesta small car that emits less than 120g of CO2 for every kilometre, the future legislated threshold proposed by the European Union.“We can do this by using current engineering — that is, to reduce the vehicle's weight, make the car more aerodynamic, and use low-friction lubricants,” Dr Schneider said.“The Fiesta, with 99g/km, equates to a fuel economy of 3.8 litres/100km. As long as we can get these low emissions and low fuel consumption by existing technology, the less need we have to rush into building hybrid vehicles.“If we decide on a hybrid, it will immediately add about $6000 to the car's price. Customers won't pay that.”Ford in Europe also offers one Flexifuel version which runs on biofuel for every model. But the pick-up is poor compared with diesels.Volvo, which sits under the Ford umbrella, offers biofuel models, but believes high-efficiency diesels are the best option.Volvo chief Steven Armstrong said his company would soon offer a high-efficiency version of its C30 three-door hatch that emits less than 120g/km.He said it was also developing a plug-in electric C30 version.The battery is charged by plugging the car into a power source, usually overnight. The battery runs four electric motors, each within the wheel hubs.When the battery runs low, a small four-cylinder, ethanol-fuelled engine is automatically started to run a generator to recharge the battery.Volvo insists that the power source to charge the battery must be sustainable, preferably solar or wind-generated.“We will have a hybrid of the XC60 (a small SUV released this week and expected in Australia later this year) in 2010 and other hybrids may follow,” Mr Armstrong said.“Hybrids are great for the city where there is low-speed operation, but we believe that an efficient diesel is far, far better for the environment.“We will have an XC60 diesel with 170g/km CO2 on the market within 12 months.”Many manufacturers at the Geneva Motor Show displayed diesel-fuelled vehicles that use an ammonia-based liquid that results in extremely low emissions of nitrogen. Companies such as Mercedes-Benz call it BlueTec.But it's not on the way to Australia, certainly not this year.Volkswagen has a similar system called BlueMotion that could be here as early as late 2009.Volkswagen showed a concept diesel-hybrid that it claims will consume only 3.4 litres/100km.One further way many car makers are minimising fuel consumption and reducing emissions is by offering models with smaller engines.This “downsizing” is being adopted by Volvo (it has a two-litre, four-cylinder engine option for its S80 luxury sedan) and Ford (1.6-litre engine for the medium-size Mondeo).The legislation on emissions will come into force from January 1, 2012.However, the rush to clean up the current fleet of cars is also being pushed by new US emission legislation that will come into effect about the same time as Europe.When introduced, both sets of legislation will affect the vehicles available to Australian buyers. 

According to the Oxford University Press, even a highly-trained sprinter will take at least 10 hundredths of a second to react to a starter's pistol, and the best the rest of us can do is 14-16 hundredths of a second. So when Volkswagen says the DSG gearbox which is an option on its Golf GTI hot hatch can change gears in a mere 3-4 hundredths of a second, you have to wonder: why would I want to change gears more quickly than my brain can tell my muscles to push the button?Quite simply because it feels great!Since the first driving lesson in a manual car we've all tried to improve our gear changes from the early days kangaroo-hopping across an intersection to mid-life's journey home with the kids asleep in the back after dinner. For those of us who want to drive well, it doesn't stop there.If you're half-serious about your driving, you try to improve the speed and fluidity of 'transitions' - the way your car shifts its centre of balance forward under braking, backward under acceleration, and sideways under cornering. Performance driving instructors will tell you mastering smooth transitions will save you much more time around a racetrack than accelerating harder. Every hundredth of a second your gearbox spends in neutral leaves you less time to get the power on or off and get the car trimmed for the next corner.Car manufacturers know that a good automatic transmission can deliver better performance and economy than the manual equivalent, but they also know that many of us can't live with leaving the gearchange decisions to the car. So since the beginning of the 20th century they've been trying to build a better gearbox that combines the best of automatic and manual transmissions.There is now such a proliferation of 'flappy paddle' and 'sport shift' transmissions on the market that I've done some further research on the topic that you can read later (and probably disagree with me on definitions and technologies - feel free to add your opinion.)When Volkswagen were kind enough to loan me a Golf GTI fitted with DSG for a week, I fell so deeply in love with its gear changes, I emptied the petrol they'd filled it with and refilled it twice on my own dime. For someone who lives only 8km from the office, and considering I averaged 15-16L/100km that's a lot of driving in one week.With the exception of getting stuck behind a semi on the famously twisty bits of Buckety's Way - no fault of the Golf's - I had a big, stupid grin plastered to my face the whole week.  