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?

In order to achieve that harmonious admiration for this New Beetle, Volkswagen had to add a lot more testosterone to the styling, all while not alienating its strong estrogen base. On top of that, they couldn’t strain too far from the original Beetle’s design as the New Beetle is largely a retro based model. So, how do you inject more testosterone into such a shape? Well Volkswagen started by lowering and flattening the roofline. They added a longer hood and wheel arches that look more like bulging muscles rather than cute love handles. However, if Volkswagen truly wanted to completely the muscular look, they would have made 17′s standard instead of 16′s. With that said, the more aggressive design certainly won favour from most of the males in my office. But what about women who grew so found of the previous design? Well apparently a good majority of them can’t tell the difference from the old one based on my very unscientific poll. So, unifying exterior design? Check.

The Beetle has always had a reputation for lots of headroom thanks to its dome shaped design and even with that lowered flattened roof that remains true in the new version. I suspect even the six foot eight inch Lebron James would feel comfortable in the Beetles insides. It’s also immediately apparent when you step inside is a feeling that the Beetle is actually quite wide. And that’s because it is. This combined with the headroom gives the Beetle and airy feel inside the cabin. All the controls are logically laid out and are of typical Volkswagen high quality, however the large amounts of coloured plastic on the dash and alongside the doors makes the Beetle feel more like a  utilitarian vehicle  than a premium vehicle. The rear seats offer adequate leg room, however this is where to roof starts to slope and when Lebron James would rather be playing hockey than sitting back there.

The Beetle actually comes with a flat-bottomed steering wheel which is normally reserved for Volkswagen’s performance injected models like the GTI or GLI. I was surprised by this considering the numbers on paper. My tester came with Volkswagen’s long-in-the-tooth 2.5 five cylinder engine which makes 170 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque. While that is adequate power for the most part, it’s quite shy from what a performance vehicle should have. On top of it all, the Beetle takes about a decade to come to life from a stand still when you mash the throttle to the floor. However, once it reaches year ten, you can really feel the torque kick in. But while the torque can eventually get you going off the line, don’t expect to win too many drag races. This isn’t actually Herbie, after all. One thing this engine does accelerate at is highway driving. The engine is a bit loud in city driving, but it quietly and smoothly masters the road on the highway. While doing so, it’s returning about 7.8 L/ 100 kms. The Beetle’s outdated engine is a big reason why I question the flat-bottomed steering wheel, however to be fair I suspect you could get more out of this engine when equipped with a six-speed manual, and on top of that, you can also opt for Volkswagen’s much more desirable 2.0T.

Even though the 2.5 falls a bit short in engine performance, the Beetle actually handles fairly well and a big reason why is that it is based on the tried tested and true Jetta. With that said, the hydraulically powered steering wheels gives little feedback to the driver so throwing the Beetle into a corner can be somewhat unnerving with lots of wheel correction to be made while completing the turn. With that said, the Beetle 2.5 successfully blends decent handling with a smooth comfortable ride.

 But is it a car that honestly appeals to both sexes?

My guess is that answer probably relies on which variant you choose. While there isn’t anything inherently wrong with the 2.5, my guess is that women will favour this trim level over men due to its simplicity, it’s softer looks and it’s comfort level. Men would like go for the more aggressive 2.0T with the appropriate style and performance upgrades. In fact, rumour has it that a Beetle R will be gracing our shores and that would be the ultimate draw to get most men to even consider a Beetle. Women with gasoline in their veins would also appreciate this version as well.

So at the end of the day, yes I’d saw Volkswagen has succeeded in breaking down the stereotype of the Beetle being a car exclusively made for women. It may have taken Volkswagen 73 years to do it, but finally we may have a true “people’s car”.

Base Price: $21,975

Pros:

• More aggressive styling
• Good quality interior materials
• Great highway ride
• Slightly more performance oriented, with a good blend of comfort
• Low base price

Cons:

• 2.5 litre engine not the most refined engine in the world
• Lots of lag from stand still
• Little steering feedback
• Interior plastics not consistent with traditional VW premium feel

Overall: 7.5/10

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]

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.

It’s quite obvious that the Passat is definitely bigger than the previous version. In fact it’s a full 10 centimeters longer making it the biggest Passat produced to date – for North America, that is. The rest of the world gets a smaller version of the North American Passat. Why? Well because traditional mid-size sedans here in North America could probably now be classified as full-sized. Each sedan in the segment is significantly larger than the generation before. To give you an idea, the current generation Honda Civic is the same size as the original Accord was. So, in order to play in the ball game, Volkswagen had to build one specific to our needs  wants and as a result it is the third largest ‘mid-size’ sedan available. The size increase hasn’t spoiled the styling at all, in fact the Passat looks to be among the most elegant of the mid-size sedan segment with a conservative and classy design, almost completely echoing the design language of the new Jetta. It works well and gets a lot of looks from VW fans alike.

