FKL

It's a little late to the party, but Volkswagen now realizes that if it wants to increase its U.S. market share, it needs hybrids, too



One by one, German carmakers are genuflecting before the hybrid god. The latest is Volkswagen (VOWG.DE). Like BMW (BMWG.DE) and Daimler (DAI), the company initially resisted the hybrid trend, reasoning that similar gains in fuel consumption and emissions were possible at lower cost simply by optimizing traditional gasoline and diesel engines. Unfortunately for VW and the other German companies, the Toyota (TM) Prius converted all-important U.S. buyers to the hybrid doctrine. If Volkswagen wants to boost its share of the U.S. market, it needs hybrids, too.

One is coming. In February, Wolfsburg-based VW began previewing an advanced prototype of the company's Touareg SUV featuring a hybrid drive. The car could be ready for production in as little as a year, joining a tiny but growing fleet of German hybrids that also includes a version of Mercedes' luxury S-Class, due to go on sale at midyear.

The hybrid Touareg is doubly interesting because the car is a close cousin to the Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) Cayenne, with which it shares body design and many parts. Porsche will use the same technology as VW for a hybrid Cayenne, and took part in the development. The Touareg is also the forerunner of other hybrid Volkswagens.

Once German engineers set their minds to a task, they usually do it pretty well, and the VW hybrid team seems to be no exception. I had a chance to drive the Touareg hybrid prototype on Feb. 9 and was impressed both with the mileage and the performance.

A Full Hybrid Car
Unlike the S-Class, which uses its electric motor only to assist the gasoline engine, the Toureg is a full hybrid that can run solely on electric power at low speeds, though only for a mile and a half or so. The Touareg's electric motor also provides an acceleration boost when needed, for example to pass a truck on the highway.

In fact, the hybrid Touareg will accelerate more quickly than any of the existing versions. VW says the prototype can go from zero to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds—though you certainly won't get maximum fuel mileage driving that way. The hybrid Touareg can also pull as much trailer weight as the gas versions. "We wanted this Touareg to drive just as well as any other Touareg," says Eike Feldhusen, one of the Volkswagen engineers who led the development of the hybrid. However, people who really use the car off-road a lot will probably want to stick with a traditional power train, which offers better power at low speeds.

The Touareg saves fuel in several different ways. The electric motor relieves the gasoline engine at low speeds, which is a particular advantage in city driving. In addition, the gasoline motor automatically shuts down when the car is coasting or stopped, restarting when you press the gas pedal. And the car recaptures energy normally lost from braking, with a mechanism that transfers the kinetic energy to the generator instead of the brake pads.

The Green Game
As I drove the Touareg on roads in and around Wolfsburg, it occurred to me that another one of the ways hybrids save fuel is by providing positive feedback to the driver. When you set off in the Touareg, a display right in front of the steering wheel tells you your average fuel economy. A second display, featuring a graphic of the power train, glows green when you're using braking energy to recharge the battery, blue when you're running on electric power alone, and ochre when you're drawing on the gasoline motor, a 3.0-liter V6 adapted from the Audi S4.

After a while it gets to be a game. Just how much fuel economy can you eke out? How long can you run on electric power alone and get the display to glow green? (Normally the gas engine kicks in at about 10 mph, but VW engineers say they've gotten the car up to almost 50 mph on electric power alone, albeit on a very flat road.)

You become acutely aware of how your style of driving affects fuel economy. With the Touareg, slow acceleration gets the most out of the electric motor, while slow braking is the best way to regenerate power. As a light-footed driver—my daughter always complains that I'm hopelessly pokey—I did pretty well. After about 45 minutes in Wolfsburg traffic and country roads outside the city, with lots of starting and stopping, the meter told me that my average fuel economy was 8.4 liters per 100 kilometers, or 28 mpg.