I'm no stranger to flappy paddles - my wife drives a Mini Cooper S fitted with Mini's 6-speed sequential transmission (because I like technology and my wife prefers not to have a clutch pedal.) Sadly, the DSG makes the Mini's changes seem clunky and slow. I miss DSG.DSG mates two sets of cogs and two wet multiplate clutches with a computer that is calculating which gear you'll select next. One clutch has your current gear, and the other clutch has your next gear ready and waiting, so the moment you flick the flappy paddle, you change gear. At three hundredths of a second it happens three times as fast as your brain can tell your hand to tap the paddle.Leave the gear lever in Drive and the DSG behaves like the kind of velvet transmission you'll find in a big Lexus. The smoothness comes from the sophisticated computer timing each shift to perfection and the handing over from one already-spinning cog to another instead of the engine spinning up for a moment while a single clutch finds the next gear.Push the GTI's gearshift over to the left from Drive and the DSG will now accept your input before its own. If you want to hold a gear a little longer, DSG will let you. If you forget to change yourself, DSG will still step in to keep things smooth, but it will wait for your input first. You have the choice of wheel-mounted paddles or pushing the gearshift forward and back, so you really have no excuse for forgetting.The fun really starts when you push the gearshift one slot further down, into Sport mode. Now DSG will assume that you're here to optimise your weight transfer and carry as much speed as is safe from one transition to the next. It lets you hold a gear up into the red zone, and skip as many gears as you need to under heavy braking. You'll automatically receive a satisfying 'blatt' from the sports exhaust too, without any of that fiddly heel-and-toe business you'd need to do with a manual car.All good sequential gearboxes provide this sort of functionality, but where DSG stands alone is in the smoothness and speed of its changes. There's really nothing like having the neutral moment of a transition over with in three hundredths of a second. Shuey's familiar with it, a Ferrari, Maserati or Lamborghini owner will know how it feels, but other than that the only way to experience this is in the $58,790 Golf R32 or $72,000 Audi TT Coupe.You might not beat any of them to the corner at the end of the main straight, but you will certainly look like a track star when you carve out of the last apex in a series of tight bends. DSG's computer-controlled double clutch will flatter and complement your input every time.What's the downside of DSG? The good news is that despite a 20kg weight difference, you're unlikely to notice any difference in driving dynamics over the manual. Considering all the extra technical gubbins under the hood to make it work and the fact you're essentially driving with two gearboxes connected at the waist, that's no small achievement. The DSG version lists at $2,300 more than the manual, but considering even a DSG-equipped GTI is still only $42,290 RRP, it's still the best-value European hot hatch in its class on a bang-for-buck basis. You could spend around $3,000 getting leather, or a sat nav, or a sunroof and metallic paint...Nah! If you're a real hot hatch driver, what you really want is the ability to change gears twice as fast as you can think.

Alpine (pronounced Alpeen) was the name of the French manufacturer of racing and sports cars who used rear-mounted Renault engines, reminding car buyers of Renault's rallying and GP heritage.Renault Australia communications manager Craig Smith said he was excited by the prospect."I haven't seen anything official on Alpine but I'd imagine it would be attracting quite a lot of interest in the UK,” he said."Too early to say what, if anything, we'd do with it here.”The two-seater hatch goes on sale in Europe about 2010, targeting competitors such as the Mazda RX-8, Honda Type R, VW GTI and Nissan 350Z, but will cost less. It is expected that the car will be the forerunner of a series of models with the Alpine badge.Testing of the running gear is being carried out in a Megane body at Germany's famed Nurburgring race circuit.The new Alpine is expected to be powered by a small turbocharged petrol engine with every chance it will be mid-mounted.

