Test Drive: 2012 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5

By Kevin Harrison

Jon Voight turned 73 last week. Can you believe it? The man best known for his role in The Rainmaker in the 1990′s, his outspoken liberal political views and, most notably, for helping to spawn Angelina Jolie has actually been around for over seven decades. It seems like just yesterday he was playing Ben Stiller’s coal-miner father in Zoolander. He certainly has quite the resume.

Although as impressive as it is, the Volkswagen Beetle certainly has done a lot in its 73-year history as well. It’s the most manufactured car based off a single design (though the Porsche 911 could take second place easily). There were 21,529,464 Beetles sold worldwide and that was up until 2003 when that first generation body style officially went out of production. In fact, that body style was the star of my all-time favourite Disney movie (and probably the only Disney movie I’ve ever liked), Herbie. No one could beat the little Bug with the #53 painted on its hood, even though many Lancia’s, Alfa Romeos, Lamborghinis and Ferrari’s tried. Back then as a mini car nut, Herbie, and subsequently the Beetle, earned a special place in my heart. Even to this day when I see a Type 1 Beetle it puts a smile on my face.

I remember being fairly unimpressed with the ‘New Beetle’ which debuted in 1998. While the overall shape of the originally was captured, it’s bubble styling cuteness was hard to overlook. It was clear that Volkswagen was after a specific market with the New Beetle and was not me. Available in a wide variety of bright colours and even a daisy on the dash, the New Beetle become quite a hit with mostly women. Meanwhile I, and pretty much every male on the planet, was left wondering what Volkswagen had done with my beloved Herbie.

Well it seems Volkswagen has had a new train of thought with this all-new second generation New Beetle. Volkswagen realized that in order to achieve their goal of world domination, they had to make a vehicle that pleased both men and women alike.

Have they succeeded?

Read the rest of this entry »

Oh Hi: 2013 Volkswagen Passat CC

There’s little doubt that Volkswagen is capable of making some extremely gorgeous cars, but in my point of view, the one that really tops them all in terms of design is the Passat CC. While Mercedes-Benz may have created the idea of the curvilinear coupe-like sedan, Volkswagen was the first to make one that didn’t cost as much as a small island.

Now Volkswagen has updated the Passat CC to incorporate more of a family resemblance mimicking Volkswagens new design language. The lower front facia now incorporates Volkswagen’s new signature grille and the headlights are now bi-xenon with LED turn indicators. Out back the tail lights have been re-worked to resemble the regular Passat. While the re-worked tail lights look clean, I actually prefer the four oval tail lights that the current version has. It looked oh-so-good at night. The interior seems to remain largely unchanged.

Also expected to remain unchanged is powertrain options with the 2.0T and 3.6 litre V6 carrying over as well as Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel drive.

The 2013 Passat CC is expected to go on sale in the spring. Click past the jump for a rear snap.

[Volkswagen]

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Test Drive: 2012 Volkswagen Passat 2.5

By Kevin Harrison

My uncle used to play street hockey with Cliff Ronning and another friend. While my uncle could do well enough for pick-up street hockey, Cliff Ronning  was clearly in another league. Literally. He ended up getting drafted to the NHL. My uncle, on the other hand, decided to take the geology route in life, while his friend decided to have a go at accounting. Let’s call him John.

My uncle still keeps in touch with John from time to time and without fail, John always loves to bring up the time when the trio used to play hockey together. As John remembers it, he used to be able to keep up with Cliff Ronning and sometimes used to best him.

“I probably could’ve made the NHL too,” John always says. He maintains his passion for math (yes, apparently such a passion exists) is what kept him from playing alongside Cliff. But without fail, John always brings up how good he used to be. To be honest, today, John has settled into middle age and likely wouldn’t be able to skate up a rink without stopping to catch his breath at centre ice first before continuing on. And that’s generally what happens when you get older. You become bigger, more sluggish, softer and not quite as agile as you once were.

Some say that this has happened to the new Passat. The car once hailed as a nimble, refined, premium vehicle at a not-so-premium price always scored top marks in the quality and performance part of the family sedan segment. Now, however, it’s much bigger than its predecessor and much cheaper. Does that mean the Passat is starting to settle into middle age?

I took one out to find out.

Read the rest of this entry »

Volkswagen Canada Prices Golf R

We’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Golf R for months now and finally we’ll have an idea of how much we now have to save.

The Golf R will be priced at $39,675. That’s almost 10 grand more than a base GTI. What does the extra Golf R get you? Well mainly all-wheel drive and quite the power boost. The Golf R will get a 2.0 litre engine rated at 266 horsepower and 253 pound feet of torque. Not to mention a host of visual upgrades. Rumours right now are that the Golf R will get a six-speed manual only in Canada.

