Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

VW going turbo-only in 3 to 4 years

This really was a matter of when, rather than if. Volkswagen will apparently be the first manufacturer to phase out naturally aspirated engines in favor of turbocharging its full slate. VW is kind of responsible for ushering in this push towards small-displacement, turbocharged engines that's taken the industry by storm. When it dropped its direct-injection, 2.0-liter turbo in the 2005 GTI it demonstrated that strapping an iron long to an engine can enhance the powertrain as a whole. VW made fuel economy gains, while also giving a linear, non-laggy turbo experience that it has replicated, model-after-model, to this day.

Speaking with The Detroit News, Volkswagen's executive Vice President of Group Quality, Marc Trahan, told the paper that, "We only have one normally aspirated gas engine, and when we go to the next generation vehicle that it's in, it will be replaced. So three, four years maximum."

Really, it's hard to get teary-eyed about either of these engines going away. VW has access to smaller powerplants that could easily match the performance of the 2.5 five-cylinder and the 3.6 V6, while gobbling up less fuel and providing a better driving experience. What we are sad about is that a similar statement about the extinction of NA engines came from the Vice President of Powertrain Engineering at Ford, Joe Bakaj. We'd certainly get teary-eyed over a world without Ford's excellent 5.0-liter V8.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/18/v...nly-3-4-years/

spwolf

VW's non turbo engines are probably some of the worst performing engines on the market... so yeah, i can see it happening.

SLegacy99

After getting my current Legacy GT, I really don't want anything without a turbo.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

thank goodness the 2.5L I5 is being dropped for the 1.8L I4 Turbo

LexBob2

I'm not sure if it's 100%, but the Audi division is nearly all turbo or supercharged.

geko29

No kidding. Even 14 years ago, the old 1.8T was a FAR better engine choice than the 2.8 VR6, and the 2.5 is nowhere near as good as the VR6 was. The I5 was a modest improvement over the abysmal 2.0L I4 that dubbers referred to as the 2.slow, but that's about the only good thing that can be said about it.

The Jetta/Golf lineup should look like this:

1.4TFSI
TDI
1.8T
2.0TSI

While the Passat/CC should drop the 1.4 in favor of a turbo 6, probably a 3L.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

well it can't be 100% with the R8 using the 4.2 or 5.2, Lambo's with their NA engines, VW and the 2.5 I5 but certainly they are close to all Forced Induction. Probably about 90%. This 3-4 years is very plausible.

Chuy250

iTrader: (3)

couldn't have said it better myself. Agreed

spwolf

here they still have some other NA engines, awful... my buddy has Golf VI, nice car... with 1.6l... Toyota's 1.6l Valvematic is probably double the motor... not only the hp, but consumption is 2-3l smaller too.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Aren't the passats already turboed? and the Jetta?

geko29

Nope, base engine in the Passat, Golf, Beetle and Jetta Sportwagon is the 2.5L I5. Jetta sedan base engine is still the absolutely pathetic 2.0 I-4. Touareg starts with the 3.6L V6. All of these are NA.

Only the EOS and Tiguan are currently turbocharged across all trim levels, which isn't surprising since the 2.0T is the only engine choice. The CC base engine is the 2.0T, but the 3.6L V6 is optional.

SteVTEC

Not surprised by this move. Afterall, it was VAG that popularized the small displacement turbo engine to begin with and got the formula right with the 1.8T, by focusing on power delivery and torque, allowing them to work well with automatic transmissions. The more mild approach also allowed them to keep compression ratios up, and fuel economy pretty decent even when the first versions were still port injected.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

why are they so far behind?

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

why are they so far behind?

geko29

I don't know that I'd call offering at least one turbocharged engine in every single model in the lineup behind the times. Most manufacturers have at least one model where no turbo is offered at all, and I think only BMW is all forced-induction at this point (though Audi might be also).