Volkswagen has announced prices and specifications and opened the order books for the all-new Touran. Redesigned from the ground up and built on Volkswagen’s advanced MQB platform, the new Touran – priced from £22,240 – delivers a sharper, sleeker look, dramatically reduced running costs and a host of new innovations to make life on board safer and easier for everyone.  

First shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March, the new Touran is 130mm longer than the model it replaces. Much of this is in the wheelbase, which, at 2,791mm, is 113mm longer than the previous model – further increasing usable interior space.

All models are equipped with a seven-seat layout that features a new fold-flat system. The seats in the second and third rows, plus the front passenger seat backrest (from SE trim up) can be folded in a matter of seconds, creating a level continuous floor for easy loading. With the second and third row seats folded, the Touran has a cargo capacity of 1,857 litres and has the largest luggage compartment in its class. 47 storage compartments also ensure that life’s essentials gadgets can be carried safety and securely.

Touran engine range - up to 19 per cent more efficient

The new Touran launches with five engines (two petrol and three diesel) that are up to 19 per cent more efficient than the units they replace.  All are Euro6 compliant and have power outputs ranging from 110 to 190 PS. The petrol line-up consists of a 1.2-litre 110 PS TSI with a six-speed manual gearbox and a 1.4-litre 150 PS that is offered with a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG gearbox.

Diesel options consist of a 1.6-litre 110 PS with six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG, a 2.0-litre TDI 150 PS with six-speed manual or DSG, and a range-topping 2.0-litre TDI with 190 PS and standard six-speed DSG transmission.

Thanks to overall weight reductions of up to 62kg and the introduction of new fuel saving technologies, CO2 emissions are significantly lower for the new model with the 1.6 TDI 110 PS DSG emitting just 111 g/km.

More equipment, more features, more connectivity

With its highest ever equipment count, the new Touran offers buyers the ultimate in family transportation. Highlights on the entry-level S include automatic post-collision braking and pre-crash systems, seven airbags, 6.5-inch Composition Media system with DAB and Bluetooth, air conditioning, roof rails and seven seats.

Starting from £23,630, SE models add 16-inch alloys, Front Assist with city emergency braking function, front and rear parking sensors, iPod connectivity and rain sensor, while the new SE Family trim adds an extra-large panoramic sunroof with integrated lighting, Discover Navigation with Car-Net Guide and Inform and rear window blinds. Reflecting its family-friendly status, this model also features remotely activated child locks and a voice amplification system that allows the driver to be heard clearly by all rear passengers.

At the top of the range, SEL models add Adaptive Cruise Control, Driver Profile Select and App Connect, 17-inch alloy wheels, three-zone Pure Air air-conditioning with allergen filter and Driver Profile Selection.

Connectivity is also taken to a new level with numerous features that allow owners to take advantage of real-time information delivered straight to the infotainment display. These include Car-Net ‘Guide and Inform’ and Car-Net ‘App-Connect’ that seamlessly integrates CarPlay (Apple) and Android Auto (Google) and MirrorLink.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk

  • Golf GTE wins Green category in the 2015 BusinessCar Fleet Technology awards
  • Judges praised the Golf GTE for its performance, ease of use and economy
  • Golf GTE launched earlier this year with plug-in hybrid technology - priced from £33,755
  • 204 PS performance combined with CO2 emissions of just 39 g/km

Volkswagen has added to its growing list of 2015 automotive industry accolades by winning the Green category in the annual BusinessCar Fleet Technology Awards - the Techies. The prestigious title was awarded to Volkswagen for the Golf GTE, an innovative plug-in hybrid that combines sporty dynamics with exceptional fuel economy and low CO2 emissions. 

Now in their seventh year, the Techies are judged by both BusinessCar’s experienced editorial panel with help from TRL’s technology expert. The industry’s only technology-specific awards, the BusinessCar Techies reward the use of technology to make business car fleet operations easier, cheaper, cleaner, safer and more straightforward.

The judging panel selected the Golf GTE ahead of strong and established rivals on the Green shortlist, citing its exceptional performance, value and ease of use.

BusinessCar Editor and judge Paul Barker said: “Volkswagen has taken a huge step towards normalising ultra-low emission vehicles with the introduction of the GTE, a Golf that sits alongside its siblings in practicality, price and performance terms.

“It’s a sensible purchase that stacks up on running costs as well as environmental responsibility while proving that electric vehicles can be fun, entertaining, high quality and attractive.”

Launched in the UK earlier this year, the Golf GTE is priced from £33,755 and combines a 1.4-litre TSI engine with an electric motor. Along with three hybrid driving modes and ‘GTE’ mode, it also offers the all-electric ‘E-mode’ that provides silent, emission-free operation up to a distance of 31 miles.

Equipped with a six-speed DSG transmission as standard the combined power output of the Golf GTE’s electric motor and the TSI engine is 204 PS, while CO2 emissions are just 39 g/km. 

