Skoda inspired by Volkswagen Golf February 23, 2010
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars , add a commentSKODA has just launched the Superb estate to the UK press, prior to its on-sale date this Friday (26 February 2010).
Much delight from me on a brief launch visit – particularly with the value, the space, the rear legroom, the prices, the lush ride and the sublime 1.8 TSI engine.
For under £19k, it’s an utter, utter bargain. If I had a growing family, I would have one – full stop.
During the drive, though, I was amazed to find yet more to love. (If you know me, or visit here on occasion, you’ll know I’m not kidding, either).
Yes. The Skoda Superb estate has an oil temperature readout. Just like on a VW Golf GTD.
Almost as good as that, the dials do a fancy full sweep when you turn the ignition key. Just like on a VW Golf R.
It also has a rechargeable magnetic torch in the boot, that will shine a bright-white LED for 2 days non-stop. This isn’t like a VW Golf at all. But is just as car geek-pleasing.
I’d get me coat, naturally. But I lost it in the Superb’s 1865-litre boot. Ahem.
Colour lightens weird journo mood
Golf R dials cool blue point February 12, 2010
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars , 1 comment so farVOLKSWAGEN made our jaws drop in the 90s with its blue and red dials.
The key to it was, yes, the blue background, rather than the red needles. Red needles? Pft. We’d had them for years – it was a proper old school sporting trick, up there with punched leather steering wheels. And shiny black bits for the dash. And strict adherence to primary colours for seat trims.
There’s reason to salute Austin Rover here, too. The Maestro bringing us illuminated needles made VW’s work of genius over a decade later all the more (ahem) illuminating.
By Lord, though, did the R32 cause my dropped jaw to fall off. Years after people had genuinely started buying VWs for the blue and red dials, VW gave us super-special dials for its superhatch. With, yes, BLUE needles! On an ice-white background! Rrrubrubrub!
And so they continue in the latest Golf R.
I had to photograph and film them. See, if I hadn’t done so, I would have to stare at them while driving, and would crash. Indeed, my dially preoccupation would be complete if I called up the oil temperature readout, too.
Details such as this make cars. Well, they do for me, anyhows.
Look out soon for my thoughts on the lights switch backlighting illumination of my new SEAT Exeo ST long-termer. I know, I know – you can’t wait. I promise you, it’ll come soon…
Volkswagen Golf R dials on YouTube
TDI earns its place in history October 28, 2009
Posted by richard in : Technology , add a commentVOLKSWAGEN is finally pensioning off its long-serving 1.9-litre TDI diesel.
The car that really gave the modern diesel credibility has had a good innings, but it’s now being put out to pasture, after driving (almost) billions of VW Group cars off the production lines.
It’s been around in the Golf since 1994, after production was slowly ramped up in the Audi 80. Coming to the Golf was big-time for this then-startling new powerplant; because, unlike its rivals, Volkswagen had mated 1896ccs of blown four-pot to direct injection.
Controversial, this was, at the time. Direct injection is noisier and rattlier than indirect, you see; every single driver who’s experienced the 1.9-litre’s characteristic rattle ever since will attest to that.
The benefits, foresaw canny old Volkswagen, come in more compact combustion chambers. These lose less heat to the surrounding coolant – which, VW reckoned at the time, equals a 15 percent efficiency saving.
It was punchy. 90hp at 4000rpm was superb for 1994 – particularly in the 1145kg Golf (yes! I had to double-check: 1145kg, for the ‘heavy, safe and solid’ MkIII Golf? Now, a Clio weighs more…). This saw it to 60mph in 11.5secs; fast enough to have Autocar & Motor asking when the GTi-bodykit version would arrive. (Seems they were ahead of their time, too).
But just as impressive was the 149lb/ft torque output, particularly as it came in at just 1900rpm. This, remember, was before the days of PD pump-jet injection; the 1.9-litre TDI’s trademark low-rev surge is an inherent trait, it seems. It’s a damn strong engine from the innards out.
OK, said Autocar & Motor, the tickover is ‘boisterous’, which may put some off. Back in those diesel-pensive days, it more than likely did. A £2k price premium over oil-burning French rivals didn’t help its cause, either. But, such it always is for VW.
This couldn’t dim the significance of a fine engine, though. Even its first mainstream installation saw it mark itself out as special. Evolution through the years, particularly in the MkIV Golf, underlined its place in history.
Will its replacement, the 1.6-litre TDI, be as venerable? Time will tell. For now, though, here’s a cup of oil to a diesel that I’ve seen, through car magazines, develop, delight and dominate. Classic Diesel, here’s your first-issue feature car…
Volkswagen Golf looks to history for GTD inspiration
Volkswagen Golf GTD photostream on Flickr
Why I dig DSG September 19, 2009
Posted by richard in : Technology , add a commentIT all started after I loved a Golf GTI for a weekend.
You know, I mused in the office, I might even go for DSG over manual. GET OUT came the command. Call yourself an enthusiast, and eschew a manly manual?
Yup, and I’ve been thinking why. See, when I change gear, I’m always (forlornly) striving for the perfect gearchange. I like metering clutch precisely, going off and on the throttle with metronomic timing, savour the happy synchromesh, err, thanking me for saving it some work.
Thing is, it becomes an obsession. I tend to concentrate on it unduly; which makes the pain of a joltly 2-3 shift disproportionate. Which, because I’m no Jackie Stewart-like driving God, can ping up a bit too often at times.
With DSG (and other twin-clutch gearboxes), though, you’re guaranteed perfection. The satisfaction of a delay-free shift from a tricky high-revs 1st to a mid-range 2nd is removed. It does it perfectly, every time. Which means the rewards, even though I don’t have anything to do with it, still tangible.
Cheat, some still say. Yup. But while (and stay with me here) hand-writing a letter and maybe, just maybe, getting every letter just so is uber satisfying, usually it’s just a scrawl. Far better to use a word processor, take the effort out, and get the satisfaction all the same. I love technology, embrace it for the rewards it brings. That’s how I view DSG – brilliant, Apple-like tech that, well, just works.
Every gearchange gives me the feeling, the satisfaction of perfection – and, although it’s nothing to do with me, the sensations are enough for it to win through.
Automatics are different, as they’re slurry cop-outs. Clutchless manuals are, by and large, an ugly disaster. But twin-clutch DSG-style units? You know, PDK and their brethren? It’s technology that rewards me. And why I’m in the pro camp.
(Of course, if the manual alternative were a brilliant Ford or Honda-esque gem, rather than VW’s slick but detached equivalent, my decision may be different. Nothing like a motoring journo sitting on the fence, aye…)
(Oh, and on the subject of cheating, I know the Ferrari F430’s gearbox is robotised manual, not twin-clutch. But the image IS cool, isn’t it…)
Why Ford Econetics break the rules
RenaultSport past to inspire turbo future
Where have all the new cars gone? August 26, 2009
Posted by richard in : Technology , add a commentVOLKSWAGEN’S Golf MkVI is a delight.
Great to drive, obsessively built and more appealingly styled than first appearances reveal, it’s every inch a real Golf.
The obvious maturation of the 1974 original, and a contender for best Golf ever. (Incidentally, my preference league is at the foot of this post).
But, it’s not all new. Yes, it was ‘new’, last year. But, it wasn’t really. Instead, it was a heavily revised version of the MkV Golf. Same roof, same door apertures, same platform.
Yes indeed – the same underpinnings that also live in the Audi A3, the Skoda Octavia, the SEAT Leon, the Volkswagen Jetta, the Audi TT, the… well, you get the idea.
Volkswagen’s policy of sharing the bits you can’t see across brands is long-established.
But, sharing bits across model generations? Saving even more cash? Well, it’s little short of an economist’s panacea.
And it’s not just VW that’s at it. Fiat based the 500 on Panda bits that were introduced in 2003 – then Ford bought into the project, and launched the 2008 ‘all new’ Ka on the same platform.
Renault’s Laguna is more satisfying than people give it credit for, yet it draws heavily from the shoddy old 2002 model. Jaguar’s brilliant XF? Why, a revised version of the soapy S-Type.
Aston Martin uses the same basic underpinnings for virtually everything it builds, Jaguar Land Rover has a policy of sharing bits across all vehicle lines, Porsche can’t be too hard on Wiedeking after he gave them the 996 underpinnings that are still being stretched and squeezed today… see what I mean?
And the result of all this is… cars better than they’ve ever been. No longer do makers have to chuck away all that went before and start again – because modern cars have reached a plateau of ability. They’re so good to start with, the great leaps of improvement are not there to be made. And the huge leaps in currently-applicable technology have all been discovered.
I reckon we’ll see more of this. How can Ford improve on the current Focus? Well, by making it that bit better. It doesn’t need to be any bigger – so, with the next one, why not just polish what’s there, rather than throwing billions into something all-new?
Volkswagen’s thinking with the Golf VI was to make something as good as the MkV, that could be built more cheaply. Thanks to the inherent ability of engineers to always improve, it’s actually got something that’s considerably better. All bits have been honed, everything polished. If it’s good enough to start with – and all new cars are – there’s no end to what the mechanical wizards in car firms can do to make it better.
Which means today’s cars are, I reckon, pretty much fixed in time. So that means they’ll be made, ad infintum? Absolutely not. The next big change will come in architecture. Cars will, in time, be lighter, cheaper to build, simpler, more recyclable, all of that futuristic stuff.
To achieve this, we need an entirely different type of car. This is where the thinking will be thrown out and the clean sheets begun. It will take a huge amount of cash, and is fraught with risks. But, while car firms get their heads around it, the process of perfecting today’s machines should ensure cars in the near-future will continue to be the best, ever.
And, given how new technology is rarely perfect first time, does this mean the cars of the next few years could even mark a high point, not to be seen again for several decades?
If so, I’ll certainly it while I can…
My top Golfs…
• Golf 6
• Golf 2
• Golf 1
• Golf 4
• Golf 3
• Golf 5
Volkswagen Golf GTD photostream on Flickr
Ford gloom hides people carrier revolution?
The Maestro of the instruments August 2, 2009
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars , 2commentsONE major advance of the Austin Maestro is often overlooked. Its fibre-optic instrument needle pointers.
Yes, indeedy.
See, in the olden days, cars used to have dials lit by a bulb drilled in the top of the dashboard. If, that is, they were lucky.
In time, makers such as Smiths integrated this into the dial itself, so the outside ring lit up. Very swish. But it was still somewhat coal-hole like in the dark.
Then, a few crazy car makers began to bedazzle awe-struck eyes like mine, with gorgeous backlit panels. These had all the lights behind the instrument face, with the numerals picked out in transparent plastic. The light shone through, as if the Lord himself had taken an interest, transforming night-time legibility.
But still the needles were just dumb sticks.
Enter the Maestro. And its fibre-optic instrument needle pointers.
How the motoring world today lives and breathes on these. Its influence is everywhere. It is the reason why the MkIV Golf got mouthwatering blue dials with red pointers. It’s how Volkswagen Group is able to differentiate stock instrument panels across different brands. It’s how Jaguar can refer to ‘Phosphorous Blue’ dial lighting in press info for the XF.
What is it? Well, just that. A fibre-optic, opaque-plastic needle. At night, light would shoot up it, bringing daylight to the entire needle. Like some sort of miraculous light sabre, it was Star Wars before your very eyes. It was why my Granddad had endless flat batteries on his Maestro Vanden Plas in winter.
Austin-Rover was dialling in a revolution here. How we should thus praise the majesty of the miraculous, mighty Maestro.
More on Mini’s classic brochure
Land Rover MINI has big future
Oil be: it’s back July 24, 2009
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars , 6commentsVOLKSWAGEN’S Golf GTD is an inspired bit of engineering.
Take one Golf GTI. Remove petrol engine. Replace with 2.0-litre TDI 170. Job (almost) done.
OK, it has 40hp less, but it counters with 258lb/ft of torque, compared to the GTI’s 206lb/ft. Plus, on my drive home the other day, 60mpg. Tidy.
It looks fantastic. As with the Golf GTI, there’s just enough to mark it out as special – particularly here, with just-so 18-inch alloys.
I’ve road-tested it on Flickr, but there’s one device that merits special attention. The trip computer. Now, since the days of the MkI Golf, this has been a feature of VW’s GTIs. Today, it’s fitted to all Golfs, of course. But I was delighted to see one MkI/II must-watch has carried over.
Yes, the GTD has an oil temperature readout.
Which, even better, reads in degrees Celsius, just like my old MkII. Just like that car, it doesn’t say anything until 50degrees is reached – if the dashes are showing, never thrash it.
Experts reckon you need around 70degreees in oil for it to be working properly; oil doesn’t warm up as fast as water, so even if the water temp is reading ‘normal’, it’s still not fully safe to max the engine.
Normal operating temp is around 95 degrees. Just as it was, again, in my old MkII. Needless to say, as I did back in the day, I’d leave it showing permanently if this were my GTD.
Interestingly, it’s also highly sensitive. Trickle at 70mph and it shows 95. Come across a hill and it ticks up to 96 (extra load on the engine, see). Speed up to 80, uphill, and she’ll show 97, 98, 99: soon drops, though, when the load reduces.
I love this sort of stuff. Would never get bored of it. For me, it proves that, while most car makers continually strip instruments from the driver, there are a few that understand we still like to know what’s going on…
VW Golf looks to history for GTD inspiration
BMW tells me why its dials are lit in orange
Why Ford Econetics break the rules
Volkswagen Golf GTD photostream on Flickr July 21, 2009
Posted by richard in : flickr , 3commentsVOLKSWAGEN wowed everyone in the Motoring Research office when it sent the Volkswagen Golf GTD to us.
I took it for a weekend, and almost became violent when it was taken away. Dan also fell in love with it. And CJ. Indeed, the entire office…
Find out why I was besotted in my Flickr photostream road test. You’ll get a sense of why from some of the images I chose to take.
Feel free to comment away, and do please let me know what you think!
MINI John Cooper S Works photostream on Flickr
Audi A6 3.0T photostream on Flickr
Volkswagen Golf looks to history for GTD inspiration March 29, 2009
Posted by richard in : Uncategorized , 5commentsHow cool is this? The Golf GTD. Like a GTI. But green and eco, too. Even PR genii are rarely this on message.
On the eve of the 211PS Golf GTI arriving in the UK, it risks stealing some of that car’s thunder, which is an unusual thing for Volkswagen to do. Why go for that one, when you can get 15mpg more here, and almost as many thrills?
I reckon it’s a bit of a ploy. For, Volkswagen has done this before. The brilliant, iconic Mk2 Golf GTI also spawned a GTD cousin. Again, it was a pretty high-spec diesel for the time: turbocharged, intercooled, properly whizzy by contemporary Ford Escort 1.8 D GL standards.
It had the looks of the GTI, the steering wheel, the dials; the two were really hard to tell apart. Not that you had to bother all that often, mind. See, the Mk2 GTD hardly set the world alight. It struggled to sell.
Blame an unenlightened public. Fuel was cheap. Diesel something for trucks. Wot wud yer want a DEESEL GTI for? Hairshirts, not designer hairgel, came to mind. It lagged, then quietly disappeared.
And the Mk6? Well, it’s got the looks, the steering wheel, the dials… yes, it really is three-quarters of the way to a GTI. Just like the old one. Only, this time, it will sell. The world’s ready for it.
For the record, I’ve listed the big differences here:
• GTI: Red tartan seats. GTD: Grey tartan seats
• GTI: Red stripe on the honeycomb grille. GTD: Chrome stripe
• GTI: GTI badge. GTD: GTD badge
• GTI: red stitching on the flat-bottom steering wheel. GTD: black stitching…
… get the idea? Of course, instead of the gem-like 2.0-litre turbo petrol, it’s got a common-rail 2.0-litre turbodiesel, producing 168bhp, for 8.1secs to 60mph. That’s a second down on the GTI. More torque makes up for it.
It’s got a quasi-GTI chassis, too – which is available with the very same pneumatic adaptive suspension system. This trick setup is said to work brilliantly. A so-equipped GTD sounds quite a thing.
Indeed, it’s looking so good – and so ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-it’s-not-a-GTI’ (VW dealers should prepare for the GTI badge orders), that I think the company who invented the GTI may just have reinvented it.
The GTD is, however, preferable, for one reason above all. GTIs have ridiculous twin exhausts poking out of the rear bumper. GTDs have proud, GTI-tradition dual pipes, poking out the left hand side. Just as it should be. None of this two-side nonsense.
That it also does 53mpg and emits 39g/km less CO2 is but the icing on the cake. Eight-tenths a GTI’s driving talent? Given how brilliant CJ here tells me that car is, it sounds like a pay-off well worth making.
Volkswagen was ahead of the game with the original GTD. The world wasn’t ready for a hot diesel hatch. Now, it is. This June, hot hatch hot cakes will be diesel-powered, mark my words…
Porsche makes cranky Cayenne cool
Secrets of the new Toyota Prius
What I learnt… from Autocar, 11 March 2009
Secrets of the new Toyota Prius March 20, 2009
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars , comments closedI was honoured to speak with the chief engineer of the new Toyota Prius, Akihiko Otsuka, at the Geneva Motor Show recently. Honoured, because the young dude is quite a guy.
Oozing enthusiasm for the Prius, his groundedness and sheer enthusiasm wowed me. We’re close in age, he and I, and I really felt how ‘here and now’ he is. Think everything that’s dynamic and invigorating about modern Japan, for an idea of his approach.
This whirlwind of ideas shows in the new car, which really is quite something. Official fuel economy of the current one doesn’t always carry through to reality, I said. Unbowed, he admitted so – a key target of the new car was to improve on this.
He told his team to benchmark against the Volkswagen Golf 1.9 TDI – not the default 2.0 TDI, which is a fair bit less efficient. Quite a challenge, as I know how economical that engine can be. But Otsuka ‘beat it’.
A new approach to body design helped here – he allowed the aerodynamic engineers to work with clay models, ‘despite the expense’. This is unheard of in the car industry, where stylists normally hold sway. But, getting aerodynamics engineers so closely involved in the shape means the drag factor is a startling 0.25. An old Mini, by way of comparison, is 0.56….
However, while the hybrid gear is the big deal, he admits that this contributes only half to the overall 14 percent economy improvement. The other 7 percent?
‘Low rolling resistance tyres, aerodynamics and other energy improvement methods.’ The same, in other words, as employed on a VW BlueMotion, Volvo DRIVe, Ford ECOnetic, SEAT Ecomotive…
This fact brings home the law of diminishing returns. And the scale of the challenge car makers face in making cars continually more green.
I have an absolute mass of information from the discussion, which I’m using to write a piece for Automotive Engineer magazine. Overall, though, meeting Otsuka-san was quite something. In a month or so’s time, we’ll be finding out if his car is as good.