The world's biggest motor show is weeks away, yet the car companies are already scrambling over each other to release clues about their exhibits.Among the highlights of the 62nd Frankfurt International Motor Show are cars made out of bamboo, a boxer diesel engine and yet more “urban crossover SUVs.”Mitsubishi Motors Corporation will unveil its Concept-cX compact SUV at the show.Concept-cX uses interior trim materials made from bamboo and other plant-based resins.The concept is powered by a new high-output, high-efficiency 1.8 litre diesel engine, featuring a variable geometry turbocharger for optimum boost control and a diesel oxidation catalyst with diesel particulate filter, and Mitsubishi's new twin clutch sport shift transmission.Dodge will also launch a crossover wagon, called Crew, which hits Australia late next year.The seven-seater is based on the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring sedan platform but with all-wheel drive and powered by 2.4-litre petrol and 2-litre turbo-diesel engines.The Crew looks like a shrunken Chrysler Voyager people mover, but with a longer nose and higher ground clearance.It will be built at Chrysler's Toluca plant in Mexico with production due to start in December.Subaru will use the show for its biggest new model blitz yet.Leading the line-up will be the new Impreza five-door hatchback in its 1.5 and 2 litre naturally aspirated formats, which arrives in Australia the same month.Other Subarus on show include an Impreza-based World Rally Car Concept, facelifted Tribeca luxury SUV with more efficient 3.6-litre boxer engine and five-speed auto, new Justy one-litre supermini and the world's first horizontally opposed boxer turbo-diesel engine, due to be progressively installed in models from early in 2008.Mazda will debut its Mazda6, the second Mazda new generation product to evolve to the next stage following the new Mazda2.Although Australia is yet to see the Kia cee'd five-door, the Korean company will debut its new sporty three-door Pro-cee'd, the third model in the family of cars designed for Europe and made in Slovakia.Only the bonnet and the front wing panels are carried over from the five-door model.Volkswagen will revive the 'people's car' with a concept Beetle.It is called the City Expert because The Beetle name has been taken by the more expensive new-generation car.The City Expert goes back to Beetle roots with a rear-mounted, flat-four boxer engine and a cheap price tag.VW will also reveal six new models with BlueMotion diesel technology, including the new Golf BlueMotion claiming economy of 4.5 litres/100km down 0.6-litres from the previous model, and CO2 emissions down 16g/km to 119g/km.Range on a 55-litre tank is now more than 1200km.Peugeot's 308RCZ concept will give a big hint towards a future body style for the 308 family.The ultra-light 2+2 coupe uses aluminium, polycarbonate windows and carbon fibre body parts and is powered by a 160kW 1.6-litre twin-scroll turbo jointly developed by PSA Peugeot Citroen and BMW.Renault will show a wagon version of its Clio mini.The Clio Sport Tourer will go on sale in Europe early next year.Mini is also on the bandwagon with the return of the Clubman van.The five-door model has double rear doors and a suicide door on the driver's side.The suicide door, which opens the opposite way, is designed to allow passengers easier access to the back.It would make more sense on the other side, but clearly the former British car now owned by BMW is designed for left-hand-drive markets with the blinkers also on the left.Ford will show its Kuga crossover all-wheel-drive probably powered by a range of petrol and turbodiesel engines, including the 2-litre 100kW/320Nm TDCi that has just appeared in the Focus.The Kuga is based on the Iosis X concept unveiled at last year's Paris Motor Show.In a surprise move, Suzuki will show it's expanding from small cars and SUVs into the family market.Their Kizashi family car looks mean with a massive black grille, sloping lamp clusters and low-level fog lamps.Also looking mean is Saab's 9-3 Turbo X which will rekindle the spirit of the 1980s Saab 900 Black Turbo.It will feature Cross-Wheel Drive allowing torque to be split to either side of the rear axle via an electronically limited slip differential, based on information from the stability and traction control systems.However, the show-stealer is likely to be seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher when he unveils the Ferrari 430 Scuderia, a lighter and faster development of the existing 430 coupe and convertible.Power is up to 380kW, weight is down 100kg and the F1 transmission has new software that cuts shift times to 60 milliseconds. 