There will only be 500-600 available to buy in Canada so if you’re interested, get to your local VW dealership soon to place an order. They will officially be on Canadian roads in early 2012.

If you prefer your performance Veedubs to be a little more outlandish in the looks department, they will reportedly be producing an R version of the recently redesigned Beetle which looks much better than the one before it.

[Auto 123]

Test Drive: 2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI

By Kevin Harrison

My nephew has just marked his sixth month on this earth and he has got to be one of the most entertaining babies around.  A mere tap on the glass of the window will have him laughing in stitches. He seems to have an extreme fascination with place mats and whenever you present him with his favourite glow-worm, he becomes more hypnotized than a young girl at a Justin Bieber concert.

Trying to feed him, however, can be a bit of a challenge. It’s quite clear that the little guy just does not like his apple puree. And trying to trick him to open his mouth by making him laugh with some window tapping doesn’t work either because he then proceeds to just laugh with his mouth closed. Smart kid.

There can be quite frustrating challenges in the automotive industry as well. For instance making an efficient SUV is just as difficult as feeding apples to my nephew. You’ve got a vehicle that’s inherently heavy shaped like a drag producing box with a need for a powerful engine. Not the best recipe for efficiency indeed.

But that doesn’t stop automakers from trying. Volkswagen introduced their first ever SUV in 2005 and it took them until them three years to figure out how to make the Touareg more efficient. The TDI was then born, back in a time when diesel engine technology, for some reason, still left a sour taste in peoples mouths despite the advances in technology to make them cleaner, quieter and more efficient.

The Touareg TDI is back again for this second generation, but it actually faces some stiff competition, from its German peers, of which I thought bested the previous generation iteration of the Touareg TDI.

Is this version a more credible contender?

Read the rest of this entry »

Volkswagen Passat Wagon Not Coming to Canada

Bad news, wagon fans. Prepare to add another to your R.I.P list as Volkswagen has just announced that the redesigned version of the Passat wagon will not be coming to Canada. The news comes on the heels of rumours of Dodge bringing back their full size wagon, the Magnum, and things were looking up for wagon aficionados everywhere.

The news is especially disheartening since the new wagon was spied testing a while back on U.S soil, leaving the impression that VW was looking to see how it handled our North American climate.

So why the lack of wagon love for us Canadians? Well, VW says that SUV’s and crossovers are still in high demand and slow Passat wagon sales in the U.S helped drive the nail in the coffin. The Touareg and Tiguan are selling strongly and VW says they’re working on a seven passenger CUV as well. Besides, the Golf wagon is still around to satisfy wagon-lovers’ taste buds, says VW. But while the golf wagon is an impressive vehicle for sure, those looking to replace their existing Passat wagons may see it as a bit of a downgrade.

[Car and Driver]

2012 Volkswagen Passat Priced $7,000 Cheaper Than ’08 Model

Volkswagen is riding high on new Jetta sales which are up 180% over the previous model year and most are attributing the sales hike to the $6,000 price drop from the previous model. Of course, in order to do that, Volkswagen had to scale back a bit on premium feel but that apparently has not bothered too many Canadians.

Now, Volkswagen is hoping the same formula will work for their mid-sized (which is really full-sized, let’s be honest) Passat. Pricing will be a whopping $7,000 cheaper than the 2008 model and $3,800 cheaper than the 2010 model. Volkswagen actually made a our Passat different from the rest of the world because we love us some excess extra room.

Our Passat will get three engine choices: a 2.5 litre five cylinder making 170 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque, a 2.0 litre turbocharged diesel (that’s TDI in Volkswagen speak) capable of making 140 horses and 236 pound feet of torque and a 3.6 litre V6. The base level 2.5 litre trim level with manual transmission will start at $23,975. The TDI will start at $27,475 and the top of the line 3.6 litre V6 will start at $33,575.

[The Globe & Mail]

Volkswagen Beetle R Coming to Canada?

Now we’re talking.

Volkswagen officially released info and pics on the next generation Beetle today and the only thing really worth speaking of from a performance purist point of view was availability of the 2.0T engine currently found in the GTI.

Well now it seems Volkswagen is getting serious about attracting male buyers with the Beetle (which is traditionally bought by females) with the announcement of a Beetle R variant which will be coming to the U.S and thus, likely to our market too.

