Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 7spd DSG

Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 7spd DSG

How much?	£15,982
On sale in the UK:	Now
Engine:	1390cc 4cyl petrol, 120bhp @ 5000rpm, 148lb ft @ 1500-4000rpm
Transmission:	Seven-speed dual-clutch, front-wheel drive
Performance:	9.4sec 0-62mph, 121mph, 47.8mpg, 139g/km CO2
How heavy / made of?	1226kg/steel
How big (length/width/height in mm)?	4204/1759/1513

If you subscribe to the theory that more is better, then you’ll like this. VW has just announced the latest version of its groundbreaking DSG dual-clutch gearbox with seven gears instead of six. It’s designed for smaller engine cars of up to 168bhp and 184lb ft torque, leaving the original six-speed launched in 2003 for the heftier end of the range.

The new DSG will be available first as an option on the Golf 1.4-litre TSI (driven here) and it boasts two world firsts. Not only is it the first seven-speed gearbox on a transverse engine, but it’s also the first dual-clutch gearbox with dry, instead of wet clutches like its sister, the six-speed. This means the clutches run freely in air instead of struggling in an oil bath and that’s better for both power and fuel economy.

So what’s it like to drive?

Surprisingly good. If this were a manual gearbox, it would probably be a nightmare with just too many gears, each drive becoming a melee of stick-stirring and fumbled starts in traffic. But with an automated manual, there’s no problem. You can either shove it in fully auto and let the computer take the strain. Or you can use the selector lever or wheel-mounted paddles to shift manually as before.

Handling this many ratios with a paddle shift is somehow more intuitive than with fewer gears and a conventional stick. It’s hard to know which gear you are in at any given time - but so what? You make the choice based purely on feel and the sound of the engine.

It’s fast too. Flick the paddle with the throttle drilled to the mat and the DSG swaps one pre-selected ratio for the other like you’re flicking a switch. There are both Drive and Sport modes for fully auto, Sport holding onto the gears a little longer letting the engine work harder. Good fun on the twisty mountain test route near Barcelona.

So the seven-speed DSG is better than the six-speeder?

Not obviously. Blatting a number of existing six-speed DSG Golfs around a test track for comparison proved one thing: the seven-speeder doesn’t shift noticeably quicker. But a wider spread of gear ratios gives a lower first gear for better acceleration away from the line, and decent overdrive to save fuel when cruising.

There’s a natty hill start function too. Pull up on an incline and the brake stays on until the throttle goes down, making hill starts easy but also protecting those internal clutches from excess wear through driver abuse. VW claims both the clutches and the oil in the ‘box are good for the life of the car which is more than you could say for a conventional manual clutch.

Would you want one?

What’s not to like? Back in the day, automated manuals were slow and turgid - but not any more. This one betters the six-speed for economy by a healthy 6 percent, dropping from 44.9mpg to 47.8mpg and hammering CO2 emissions down from 149g/km to 139gm/km on this 1.4 TSI engine.

On average, the seven-Speed option will cost £1300 more than a manual. It’s a tempting choice on the basis of the fun factor alone but if you’re hankering after an auto to offset those rush-hour blues, this one’s a no-brainer.

CAR's rating

Handling

Performance

Usability

Feelgood factor

Readers' rating

Volkswagen Transporter 2.5 TDI Sportline

Volkswagen Transporter 2.5 TDI Sportline

How much?	£27,169
On sale in the UK:	Now
Engine:	2469cc five-cylinder, 172bhp @ 3500rpm, 295lb ft @ 2000rpm
Transmission:	Six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Performance:	12.2sec 0-62mph, 117mph, 44.8mpg (at 56mph), na g/km CO2
How heavy / made of?	1903kg/steel
How big (length/width/height in mm)?	5290/1904/1969

Always had a sneaking admiration for the A team? Need to carry loads of clutter? Then you need Volkswagen’s latest Transporter, dolled up with the mean ‘n’ broody Sportline specification and one of the most powerful diesel engines in all vandom. The result is a quick and versatile jack of all trades – it’ll lug the kitchen sink by day and give the Mondeos and Vectras hogging the outside lane a fright by night.