The brain's logical left lobe would probably dictate a highly specced and relentlessly reliable Japanese model.The riotous right side might love something Latin.Call it a feeling from the gut, then, but some part of you simply must have a badge featuring either a blue-and-white roundel or a three-pointed star. Or even four rings.Never mind that they're almost always over-priced for the package on offer and about as suited to Australian roads as Beethoven to a Shannon Noll audience, but we seem unable to get enough of the wares offered by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and increasingly, Audi.Which is just as well, given that there will be releases from all three marques this month.June marks the opening salvo of a second-half-of-'07 product offensive on three fronts, using every type of armament at the makers' disposal; from diesel hatchbacks through high-end sports machines to ferociously powerful SUVs.In popular terms, the most significant of these is the new-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class.The W204 series arrives next month with the four-cylinder Kompressors, V6 petrols and two diesel models.A six-cylinder purchase gets you a seven-speed auto transmission, but the fours make do with five speeds.Hard to say where the pricing will sit at this point, though a slight increase on the current model is possible.A more dynamic driving experience is promised, something to which Merc's Agility Control system is central.Indications from the world launch in Spain are that Mercedes' best-selling product has achieved that stated aim within a veneer of sexier, or slightly less conservative, styling.Of course, this launch took place on European roads, not our Australian tarmacs.The vastly improved new Smart fortwo coupe and cabrio arrive in November, to the delight of at least several hundred people.Between then and now, though, comes something altogether more potent.The ML 500 SUV and R 500 MPV cop a 285kW V8, up 60kW on the hardly deficient current version.These should be among us by early October, along with a 320 CDI model of the S-Class, marrying the marque's superb V6 diesel to its luxury limo.BMW fires two shots; one small-calibre, the other medium, from its locker this month.The One Series evokes mixed reactions but a coupe version is due next year and the five-door hatch receives a new four-cylinder diesel engine, minor inside and out facelifts and mechanical upgrades for greater efficiency.The updated Five Series gets new front and rear bumpers, restyled headlights and tail lights with LED.Better yet, it gets a quicker-shifting six-speed automatic tranny, controlled by the electronic gear selector from the X5 off-roader.The 530i Sedan and Touring gain 10kW of power and 15Nm of torque for totals of 200kW and 315Nm, and smarter 0-100km/h times throughout the range.New Seven Series Executive and Sport models arrive next month, but the lip-smacking becomes deafening in the fourth quarter with the new M3 coupe.Forsaking the straight six, this fourth-gen M3 packs an all-new, 309kW/400Nm V8 of four litres.Driven by the rear wheels (of course) through a six-speed-manual, it promises acceleration to 100km/h in only 4.8sec.The M3 is billed as the first production vehicle in its segment to feature a carbon fibre-reinforced roof; an innovation to save weight and lower the centre of gravity.Audi's counter-offensive begins next week with the local release of its S3 hot hatch and a ragtop version of the TT. Expected to outsell its hard-hat cousin, the open TT dispenses with the coupe's comedy back pews, increasing its boot space.Nor does it command an unreasonable premium over the coupe, with the front-drive 2.0 TFSI starting at $77,500, the V6 quattro at $92,900. But the roadster's sole transmission is the manual-matic S-tronic.No such pandering for the S3, which unites a creamy six-speed manual with quattro. And how all-wheel drive is needed.Hosting a rebuilt and “up-gunned” version of the VW Golf GTI's two-litre, direct-injection turbo four, the S3 can call upon a V6-daunting 188kW and 330Nm. At an estimated $65,000, it will come in cheaper than the top-whack, but decidedly lesser, A3.If the S3 is a genuine Q-car (there being little to visually distinguish it from Audi's milder hatches), there's no denying the latest Q7.Due in November and priced from $124,000, the already imposing SUV packs a turbine-like 4.2 TDI, a turbo diesel dreadnought that generates 240kW at 3750rpm and a warping 760Nm between 1800 and 2500rpm.As Wagnerian as it is, its thunder may be stolen as early as October. Not so much by the A5 and S5 (touring coupes with Walter da Silva style and nice engine notes) but the R8 sports car.Though it will be priced in the region of $270,000, you won't be able to buy one for ages, even if you have the readies.Audi has been taking orders for the instantly desirable, mid-engined V8 quattro two-seater since it was unveiled at last year's Sydney Motor Show.That car evokes a profound response from a region lower even than the gut.