Eight-Speed Automatic Transmission
The VW engineer riding shotgun told me that was a good score, but maybe he was flattering me. That's about how much fuel consumption Volkswagen hopes to achieve under normal driving conditions for the production version, which will be lighter than the prototype and thus more efficient. If so, fuel consumption of the hybrid will be 30% better than the existing Touareg gasoline V6, and 8% better than the most efficient diesel version.

The only flaw I noticed in the Touareg was the shifting of the eight-speed automatic transmission. Gear changes were pretty noticeable, in comparison to the nearly imperceptible shifting of the Mercedes S-Class I drove last year. But engineer Feldhusen says the clunkiness will be ironed out in the production versions after developers tune the transmission more closely to the hybrid power train.

Volkswagen hasn't decided when to start selling the Hybrid Touareg. But if the marketers decide that demand is there, VW will be ready to mass-produce the car early in 2010, which could mean a U.S. launch by the middle of that year. The final price will depend a lot on how much Volkswagen winds up paying component suppliers such as Bosch. But hybrid buyers can expect to pony up a premium over the existing Touareg, which lists at $39,300 in the U.S. For now, at least, going green has a price.


http://www.businessweek.com/globalbi...836_page_2.htm

spwolf

germans are so good at vaporware... journalists have been testing VW hybrids for 3 years now :-).

IS-SV

Good luck with another bloated Toureg in this tough market.

STIG

Still a junk car.

nthach

If VW even bothered to copy Honda's hybrid system properly, they could have at least use an electric oil pump for the tranny to operate.

CDNROCKIES

I guess I don't understand why they would come out with the new diesel and then immediately follow it up with a hybrid?

The Touareg has been pretty much a disaster reliability wise to this point. It is a nice looking and well appointed vehicle, however. Why wouldn't VW have come out with a new platform that differentiates itself so they could lay claim to offering choices of both diesel and hybrid SUV's?

SLegacy99

Because Americans want hybrids unless you are towing a boat.

Personally I don't know why one would want a $52k X5 (18/25) when you can get a 450h for $42k (28/26). Again, if you were towing, I could see why, but even still, my rent's 21 ft. Century only weighs 3200 lbs and its got a 5.7L V8 in the back.

CDNROCKIES

Fair enough, but why wouldn't they have packaged it new threads so to speak? That way they could cater to all market segments and disassociate itself from the poor reliablity/track record of the previous gen Touareg's.

VW will not become a major player in NA, until they show some dramatic improvement in reliablity over several years.

FKL

What a fatuous remark.

spwolf

4CAR just "reviewed" prototype vehicle which is not in its final form (according to 4car) and gave it 4 stars. I think that just shows the credibility of European media (lack of it).

Of course, since they are professional car journalists, they also said that new RX450h will get worse mileage (of course it will get close to 10% better), they got to that conclusion by converting american mpg to european which is not the same test cycle :-).

Same went with new Prius where major european automotive media reported how it will get 15% worse mileage than before.

lol.

GS69

2011 VW Touareg Hybrid

Fuel economy is a funny thing. In Europe, better efficiency has always boiled down to two simple concepts: diesel fuel and turbos. But like the 35-year-old who won't drink tequila because of a bad experience in college, American buyers' stomachs start turning whenever manufacturers talk about oil-burners – clean or otherwise. That's a problem for carmakers like Volkswagen. You see, the company can build an arsenal of clean diesel vehicles that have no problem turning out excellent fuel-economy numbers without the weight, complexity or burden of lugging around a partially electric drivetrain, but that doesn't mean Americans will buy them. Nope. On this side of the pond, fuel efficiency translates into just one word: hybrid.

And that's exactly why Volkswagen has taken to electrifying its beefy 2011 Touareg, the very first production hybrid in the company's history. Volkswagen has made no secret of the fact that it plans to be the world's number one automaker, and that part of its plan for global domination involves broadening its appeal in the still-juicy American market. If you were wondering exactly what that meant for the company's lineup on our side of the world, wonder no more. We're living in the future, and it's a place stocked with a blazingly-quick, fully capable and quasi-efficient SUV from Germany with love.