VW takes the regular Transporter and adds body-coloured bumpers and door handles, newly chromed grille, bling side rails and a cheeky rear spoiler. In Hannibal Black, it all looks strangely similar to BA Baracus’s company wheels. The Sportliner runs on 18-inch six-spoke alloys, sitting 30mm closer to the ground thanks to lowered Eibach springs. Faintly ridiculous on a van, or the acceptable face of builders’ wheels? You decide.

How quick is it?

That 2.5-litre five-pot has oodles of strong pull. You’ll easily keep up with traffic even when fully laden, thanks to a hefty 295lb ft of twist. It’s quiet at a sixth-gear cruise, but there’s plenty of turbo whoosh when you prod the throttle. It’s so flexible, there’s little need to change gear, but when you do you’ll appreciate the high-up gearlever and easy, slick action.

Those 235/50 R18 boots provide plenty of grip, and the Sportliner rides as well as any other van we’ve driven. You won’t hurtle it around like a Golf, but neither should you if you care for your cargo.

Is the Transporter comfy?

Parts-bin fans will enjoy spotting the provenance of the familiar VW group dials and switches that litter the dashboard. It’s all easy to use, and there’s decent seat adjustment (so often lacking on vans) on the three-abreast front pew. Because the engine is refined at a cruise, you can even hear the stereo without making your ears bleed.

There’s generous stowage for phones and wallets and the like, although we kept pinching our hands when we used the handbrake lurking down low too near the front seats. Our press demonstrator was loaded up to the gunwales with leather trim, reversing sensors and other toys, but there’s no escaping its workaday roots. The Transporter is still built for lugging, not outright luxury.

Guess it’s sensible, too?

VW has great pedigree in commercial vehicles, so it should come as no surprise that the Transporter is as practical as old boots. Take your pick between the regular and long-wheelbase versions, the latter adding an echoing 400mm between the axles. Both have a generously wide loadbay and a large, sliding side door that makes loading a doddle. The split rear doors are huge, too.

With a payload of just over a tonne and a load area approaching 3000 litres, you can move house in one (we did) and there are lashing points galore to keep everything tied down. The only glitch we came across was the painted floor that scratches all too easily when lugging heavy furniture around. Nothing a loadbay floor cover wouldn’t fix, mind.

Verdict

The Transporter range has something for everyone. We drove the top-spec sporty one, but you can pick it as a panel van, window van, people carrier and single- or double-cab bodystyles, in two lengths and three roof heights. There’s even a 4motion available. The 2.5 TDI we drove was by turns rapid and relaxing, depending on mood. Who said vans were boring?

CAR's rating

Handling

Performance

Usability

Feelgood factor

Readers' rating

Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDi

Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDi

How much?	£20,500
On sale in the UK:	February 2008
Engine:	1968cc four-cylinder 16v turbodiesel, 138bhp @ 4200rpm, 236lb ft @ 1750-2500rpm
Transmission:	Six-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Performance:	10.5sec 0-62mph, 116mph, 39.2mpg, 189g/km CO2
How heavy / made of?	1590kg/steel
How big (length/width/height in mm)?	4430/1810/1670

Why is VW so late to the 4x4 party?

Blame management, complicated model cycles and just about every other excuse under the sun. And speaking of the sun, those countries from the land of the rising sun have been doing the medium-sized 4x4 thing since the mid-1990s. Toyota launched the Rav4 over a decade ago, let's not forget. Only this year have we seen offerings from Europe: Vauxhall’s Antara has just arrived, and we’re still awaiting the Ford Kuga and Renault Koleos. Now VW are plugging the small 4x4 hole in their line-up with this, the Tiguan. No, not Touran or Touareg, but Tiguan.