Speaking of the new Jetta, a big reason why they are selling like hot cakes nowadays is because the price has dropped significantly from the previous model. It seems to be working well for Volkswagen, however critics seem to share the idea that cost cutting measures have made the interior less appealing. While I have yet to drive the new Jetta, I can safely say that this is not the case for the new Passat, which also gets a steep price cut this year. The interior layout and materials exude a quality and premium feel typical of Passats before it. The only hard plastic I could find was the one surrounding the lower part of the centre stack. That’s a pretty small price to pay considering the Passat’s sub $24,000 base price. In fact, I’m still scratching my head as to how Volkswagen was able to cut the price of this car so much with very minimal sacrifice to quality, ride or refinement. On top of it all, the Passat is about the roomiest mid-size car I’ve been in in a while. Even with the driver’s seat back to my preferred position, there was still an abundance of rear seat legroom available. Likewise, trunk space is large enough to swallow virtually anything you throw at it, especially with the rear seats down. There were a few times when I’d get into the Passat, start it up and nothing would show up on the screen, just the time, when I had previously had the Sirius satellite radio on before I turned it off. Pressing the power button did no good either. I had to wait a good two minutes before the audio system finally came back to life. And, as I experienced in the Touareg, the touchscreen sometimes did not respond to commands.

My tester came with the base 2.5 litre engine which makes 170 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. If I’m honest, this isn’t Volkswagen’s best engine as noise levels can be high and the Passat can seem quite sluggish when accelerating from a stand still. That’s not to say that the Passat is a slouch because once the torque chimes in there is plenty of power, especially on the highway. There is some slight torque steer at times, but if driven in a normal everyday manner, the torque steer is virtually non-existent. The Passat with the 2.5 litre engine is rated at 9.6 L/100 kms city and 6.7 L/100 kms highway which is pretty competitive with its rivals. However, the Passat has the ability to blow its rivals away in the fuel economy department when fitted with the optional and more desirable TDI power plant. Not only is it rated at an impressive 6.5 L/100 kms city and 4.5 L/100 kms highway, its torque happy nature likely makes it more fun to drive. With that said, the 2.5 litre engine is adequate for every day driving duties.

Despite the increase in size, handling is still very Passat-like as Volkswagen has extended the wheelbase as well. In fact, the Passat now has the longest wheelbase in the class, which is exactly why there’s so much leg room back there. The Passat seems surefooted and body roll isn’t very noticeable. The steering is a bit soft, but not overly so. Again, quite suitable for daily driving. It may not be quite as nimble as the smaller Passat before it, but I’d wager it’s still probably one of the better handling vehicles in the mid-size sedan segment.

The simple fact of the matter is, this new Passat would make John jealous, in fact he should take a page from Volkswagen’s book. While it has grown in size and is a bit softened down, it’s settling in with middle age much more easily than he is. It’s still just as capable, just as good looking, has just as much of a premium feel,  has just as many standard, with the added bonus of a cheaper price and more usable space. So far as I can tell it may be the new benchmark in the ever competitive mid-size segment. It seems the only thing the Passat can’t do would be to beat John at a game of hockey. Hey, nobody’s perfect, right?

Base Price: $23,975

Pros:

• Interior fit and finish
• Interior space
• Classy exterior look
• Decent handling abilities
• More competitive price point
• Engine option availability
• Great daily driver

Cons:

• 2.5 engine a bit noisy and sluggish off the line
• Some torque steer when pushed
• Increased size makes it a bit difficult to maneuver
• Finicky touch screen

Overall: 9/10

Special thanks to Mike Velemirovich of Hillcrest Volkswagen

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]

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?

Firstly, the Touareg is much improved in terms of the interior over the 2010 Touareg TDI. While the previous generation was quite comfortable with high quality materials, this new interior is much cleaner, refined and logical. There’s no mistaking the 2011 Touareg TDI for anything but a premium vehicle once you step inside. The rear seats offer plenty of legroom and will fit three full-sized adults quite comfortably thanks in part to the reclining bench back there. The cabin is opened up nicely by a panorama sunroof. The rear seats don’t quite fold flat, but it still offers plenty of cargo room to swallow up mostly anything you challenge it to. The 12-speaker system is spot-on and as is the navigation.

Outside, the Touareg’s look has been softened in my opinion, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The large twin-spoked 20 inch wheels along with a sleek profile and horseshoe shaped LED daytime running helps definitely help the Touareg to stand out in a good way. It’s a classy look typical of most German designs which captures attention in a graceful, elegant way. Many American and Japanese designers could learn from this simplistic design language.

