Touareg debuts with hybrid drive and high-tech range of engines
Volkswagen SUV is 208 kilograms lighter and 20 percent more fuel efficient
WOLFSBURG/MUNICH — Volkswagen is unveiling the completely redeveloped Touareg as a world premiere. It is the most technically innovative “VW” since the brand has been in existence. This Touareg is reinterpreting the fascinating multipurpose SUV idea in a contemporary way – thanks to a range of engines that are nearly 20 percent more fuel efficient and a large variety of new assistance and safety systems. The Touareg will also be the first and only off-roader in Europe by a German car maker to be available in a hybrid version too. It sets standards among fully off-road capable SUVs with petrol engines that have a fuel consumption value of just 8.2 litres fuel per 100 kilometres. The Touareg Hybrid can be driven up to 50 km/h in purely electric mode – emissions-free. Among the diesel engines, the Touareg V6 TDI with 7.4 litre combined fuel consumption now posts the best value in the segment of genuine SUVs. Both versions, the Touareg Hybrid and V6 TDI, are the most fuel efficient petrol and diesel SUVs ever built in Europe in this large vehicle class. » Read more: World Premiere: New Touareg Takes the SUV into the Future
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World Premiere: New Touareg Takes the SUV into the Future
March 1st, 2010Rollin’ on New(er) Rims
March 10th, 2009This past January, my good friend, Chris, drove out from San Diego (yes, drove out…).
He did this for two reasons: 1) He wanted to do a cross-country trip, and 2) He was bringing me a set of 17-inch VW OEM Santa Monica alloy wheels he got at a steal of a price!
He originally bought them off Craigslist (or eBay, don’t remember) for his 2001 Subaru Outback, then realized they wouldn’t fit his car, so he called me up and asked me if they would fit my Golf. He sent me a couple of pictures and I told him that they would, so he decided to drive out to Atlanta from San Diego to bring them to me and spend some time with his family here.
Well, I finally had the funds to wrap the rims in rubber. Chris and I talked about tires for a while when he was here, and after he got back to San Diego, and I finally settled on a set of General Tire Exclaim UHPs.
I got them mounted and installed the today, so I figured I’d post a couple of pictures.
On to the next… project! 
New Air Intake
February 15th, 2009I’ve been thinking about some modifications to the engine I’ve been wanting to make. Now, some times my mind goes on a mild rampage and I dream of these interesting mods that would really bring this 2.0L 8-valve “AEG” econo-motor to life, but I figure I’ll start with some simple mods first, before digging into the heavier projects (like removing the engine, and installing a turbo – )
I did some poking around the VWVortex website asking about some simple intake modifications and found that ABD’s “Big Bore” was a favorite among 2.0 owners (and 1.8T owners as well).
So, I went to their website and for around $170 (with shipping) I ordered a Big Bore Intake for my Golf. I called up my friend Sam shortly after it arrived, and we got it installed yesterday after driving around for a while trying to find an air filter cone that would fit.
So, here’s the final result. Looks good, engine is breathing a bit better, and it does seem to help deliver a bit more power to the wheels during the first and second gears. Pictures are below, here’s to hoping to get the exhaust sometime soon!
EDIT: I have since installed a smaller air filter for the Secondary Air Injection (SAI) and removed Volkswagen’s plastic “2.0” engine cover.
Volkswagen Releases Photos of MkVI Golf
August 4th, 2008Yesterday, offical photos of Volkswagen’s up-coming 6th generation Golf/Jetta platform (also known as the MkVI) and body were leaked to the Internet.
The photos (shown below) reveal Volkswagen’s next design move towards a more agressive design style.
The agressive front-end design takes cues from the production-level model of the 2009 Scirocco sports coupé (currently avaliable in Europe only). While the slender headlights and dominating lower grille work in favor for the Scirocco’s exotic design nature, it’s not meant to be stamped out on to every Volkswagen model. The new design looses touch with Volkswagen’s current “water fall” design currently found on the 5th generation models: Golf/Rabbit, Jetta, GTI, Eos, and Tiguan.
The rear end design of the hatchback models continue taking design cues from other models. The Golf, GTI, and (eventual) R32 hatchbacks, recieve an updated tail light design from the companys’ mid-sized SUV, the Touareg. While the tail lights appear to be an improvement over the 5th generation design, some may not like the “Mini-Touareg” appearance the car reflects.
The interior is also largely revised and updated for the upcoming 2010 model year, and once again takes styling cues from another model, the Tiguan. However, unlike the questionable front and rear designs, the updated Tiguan-insipred door panels are a welcomed change for the platform. The dashboard and control placement remain largely unchanged, aside from some minor tweaks here-and-there which enhance the refreshed interior.
The overall body remains largely the same, which gives the car more of a mid-model design change rather than an “all-new” design.
Pictures below:
The W8 Dome Light
June 17th, 2008Earlier this month, I scraped some money together and bought a new part for my car.
(Yes I know this is going to be a lame post, but deal with me here.)
I’ve been eying this part on ECS Tuning (www.ecstuning.com) for quite some time and I finally felt like it was time to upgrade the ol’ dome light in the 2000 Golf.
My mom’s 2006 Jetta has this little feature and I liked it ever since, and I was happy to find that I could install it on my Golf. The new dome lights up the sunroof dial pattern, dome light switches, and has 2 red LED ambient lighting sources to help light up the console at night – much like LED map lights in private planes, or fighter jets.
Now, this is the 2nd part I’ve ordered from ECS Tuning, the fog-lights being the first, so I wasn’t too surprised to discover that their online installation instructions weren’t comprehensive enough to do the job professionally enough, even as a DYI project. Thankfully, I have my trusty 2 ½ inch thick Bentley Publishing Service Manual.
ECS Tuning’s instructions didn’t mention much about removing the A-pillar trim on the drivers side, nor the sun-visor, the ‘OMG-Handle’ on the driver side, or the left-side panel on the dash (with the fuse box) – which I had to remove all in order to wire the car to power the lighting module’s sunroof dial pattern, dome light switches, and the 2 red ambient LEDs.
The whole installation took about 20 to 25 minutes, but once again I was a bit disappointed with ECS Tuning’s installation instructions, but they do have quite a list of parts (both OEM/Factory and aftermarket) and I’m lucky to have the Factory Service Manual, so I guess it works out some how.
I’ll post pictures of the newly installed W8 Dome Light soonish.
Lightin’ Up the Fog
March 15th, 2008One of the first things I wanted to do with the Golf I just bought was to install some fog-lights. I kinda got ‘spoiled’ to having fog lights on the 1997 Jetta I used to drive before it met its untimely death.
Volkswagen originally shipped fog-lights as an option. These optional fog-lights were built into the head lights. After pricing replacement headlights and realizing I’d have to spend more money on a switch and wiring loom to hook everything up, I was looking at spending way more than I wanted to, so I started looking for aftermarket fog-light kits. After a while of searching, I found a complete kit that fitted fog-lights into the lower portion of the bumper, and included the wiring loom, instructions, and an European market OEM head light switch. » Read more: Lightin’ Up the Fog