So if you’re late to the party you bring something special, right?

Well yes and no. Nothing stands out as spectacular but tardiness does mean that the Tiguan gets the latest Haldex four-wheel-drive system. The system no longer needs to register wheelspin to engage the four-wheel drive. In general driving conditions about 90 percent of the torque goes to the front wheels but it can momentarily go 100 percent rear drive. There’s also what VW calls APA, which is short for axle parallel steering. It’s VW’s latest electro-mechanical steering that auto adjusts to compensate for crosswinds and camber, and also reduces kickback should you ever leave the tarmac. But perhaps the highest accolade we can give the Tiguan is that with the right equipment, right colour and a nice set of wheels, the new VW will exude enough street cred to challenge the BMW X3. It’s a soft-roader you can pose in, then.

VW is famous for platform sharing - so what’s under the Tiguan?

A little bit of everything all rolled into rolled one. The base platform is Golf, but there’s Passat front and rear suspension, Phaeton brakes, and that new Haldex four-wheel drive system. There are two different set-ups. The Track & Field trim level comes with a 28-degree front approach angle, as opposed to other models' 18-degree one. Thankfully VW hasn’t compromised the majority for the sake of a minority: this off-road spec model looks a little ungainly. Opt for the Trend & Fun or Sport & Style trim, and the car looks better. Such names also give a clue to the Tiguan’s target audience.

So what’s it like to drive?

There’s nothing stellar in the chassis department but it all works very well. The compliant ride is excellent, especially compared to the BMW X3. It’s even more remarkable when you consider that our test car ran 18-inch wheels. What those wheels also help to do is provide lots of grip and traction. The steering has no feel and no real feedback, but it would be more of a shocker if such a car had any. But it means the car is stable during high-speed cruising. It also stays neutral in fast sweepers, and only understeers in tighter turns. The BMW X3 is ultimately more entertaining than the VW, and while it’s more powerful, don't forget it’s also around £8000 more expensive.

So if the Tiguan uses a Golf platform, does that also mean Golf engines?

But of course. Initially there will be only the 148bhp TSI and the 138bhp TDI units. The TSI unit is a 1.4-litre with a supercharger and a turbocharged, and bests the Rav4’s 2.0-litre petrol’s 143lb ft with 177lb ft from 1750 to 4000rpm. Early next year, two new 2.0-litre TSI powerplants will be added, as well as a 168bhp 2.0-litre TDI. Our test car was the 138bhp diesel with 236lb ft from 1750rpm to 2500rpm. It’s now common-rail as opposed to VW’s old pump-duse item, and is thus quieter and cleaner. But throttle response isn’t as instant and it misses the old sledgehammer oomph that made previous TDIs such fun. If you hang on for the higher power diesel just remember that you can’t have it with the six-speed auto.

Golf underneath, Golf interior?

It’s close, because the cabin started life as a Golf Plus. It’s fairly compact so you sit upright, but it’s still comfortable. It is a truly decent bit of kit. The (optional) leather is nicer than in a Nissan Qashqai or BMW X3. The driving position is better, the sat-nav is more intuitive, the rear visibility superior and even the fit and finish are ahead too. Fold the rear seats and the Tiguan has 1510 litres of space. In first gear, 1000rpm equals 4.2mph – a crawler gear, almost in line with a low range transfer case. Useful for going up steep stuff, then.

Verdict

Compromises don’t come much better than this, and apart from the slight increase in fuel consumption due to the four-wheel drive system, there’s little to fault the new Tiguan. It’s still compact for the school runs, but is beneficially bigger than the Golf Plus. VW might be late, but it’s been worth the wait. And if you can wait a little longer VW is readying electronic dampers for the Tiguan, plus you’ll be able to spec wider wheelarches and 19-inch chromed alloys. Bling bling. There’s also an R-line bodykit coming, and - should VW see the demand - a V6 and a 200bhp+ diesel.