The hybrid market seems to be split into 2 very different design camps: those that look like the latest running shoes from the year 2275 and those that don't. The Touareg Hybrid falls into the latter category, opting for discrete hybrid badges nestled in the grille and stuck to the flanks of the already attractive and newly redesigned standard Touareg body, instead of a German take on the future of footwear.

We couldn't be happier about this decision.

Up front, the Touareg Hybrid wears its new corporate nose with pride. The headlights are now bedazzled with LED daytime running lights and the sleek grille is bolstered by large air intakes set low in the front fascia. The look is both handsome and just a touch aggressive, befitting a vehicle capable of picking up its skirt and hustling to 60 mph in a scant 6.2 seconds. The vehicle's profile doesn't exactly shatter any SUV molds, but its rear benefits from a set of pronounced haunches that give the Touareg Hybrid some additional flair.

Volkswagen says that it only plans to sell the Touareg Hybrid in one trim – fully loaded. In an effort to make things easier for both dealers and buyers, the company has slimmed its ordering structure from over 400 available variants of the Touareg last year to just over 40 possible combinations for 2011. Part of that effort means the decision makers at VW came to the conclusion that most buyers would want their high-rider with all the fixins, so you can forget about getting a stripper model with a lower price tag.

That's probably just as well, because this machine isn't your typical eco-warrior. Inside, buyers are treated to power leather thrones that are fully adjustable and boast a memory function for up to three pilots, and the dash is dominated by a large, full-color LCD touch-screen. Navigation, entertainment and the rearview camera are all accessed through the screen. Attractive wood trim accents are camped out along the dash and door panels, and help give the cabin a little extra touch of class.

But it's the back seats that are really impressive. The rear bench is fully adjustable, sliding forward and aft enough to make room for long-legged passengers or any rear cargo that may require an extra touch of space. Likewise, the seats can be quickly folded for plenty of additional storage room. As an option on all Touareg models, Volkswagen is offering an expansive panoramic sunroof that the company says is a full 350% larger than the piece found in the previous model. The glass does plenty to brighten up the rear of the cabin.

Volkswagen seems to have plenty of faith in the company's turn-by-turn navigation system. We were unleashed on the unsuspecting countryside surrounding Nice, France with nothing more than the sternly feminine voice of the nav to guide us via a series of way points. Despite twisting roads and tight city avenues, the system never led us astray. If we missed a turn, it was quick to recalculate to find the best route ahead.

By and large, the cabin is logically laid out, though we were frustrated to find that the adjustment for the side-view mirrors is mounted flush on the driver's side door. It takes a second or two to translate the forward/backward control **** with the left/right movement of the mirror. Otherwise, the only complaint that we could drum up after a few hours in the cabin is the fact that the air-conditioning in the Touareg Hybrid doesn't always seem up to the task of cooling the interior, especially at low speeds in direct sunlight.

Cabin qualms aside, the drivetrain in the 2011 Touareg hybrid is nothing short of engineering wizardry. If you're familiar with the equipment on board the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, you won't find too many surprises here. A supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine produces 333 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, though a parallel electric motor throws in a little extra oomph for a combined punch of 380 horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque. Behind the engine and motor sits an 8-speed automatic transmission that puts power to all 4 wheels via the company's all-wheel-drive system and a new Torsen rear differential.

Like the Cayenne, the best part of this combination is the fact that the engine is separated from the transmission via a decoupling clutch that will allow the vehicle to coast at speeds well above the posted limit with the gasoline engine completely off. Volkswagen calls this "sailing," and it comes in handy on hilly terrain with extended downward grades. The trick helps the Touareg Hybrid return a projected 25 mpg city and 21 mpg highway – numbers that are a little higher than the 18.4 mpg combined we saw during our time behind the wheel. Still, they aren't bad for an SUV that still packs a full 7,700 lb towing capacity – exactly the same as both the diesel and gasoline versions.