Power is generated by a 3.0 litre V6 turbo-diesel and makes 225 horsepower and a whopping 406 pound feet of torque. The torque is really the part of the recipe that gets this 5100 pound mid-size SUV off the line in an impressive 6.8 seconds. Torque thankfully chimes in at around 2,000 RPM and boy is it ever a head-snapper. When putting your foot to the floor, there’s no question that the Touareg TDI feels fast.  But perhaps the more impressive thing about this engine is what it does when you are waiting at a red light. The engine is dead quiet. No diesel clatter, not ear bleeding loudness. Nothing. When the light turns green, it feels and sounds as if you’re driving a regular gas engine V6. Even when you try to test that 6.8 second run to 100, there’s still no audible indication that you’re driving a diesel, in fact, there were more than a few occasions when I just plain forgot about it. From inside the cabin there’s no noise intrusion, it’s not until you roll down the window and push the Touareg TDI a little harder that the diesel noise becomes prevalent, and even then it’s not that bad.

The Touareg TDI is rated at 11.1 L/100 kms city and 7.0 L/100 kms highway. I got a combined rating of around 9.7 L/100 kms. Not bad at all considering you can get similar levels of efficiency from a Honda Accord which isn’t nearly as versatile.

Handling is good, but that’s relative. It’s good considering how high off the ground it is and how heavy it is, but don’t expect to set any records in the Nurburgring. The 4motion all-wheel drive system does a good job of keeping the Tourareg TDI planted. The large wheels and low-profile tires likely play a role here as well. The heavy diesel engine produces a bit of understand and can be nose heavy under heavy braking, but overall it feels composed. I never had the chance to try out the Touareg’s handling abilities, but making the Touareg off-road ready is as simple as switching a dial on the console from on-road to off-road.

One feature I really liked was the ‘auto-hold’ feature which does as the name suggests. Whenever I came to a stop on going up a hill, this feature did a great job of preventing the Touareg from slipping backwards when taking your foot off the brake. In fact, I used it in regular traffic as well. In a manual transmission car you can take your foot off the brake without rolling forward, but in an automatic, you can’t. This feature allows your right foot a bit of a brake in between stops. There were a few instances when it seemed as though the auto-hold was hesitant to release the Touareg once you stepped on the gas, however.

Faults? Well, sometimes the touch screen doesn’t respond to commands. And I still find the dial typical of all VW’s difficult to get the sunroof to get what you want it to do. And I prefer a bit heavier steering. And I’m not a fan of rear turn signals that don’t flash amber. As you can plainly see, I’m reaching to find a whole lot wrong with the Touareg TDI.

And here’s the thing. The biggest advantage of the TDI is obviously fuel efficiency, but its inherent torque-y-ness makes combined with good handling makes it quite an entertaining drive as well. It seems as though Volkswagen has been able to achieve the impossible task. I should hire them to feed my nephew.

It terms of its competition, I can now confidently say it’s up there. While the BMW X5 diesel may have an edge in styling and handling, the Touareg TDI is a no brainer against its porkier and more expensive Audi Q7 diesel as well as the much forgotten Mercedes-Benz ML diesel. The Porsche Cayenne on which it is based also has a diesel version, but its safe to assume the Touareg isn’t even close to being in the same league. All in all, however, the Touareg TDI is definitely worth a spot on you car shopping list.

Base Price: $63,135

Pros:

• Good gas mileage considering size and weight
• Capable handling abilities
• Classy, comfortable interior
• Rear cargo and leg room
• Torque-y TDI engine, strong ability off the line
• Easy to use navigation

Cons:

• Fussy touch screen
• Softened exterior styling
• Tire/wheel set up makes actual off-roading difficult
• Steering a bit too light

Overall: 9/10

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

Firstly, there’s no denying that that the exterior is decidedly good looking. In particular, the front end exudes the classic Volkswagen styling of seemingly simplistic, yet retains a premium look. The side profile is also tasteful with classic compact SUV lines complete with multi-spoke alloy wheels while the rear view is accented with large tail circular tail lights. It’s a very attractive design and I can find few faults with it. It does, however, give the impression of being on the small side.

But that impression quickly fades once you hop inside. Space is actually generous with head room being the most plentiful. Rear seat room could be a bit more, however, it’s still adequate. Cargo room is good and the 60/40 folding rear seats help to haul larger items. My tester came with a stupidly large panoramic sunroof which really helps to add an airy feel to the interior. There is no solid sunroof shade which means a slight draft from the sunroof can enter the cabin in really cold temperatures. No matter though, the heated seats warm up your rear end in what feels like seconds and the rest of the climate controls are easy to use and well laid out. But, and this is true for all Volkswagens, operating the sunroof is unconventional in that it uses a dial. This means you need to actually look at where to turn the dial for your preferred sunroof setting which means taking your eyes off the road for an extended period of time. Also the steering wheel is oddly tilted at an angle which can not be fixed by the tilt/telescoping feature. It takes a bit of time to get used to it, but you do eventually. As per usual, quality of materials are excellent.

