According to Carscoops.com it is
the end of the road in the US for Volkswagen's venerable 2.5-liter five-cylinder
gasoline engine as the German carmaker has announced it will gradually replace
it with a new 1.8-litre turbocharged and direct-injection gasoline four-cylinder
TSI in Jetta, Beetle, and Passat madels.
As
already reported in these pages, the EA888 is being ramped up in a new VW assembly
plant in Silao, Mexico.
The
engine delivers the same output as the 2.5-litre unit at 170hp, though
peak torque is improved slightly by 7 lbft to 184 lbft. However, this torque is
delivered much lower in the rev range. The German automaker says the engine
also offers significant fuel mileage gains - up to 17 per cent on the highway
in the Beetle application, for example.
There
is much speculation that EA888 will carry a compact graphite iron (CGI)
cylinder block to achieve such performance. However, while a UK-based VW
insider has noted the application of CGI in this engine, VW has yet to officially
announce the use of such an outstanding engine material that is has already
been used by subsidiary Audi for many years.
Initially,
the new 1.8-litre TSI will be fitted to the 2014MY Jetta range and the Passat
SEL, and will be followed by the rest of the Passat line-up and the Beetle
later in the model year.
Other
notable changes for VW's 2014 model year line-up include the launch of the limited
production and retro-themed Beetle GSR, the expansion of the R-Line
range to include the Beetle Convertible, Touareg, and Tiguan from this autumn,
while all VW models are now E15 capable.
VW
added that for the 2014MY, the Routan will carry over without changes as a
fleet model only. The Routan sprang from a deal with Chrysler in 2005. It is a
seven-seat minivan and rebadged variant of the Chrysler RT platform made
alongside Chrysler and Dodge minivans at the Windsor, Ontario assembly plant.∎
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