Power for the 47-hp electric motor is stored in a sizable 288-volt nickel-metal hydride battery stored under the rear cargo area. A total of 240 cells are on hand to store juice for later, and Volkswagen has integrated a special aluminum crash box around the cells to protect the battery pack in the event of an accident. In order to keep things cool, the Touareg Hybrid draws cold air from the cabin and spits air heated by the batteries to the exterior of the vehicle.

There's no getting around just how heavy this vehicle feels, even compared to its super-sized brethren. The Touareg Hybrid comes in at 5,135 lbs – a full 424 lbs heavier than the standard 3.6-liter gasoline V6 version and 261 lbs pudgier than the oil-burning Touareg. As such, you won't be flinging this machine through any winding mountain passes anytime soon. The weight does have the benefit of giving the Touareg Hybrid a slightly softer ride compared to its siblings, something that we're sure American buyers will appreciate. Otherwise, the SUV feels like a more refined evolution of the high-riding set. Despite its girth, you aren't beaten over the head with a sense of top heaviness. Instead, you simply can't help but feel that the tires are sweating bullets when the tarmac goes twisted.

When things straighten out, however, you're rewarded with the surprising kind of acceleration that only 428 lb-ft of torque can present. It feels like a well-fed fraulein has decided to have a seat on your chest. Unfortunately, for all of the giggles that the skinny pedal can induce, the brakes on the Touareg Hybrid are downright unnerving. While it takes half a second for the supercharged 6 and the electric motor to shrug off two and a half tons of German luxury, the brake pedal will bring the whole game show to a stop at the first hint of contact with your leather-soled penny loafers. Be warned: these stoppers are the sensitive kind. The Touareg Hybrid's regenerative braking system is likely to blame, as it's taken many generations of hybrids for other manufacturers to get the balance of regen and actual braking to feel natural and not unnerving. Volkswagen's sort of new at this whole hybrid thing.

The company hasn't said exactly how much it's planning to charge for the 2011 Touareg Hybrid, but we can guess that the figure isn't going to be for the faint of heart. We expect the fully-loaded, electrified SUV to hit the wallet north of the $44,350 price tag on the current TDI Touareg. The thing is, the diesel version boasts a combined fuel economy of just 1 mpg less than the projected figures of the hybrid. We're guessing that in real-world conditions, the diesel would likely even edge ahead of its battery-operated counterpart if you spent more time plying the highways.

When the Touareg Hybrid lands in the States later this year, we're guessing it will find favor with the crowd that's less interested in which is the better product – the hybrid or the diesel Touareg – and more concerned with the image those tiny hybrid badges put forth. With identical towing capacities, nearly identical fuel economy figures and the fact that the Touareg Hybrid requires premium gasoline, both it and the Touareg TDI are simply different answers to the same question. We're more inclined to stick with the lighter TDI with its more progressive brake system, but we know we don't represent the vast majority of SUV buyers, either.

mmarshall

Where have you been, FKL? Haven't seen you post much lately...we know you're an old-time VW/Audi fan.



A great post, BTW, GS69. That's got to be the classiest interior I have ever seen on a VW-badged product, short of the 90K Phaeton....it is clearly up in Audi's league. But I question the wisdom of VW going to hybrids over its superb TDI diesels.

Koz

I would be very leery about the added complexity of a supercharged hybrid in a VW! That's if you plan on keeping it. I would think this may be a vehicle you would want to wait and see how the first year evolves.

Koz

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

^Mike, notice that this was a bumped post from last year.

Car sounds good but I've got to be honest - VW's new design language, which I am sure they see as "simplistic and elegant", could not possibly be more bland. I'm talking like...rivaling a 2002 beige Camry LE with cloth interior, bland.

rogers2

I actually prefer bland! /"simplistic and elegant" when it comes to SUV. Most SUV's look like a huge robot on wheels riding down the road. Audi make some of the best looking vehicles. Just looking at that interior! If only Audi would take a huge risk and aim more towards reliability.