Details are scarce at the moment, but considering the Golf R gets 256 horsepower and 248 pound feet of torque, it’s likely the that Beetle R will produce similar, if not the same numbers. However considering the much better looking (and more masculine) Golf R will be coming to Canada too, I’m willing to bet most males would take the Golf R over the Beetle R, which sort of defeats VW’s efforts to try to lure more males to the Beetle brand.

Okay men, which would you rather: the Golf R or the Beetle R?

[Car and Driver]

Oh Hi: 2012 Volkswagen Beetle

Were you in the audience of the Oprah Show when she announced that she would be giving  each audience member a brand new redesigned 2012 Volkswagen Beetle? If so, this is what it’s going to look like. Also, now you have a reason to make fun of everyone who made  fun of you for being in the audience of an Oprah Winfrey Show. Free car!

Anyway, the design is clearly evolutionary as it is long and wider than the outgoing model, however VW designers said they were inspired by the original Beetle – hence keeping the retro feel. It’s actually closer to the Ragster concept. As is the trend of late in the auto industry, the Beetle will get LED tail lights and LED running lamps up front. It will have seating for four with rear foldable seats which should translate into more cargo room given the new size of the Beetle. Volkswagen’s strategy was to make the Beetle more masculine in an effort to attract more male buyers. The previous generation Beetle had a high number of female owners. Think it worked?

In Europe, they will get their choice of three engines: a 1.2 litre naturally asperated unit, a 1.6 litre diesel and a 2.0 litre turbo. The engine choices for us Canadians has yet to be announced but a safe bet would be on the 200 + horsepower 2.0 litre turbo (the same that’s used in the GTI and Tiguan) and probably the TDI engine.

Hit the jump for more pics.

What do you think of the 2012 Beetle?

[Volkswagen]

Read the rest of this entry »

Volkswagen Golf R: The Good & the Bad, But at Least Its Not Ugly

About 3 months ago Volkswagen confirmed that the hotted up Golf R, previously unavailable in North America, will be coming to Canada in 2012. Now that we’re officially one year closer, Volkswagen has let some info out of the bag. There’s good news and bad news.

I’ll give you the good news first: the Golf R will only be available with a 6-speed manual. I know, I know, their DSG shifts quicker on paper, but let’s face it -that’s only useful if you plan on racing your Golf R and I would wager that most won’t take their Golf R’s to the track. In which case, having a more involved weekend drive with the six-speed manual makes more sense. Oddly enough, the European Golf R gets the choice of manual or DSG. And admittedly 50% of GTI sales in the U.S. are DSG automatics.

Now for the bad news: the North American version of the Golf R will be less powerful than the European version. The Euro version gets a 2.0 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder which makes 270 horsepower and 258 pound feet of torque. We will ge the same 2.0 litre unit, however ours will be de-tuned to 256 horsepower and 243 pound feet of torque. Still, that’s 56 more horses than the GTI and it’s about 250 pounds lighter than the recent R32, so it’s unlikely that the Golf R will disappoint anyone, but it kinda sucks knowing that the car is capable of more yet we’re not getting it. Expect 0-100 times in the 5.9 second range.

Volkswagen offered up no reason for the horsepower decrease.

[Autoblog]

Oh Hi: 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

It’s not secret that the Volkswagen Golf GTI is among the best for front-wheel drive hot hatches, but for those who prefer the look of the sedan, wait no longer. The next generation GLI has arrived.

The new version gets the same 2.0T TSI engine found in the GTI and the Tiguan which makes 200 horespower and 207 pound feet of torque with your choice of a six speed manual or a six speed DSG automatic. This new GLI promises to reduce understeer which has plagued GLI’s in of the past.

The GLI will actually get three trim levels within itself: the regular GLI, the GLI Autobahn and the GLI Autobahn Navigation. Don’t get too excited though because there’s no power difference between the three, just a difference in standard features depending on which trim level you choose.

The GLI is expected at Canadian dealerships this spring.

[Volkswagen]

Test Drive: 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0T 4Motion

By Kevin Harrison

If you’re a heterosexual man, chances are you’ve had at least one girlfriend over the years that, to steal a Seinfeld analogy, had your brain and your penis duke it out in a game of chess. And if you’re at least the normal type, chances are you’ve had not one but several experiences like this. I certainly have.

It’s quite the catch 22 isn’t it? You could have the most stunningly beautiful girl, but she can be as dumb as Miley Cyrus, or as annoying as Miley Cyrus, or as embarrassing as Miley Cyrus or as high maintenance as Miley Cyrus. In which case, do you stay with her for the shallow but ultimately important reason of being able to constantly turn you on by wearing lulu lemon pants alone, or do you date someone who may be rather plain in appearance but can at least have an intelligent conversation with you and won’t threaten to key your car if you decide to watch the game with the guys instead of hanging out with her.

I’m convinced that most Volkswagen owners don’t bother choosing between the two. They just make do with the attractive high maintenance girlfriend that is their car.

The Volkswagen Tiguan is the perfect example of what I mean. Read the rest of this entry »

Oh Hi: 2012 Volkwagen Passat (North American Version)

Volkswagen introduced the next generation Passat a while back, but we were told that we wouldn’t be getting it. Instead, VW indicated that North Americans would get our own version. I’m sure you can insinuate that that means our version would be much bigger. And it is.

The North American version now has the longest wheelbase of any car to wear the Passat name. Like the Jetta though, Volkswagen is promising a lower starting price than the outgoing version. It’s not clear whether this will be at the cost of lower quality materials though.

The North American Passat gets three engine choices: a 2.0 turbodiesel TDI engine makign 140 horsepower and 235 pound feet of torque, a 2.5 litre four cylinder making 170 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque and a 3.5 litre V6 making a much healthier 280 horsepwer and  258 pound feet of torque.

Hit the jump for a rear and interior snap.

[Volkswagen]

Read the rest of this entry »

Volkswagen Confirms Golf R For Canada

Just before Christmas, Volkswagen quietly revealed some exciting news about one of its most exciting products: The Golf R will finally be heading to Canada!

The Golf R32 has been on sale in Europe and America for a while now, snatching up awards left and right. If you think the GTI is a delicious piece of automotive engineering (which you really should) then start saving for a Golf R right now.

It’s expected to get 256 horses, 4motion all-wheel drive, upgraded brakes and suspension and performance wheels/tires. Volkswagen is taking aim squarely at the Subaru Impreza WRX with this one.

Expect to see the Golf R at your local Volkswagen dealership sometime in 2012. As impressive as all that sounds, it will really be the price that determines whether or not the Golf R will be a winner in Canada or not. If it’s priced right, the masses will come. And isn’t that what the people’s car is all about anyway?

[The Montreal Gazette]

Ward’s 2011 Engines of the Year Announced

This year’s engine of the year award winners are full of repeat winners and a few surprises.

The first big surprise is the Nissan LEAF winning this award. Mostly because it doesn’t even have an engine, it’s has an electric motor only. What was Ward’s reasoning? Apparently since the LEAF feels like a regular car (i.e four doors, five seats, an accelerator and brake) it deserves this award. That’s like saying since Stephen Harper has arms, legs and a face he should win a beauty contest.

Another big surprise is the engine/electric motor set up in the Chevy Volt. With the electric motor primarily propelling the car, it’s a wonder why it’s on the list. Ward’s sites reasons similar to the LEAF for its choice.

But despite those odd choices, the one that shocked me the most was Chrysler’s 3.6 litre Pentastar V6 making the list. This has been a traditionally awful engine. Just terrible. However since Fiat has taken the reigns, it appears they have put some work into this engine making it much better. It can be found in the 2011 Dodge Avenger and Chrysler 200.

Volvo also picked up an award for the 3.0 litre inline six that it uses in the redesigned S60. Ward’s says this engine almost rivals BMW’s 3.0 I-6 as it is buttery smooth, has great mid-range pick up and has virtually no turbo lag. Quite the statement, I’ll have to try it out to see if it stacks up.

Speaking of BMW, they unsurpsingly won once again for their N55 3.0 litre twin scrolled turbo engine for the 5th year in a row. I can wholeheartedly agree with this decision after experiencing the 135i (read my test drive in the post below).

BMW also won a second award for the 1.6 litre turbocharged inline 4 that it uses in the Mini Cooper S. With more power, more efficiency and little turbo lag, it helps make the Cooper S quite the little performance machine.

Volkswagen picked up two awards as well. One for the supercharged V6 found in the Audi S4 and one for new Clean Diesel 2.0 litre TDI found in the Golf, Jetta and Audi A3. The former delivers all encompassing performance while the latter does exceptionally well at combining efficiency with performance.

Rounding up the list is the Ford and Hyundai. After reintroducing the 5.0 litre V8 found in the Mustang they were actually able to make a car that could keep up with the BMW M3. Enough said.

Hyundai on the other hand won for its 5.0 V8 as well found in the base Genesis sedan and the upcoming Equus flagship sedan. It won for keeping power plentiful while being even more efficient than the previous engine.

Congrats to all the winners!

[Ward's]