CAR's rating

Handling

Performance

Usability

Feelgood factor

Readers' rating

Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDi

Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDi

How much?	£54,867
On sale in the UK:	Now
Engine:	4921cc V10, 310bhp @ 3750rpm, 553lb ft @ 2000rpm
Transmission:	Six-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive
Performance:	0-62mph 7.8sec, 140mph, 333g/km C02
How heavy / made of?	2602kg/steel
How big (length/width/height in mm)?	4754/1928/1703

The new VW Touareg? What's different?

Yes, true, the new-look front end is more of a tweak than a full redesign, but VW has changed 2300 individual parts in the new Touareg, including brakes, suspension, anti-rollover safety, and a front and side sensor system which tells you how much room you've got (or haven't) in tricky off-road situations. Or congested Chelsea mews streets… To be honest, FrontScan and SideScan, as VW calls it, was pretty useful as we blasted through tight Norfolk country lanes and squeezed down tight dirt tracks in search of deserted beaches. It's a bit like having parking sensors front and flank - the dash lights up and beeps when things get tight. A couple of feet, and the Touareg dashboard emits amber lights and gentle beeps. When the gap becomes Rizla-thin, it's like Def Con One.

It's a big car, then?

Honestly, you could live in the Touareg. There's acres of room inside and it feels fairly palatial, which is what you'd expect on £50,000-worth of car. It's 4.7m long, almost 2m wide and depending on which suspension you choose, around 1.7m high. VW claims that the Touareg is one of the lowest-profile 4x4s in its class, but it certainly doesn't look any lower than its rivals. And it weighs a whopping 2602kg. Castles weigh less. A good job the car we tested had a muscular V10 TDI engine to propel us.

The V10 TDI? That's a bit much in today's eco-friendly world, isn't it?

True enough, but what an engine! The V10 TDI is incredibly torquey and pulls like gravity. Considering its size and weight, the Touareg catapults forward in any of its six automatic gears when you boot the accelerator, leaving cheeky GTI drivers in its wake. The V10 TDI puts out 308bhp and 553lb ft, which makes it one of the torquiest powerplants out there. It feels fantastic, like you're surfing a wave of power that will take you past things, over things, and quite probably through things. But yes, it's a bit over-the-top in green terms. Okay, it has VW's Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), which traps some nasties before they escape through the exhaust. But five litres and ten cylinders, however efficient, isn't going to win any favours with Al Gore.

So the Touareg is thirsty, then?

Yes. Thrashing around the North Norfolk coast roads, we struggled to get 400 miles out of a tank - but it was stop-start twisty stuff. There are less thirsty, luxury, big-boot space options out there (not necessarily 4x4s). But compare it with rivals and a different picture emerges. Official figures put the Touareg V10 TDI at 22.4mpg - not bad compared withi similar-spec 4x4s such as the Mercedes ML55 (22.1), Porsche Cayenne Turbo (19.0) and Range Rover 4.2 V8 Supercharged (17.7). We're talking oil-baron territory here.

So who would buy one?

Posh farmers. Rich builders. People who want to pull something really heavy. Anyone who wants serious industrial-strength pulling power, but doesn't want the bling factor of big-power Range Rovers, Porsche Cayennes or Mercedes MLs. The Touraeg is stealth. The only giveaway is the little V10 TDI badge on the back - apart from that it could be just a 'normal' 4x4. But that strength may cap sales; why shell out Merc money on a VW? Yummy mummies, stockbrokers and footballers won't be interested.

Verdict

A highly-capable 4x4 that's great fun to live with owing to its fabulous engine. Incredible torque makes for an effortless long-distance, big-load cruiser. Big luxury inside. If you need to pull a yacht to the south of France but don't want to draw attention to yourself when you get there, this is the car for you.