Commenting on the award, Volkswagen’s Head of Fleet, Michael O’Shea added: “The Golf GTE represents a significant milestone in Volkswagen technology and I’m delighted that this has been recognised with this award. We know that buyers want to combine exceptional economy and emissions with the performance and proven quality that Volkswagen delivers – the Golf GTE proves that you really can have the best of both worlds.”

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk

An endurance test lies ahead of the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup competitors and their cars next weekend (22/23 August) at Snetterton, with two extended races to enliven the already heated action as the championship nears its conclusion.

Both Snetterton races will be of 30-minute duration, 50 per cent longer than the norm, which could prove crucial for drivers who are kinder to their tyres and those running less success ballast. Four drivers will go into qualifying and the first race carrying the maximum success ballast of 60kg following recent good results – Lucas Orrock, Michael Epps, Phil House and Aaron Mason.

House, a winner at Snetterton for PH Motorsport in 2013 and a podium finisher last time out, says careful preparation will be needed to make the permitted allocation of six new Hankook racing slicks lasts through qualifying and the longer races. “We are going to have to think carefully about how many laps to do in qualifying and how hard to go in the first few laps of the races to make sure not to cook the tyres too early,” says Phil. “It will also mean some set-up changes to make the tyres last a bit longer. It’s not going to be a case of backing off – you never really back off – but we will have to be a bit more calculating with our approach.”

The SlideSports Scirocco of championship leader David Sutton will be ballast-free going into the Snetterton meeting following a recent downtown in form. The Rotherham racer has led the championship all season, racking up four wins from the first eight races. His closest points rival, Doncaster driver Mason, regained his form last time out, at Brands Hatch, where he and his AWM Scirocco picked up their first win of 2015. Another gaining ground as the season approaches its climax is Cambridgeshire-based Orrock, whose Vindis-backed KPM Scirocco has finished on the podium at every meeting bar one this season.

Reigning champion Joe Fulbrook endured a Brands Hatch meeting to forget, suffering one of the biggest crashes of his 11-season VW Cup career. “It was a bit of a smash-up and it properly destroyed the car,” said Joe, whose Golf GTI left the track at Stirlings and rolled. “I was all right – it was only later that it started hurting a bit! It was a shame because we were going really well, and it wouldn’t have happened but for some incidents in the first race I got involved in, which put me ninth on the grid for race two and right in the thick of things. I’d been fast through that corner all weekend and it seems that I caught the car in front more quickly than I expected and I lifted off the throttle right at the moment I put a back wheel on the dirt. Within two-tenths of a second I was back fully on the throttle and heading straight for the barriers... It was the culmination of a catalogue of misfortunes and the punishment didn’t fit the crime.”

The Safe & Sound team technicians have been working overtime to ready Joe’s Golf GTI for a return at Snetterton, where he won in 2014. “The boys have been working monumentally hard on the car and it should be straight for Snetterton; hopefully we will be somewhere near the front. We had good pace at Brands and I want to get back out there because Snetterton has been a good circuit for me in the past.” Fulbrook does indeed have strong form at the Norfolk track, having won twice there in 2008, and twice since, including last year’s win.

The other race winners so far in 2015 are Team HARD’s Epps, who added the crash-shortened Brands Hatch finale to his tally earlier this month, Cooke and Mason Scirocco pilot Jack Walker-Tully and Wisbech-based Joe McMillan in the Cobra Engineering Scirocco.

There will be plenty of further contenders for victory on the grid in Norfolk, not least Team HARD’s podium finishers Howard Fuller and Bobby Thompson. It’s hoped that all the runners whose cars were damaged in the Round 12 startline shunt – including Laura Tillett (SlideSports), Damani Marcano (Team HARD) and Simon Tomlinson (AWM) will be back in action. In addition to rebuilding Fulbrook’s Golf, the Safe and Sound squad have been battling to restore Simon Andrews’ machine to full health after it was bashed at Brands.

Following the Snetterton double-header just two races remain on the calendar to decide the outcome of the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup championship title, at Donington Park in mid-September.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk

In 2008 Volkswagen released its most potent 'R' model yet the Passat R36. Joining the Golf R32 and, at the time, only the second model in the Volkswagen line-up to carry the 'R' badge the new car was not only the fastest Passat but also the fastest estate car Volkswagen had ever produced.

The basis for the R36 was a new 3.6-litre FSI V6 engine developing 300 PS. The R36 was the fastest production Passat with a claimed zero to 62 mph time of 5.6 seconds. The estate version which, like the saloon, was fitted with 4MOTION all-wheel drive returned a time of 5.8 seconds. Both were electronically limited to maximum speed of 155 mph.

The Passat R36 was not replaced when the latest generation of Passat arrived in December 2010.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk

Whatever your driving style, you'll find a transmission and drivetrain to suit you. Our acclaimed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG), for example, offers the ease of an automatic with the responsiveness and economy of a manual. Our automatic transmissions take the hard work out of driving, especially on long motorway journeys; while manual transmission lets you take charge. It's your choice. And if you opt for a car with our 4Motion four-wheel drive system you'll get superb levels of traction to cope with any conditions.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk