What happens when you mix a supercharger, a turbocharger, a sophisticated gearbox and a 1.4 litre petrol engine? You get a zippy petrol engine which is considerably zippier than a 2.0 litre turbo diesel, much cleaner at the exhaust pipe yet has fuel consumption that rivals a diesel.
Read the Independent's road test of the new Volkswagen Golf GT TSI and judge for yourself.
In anticipation of Dave from Manly championing the lot of diesel ... a diesel is perfectly fine in performance (though cloudy around the exhaust) and does use in percentage terms quite a bit less fuel. But it does not have the exhaust note or high-end performance of VW's TSI - diesel's don't rev and aren't a complete antidote for us recalcitrant revheads (I am still in therapy and while I do love my Prius I am sorely tempted to get a V8 something or other and drink my full share of oil while there's still some left!)
The TSI does show there's still much room for improvement in the eons old four-cycle petrol motor - bring on the innovation. Now what happens if you blend a TSI petrol engine with a hybrid electric system (sounds like Frankenstein's hotrod)? More realistically if we moved the TSI performance to be closer to the diesel (in 0-100 km/h terms) it should be as economical as the diesel and pump out less greenhouse gas (and noxious substances) to boot? That's what we're looking for - though what is the cost overhead of supercharger and turbocharger? Who would pay the premium?
I don't understand mpg, mph, bhp, lb ft and don't have the time to convert. The only number I understand is CO2: 175g/km, which is considerably worse than similar diesels and hybrids. It *is* interesting though ... lots of interesting engine developments happening these days being drive by high oil prices.
Posted by: David Michie | Aug 03, 2006 at 10:38 PM
Grrr. No TSI available in the US. Drat. And I thought maybe this was the commute vehicle for me. Alas, no, it will have to be something else...
One thing I have been thinking though, as I ponder the vast number of huge, heavy, petrol/gas-thirsty vehicles here in the US, is that eventually - when the fuel prices rise sufficiently - at least they have a market size that will allow them to justify advanced alternative energy vehicles. In Australia the cost of a Prius is very high - not unjustifiable, but high. When enough people in the US provide sufficient demand, prices will fall.
Of course then you start thinking about the window of opportunity that hybrids have, and therefore how long the car makers have to recoup their investments. How long before we are forced to shift completely away from petrol/gas products? 20 years? 15? 10? No matter how you look at it, hybrids are an interim technology. Important, and to be encouraged (and bought), but not yet the real answer.
Posted by: Duncan Mok | Aug 19, 2006 at 06:18 AM