CAR's rating

Handling

Performance

Usability

Feelgood factor

Readers' rating

Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion 1.4 TDi

Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion 1.4 TDi

How much?	£11,995
On sale in the UK:	Now
Engine:	1422cc 12v triple TD, 79bhp @ 4000rpm, 144lb ft @ 1800
Transmission:	Five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Performance:	12.8sec 0-62mph, 108mph, 72mpg, 102g/km CO2
How heavy / made of?	1084kg/steel
How big (length/width/height in mm)?	3916/1650/1467

If 4Motion means four-wheel drive, what’s this Bluemotion all about?

Nothing to do with four-wheel drive - or going fast. It’s Volkswagen’s ecological brand applied to the most efficient and economical models in each range, so probably should have been called Greenmotion. A Passat Bluemotion was unveiled at the Geneva show and other versions will follow.

So how green, sorry, blue is this Polo?

According to Volkswagen, it will manage 72mpg, 9 mpg more than the next greenest Polo. Which means that even though the tank only holds a modest 45 litres of fuel, you could realistically expect to cover 700 miles between fills. And the 102g/km of CO2 it produces makes it even less harmful to the environment than the hybrid Toyota Prius. To ram the point home, VW flooded Geneva with 102 Polo Bluemotions during the recent motor show.

What’s the secret?

No secret, just the same recipe Volkswagen used on the old 3.0-litre Lupo a few years back. That’s 3.0 litres per 100km in case you’d forgotten, not 3.0 litres of swept volume. So the Bluemotion uses the Polo’s existing 1.4-litre TDI triple, but adds a variable geometry blower to improve torque just above idle. The 3.0-litre Lupo used lightweight materials to cut weight but there’s nothing like that going on here, although the base model comes without air-conditioning and the kerbweight is a commendable 1084kg. The five-speed manual box features taller than usual gearing and the lightweight alloy wheels wear special low rolling resistance rubber that look uncannily like the Goodyear Polyglas crossplies fitted to late 60’s American muscle cars. Let’s hope they’re a bit grippier…

Presumably that flush grille plays some sort of part?

Yes - the grille, front bumper and rear lip spoiler are all the result of wind-tunnel work although the drag co-efficient can’t be that much different. Inside the Bluemotion receives unique seat trims and blue interior lighting and a multifunction computer to help you keep tabs on your fuel consumption.

Does it drive like a regular planet-killing Polo?

It’s certainly noisy, a mixture of wind and engine roar although no sound proofing has been removed. And the super tall gearing takes some getting used to, particularly as the engine doesn’t really start working until past 2000rpm. So you frequently find yourself needing a lower gear than you’d anticipated when entering roundabouts and rolling out of junctions. But once you work out how to get the most out of the engine’s 144lb ft, and the l-o-n-g gears by concentrating on the 2-3000rpm sweet spot, it starts to make sense. More sense than the 12.8sec 0-62mph time suggests, in fact. And thankfully those eco-warrior tyres aren’t as bad as they look and don’t just wash out into understeer at the first sniff of a corner. They actually contribute to the Polo’s supple ride.

And what about this Passat Bluemotion you said was unveiled at Geneva?

Fast it isn’t, which is no surprise given it’s powered by a 105bhp TDI engine. But it does do 55.4mpg and produces 137g/km of CO2. The best the next greenest Passat can do is 50.4mpg and 148g/km, but that’s what you’re stuck with for now because the Bluemotion version doesn’t arrive here until Christmas.

Verdict

At an estimated £11,500 when it arrives here in July (within £250 of an equivalent ordinary Polo TDI), the Polo Bluemotion is bound to find fans. But unless you’re hell-bent on minimising your carbon footprint, the sums don’t really add up. The difference in fuel bills between the 72mpg Polo Bluemotion and an ordinary 63mpg Polo TDI would be just £80 per year for the average driver, although company car users would save a few pounds on tax. It’s a good effort but it’s no miracle worker.

CAR's rating

Handling

Performance

Usability

Feelgood factor

Readers' rating