The Tiguan has a 2.0 ltire turbocharged four which punches out 200 horsepower and 207 pound feet of torque. This is Volkswagen’s award winning TSI engine and it’s not hard to see why. Torque is immediately available at 1700 rpm. But despite that, the Tiguan posts a rather slowish 0-100 time in 7.9 seconds. I actually find that hard to believe as it feels much quicker than that, especially with the very fast and smooth shifts of the six speed automatic. If you get a regular front wheel drive Tiguan you shave 0.1  seconds off the time. That said, having only four cylinders theoretically will help ease gas usage and that was Volkswagen’s thinking when they put the TSI engine in there. The thing is though, it’s not even good on gas. The Tiguan is rated at 11.6 L/100 kms city and 8.3 highway. I returned 13.6 in combined driving. To be fair, a lot of driving was done in -10 degree weather or colder and that can substantially affect fuel efficiency. Still, the official ratings aren’t terribly impressive.

My tester had 4Motion all-wheel drive which really helped the Tiguan stay planted in the corners, but also gave some credibility to its jacked up appearance. Come to think of it, the best way to describe the handling abilities of the Tiguan is saying it’s like a jacked up GTI, which is quite the compliment. The handling is quite nimble and the steering is precise with a good heavy feel (if you like that sort of thing… which you should if performance is at all important to you). Getting the Tiguan stuck in the snow is as hard as bringing yourself to go on a date with, you guessed it, Miley Cyrus. It’s quite good in the snow.

So far things seems like they’re going well for the Tiguan, right? It seems the Tiguan is on its way to being a very attractive, fun girlfriend that you would gladly show off to anyone.

But it isn’t. It’s actually one of those attractive high maintenance girlfriends that I was talking about. Literally.

When I picked up the Tiguan it had about 50 kilometres on the odometer, in other words brand new, never really driven. I was pretty much the first person to take it on an extended drive.  At 95 kilometers on the odometer a light came on the dash warning me that I had a bulb out. Thinking there was no way that was true with only 95 kilometers on the car, I immediately pulled over to check. Sure enough, it had a headlight out. Seriously! I’m sorry, I don’t care who you are or how long you’ve been making cars, there’s absolutely no excuse for a burnt out head light with 95 kilometers on the odo. It didn’t even hit triple digits yet!

Then, at around 155 kilometers a warning light came on insisting that I needed windshield wiper fluid. I doubted that as well considering it should’ve been full and barely used with such low kilometers, but I checked anyway. It turned out there was plenty of windshield wiper fluid. The warning light just came on for no reason and stayed on.

And on my last day with the Tiguan the doors wouldn’t lock. It wouldn’t lock from the key fob or from inside. This was bad news as I couldn’t just leave the Tiguan unlocked all day as the office for my day job is located in, well, a neighbourhood other than Mr. Rogers’. So I decided I had to take it into the dealership right away to get looked at. I climbed back into the drivers seat and tried to close the door. It wouldn’t close. I thought the seat belt was catching on it, but it wasn’t. It just literally would not close.

So now, not only could I not leave the Tiguan unattended because the doors wouldn’t lock, but I couldn’t even drive it because the door wouldn’t close.

Bravely, I decided to drive it into the dealership anyway. This meant one hand on the wheel and one hand holding the driver’s door close. It’s not until you do this when you realize just how heavy a car door is. My left arm definitely got quite the workout trying to keep it shut, especially when taking a right turn. Now I understand why driving instructors insist on driving with both hands at ten and two. It’s definitely hard to steer a car with one hand while all your energy going going towards doing something else.

I pulled into the dealership, got out and tried closing the door again. It shut properly. What?! I was baffled. I got a salesman to take a look at it and he didn’t get it either. The explanation he came up with was that there was likely some ice that got jammed in the door or that the door was frozen. That’s unlikely since a) if it was frozen I wouldn’t have been able to open the door in the first place and b) by this time the temperature had warmed up to 0 degrees.

So there you have it. The Tiguan is pretty much like Jennifer Lopez. Very good looking, very talented, very agreeable overall, but it can be quite the regular diva. Owning a Tiguan would be exactly like having a hot high maintenance girlfriend. Depending on what you’re into, that could very well work for you. But me? I like my girlfriends to be way more reliable. In fact, I like to have the complete package.

The Tiguan is a great vehicle plagued by the unfortunate shaky reliability of its family. Pity.

Price As Tested: $41,770

Pros:

• Torque-y engine
• Smooth and quick shifting six speed automatic
• Sexy styling
• Good ergonomical interior with quality materials
• Good handling abilities for its ride height

Cons:

• Poor fuel consumption despite engine size
• Steep price for the compact sport utility segment
• Tremendously shaky reliability

Overall: 7.5/10

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]

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]

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]