New TSI engine for the VW Golf: Petrol with diesel-like consumption

Volkswagen presents a new version of the 1.5 TSI engine, debuting in the Golf. With variable-geometry turbo and cylinder deactivation, it delivers 130 CV and offers consumption figures typical of a diesel engine.

Ever since it was launched in the Volkswagen Golf with the 150 CV 1.5 TSI engine, I have maintained that this engine, which other models in the group already use as well, is simply the best in its category in terms of power, flexibility, driving pleasure and also consumption. But this honour is not going to last long.

Now, Volkswagen confirms a new version of the 1.5 TSI engine for the Golf that delivers 130 CV, with new technologies that reduce consumption even further. Keep this figure in mind: according to the NEDC cycle, the homologated average consumption of the VW Golf 1.5 TSI BlueMotion with 130 CV would be 4.8 l/100 km. This corresponds to CO2 emissions of 110 g/km. If we take the extra-urban consumption figure, the homologated value is 4 l/100 km. With engines like this, there are not many reasons left to gradually forget about diesels.

Cylinder deactivation and variable-geometry turbo

Of course miracles do not exist, and to achieve this result there is only one path: technology. Compared with the 150 CV 1.5 TSI, the new 130 CV BlueMotion version keeps the ACT selective cylinder deactivation system. This system makes the engine run in “two-cylinder” mode when driving with light throttle load, between 1,400 and 4,000 rpm and at speeds of up to 130 km/h.

Unlike the 150 CV 1.5 TSI, the new 130 CV version uses a different combustion process, known as the “B cycle” or “Miller cycle”. The advantage of this system is that it reduces the compression stroke relative to the expansion stroke by delaying the closing of the intake valve. To keep things simple: the aim is to be able to raise the compression ratio without causing fuel knock.

The new 130 CV 1.5 TSI ACT engine with variable-geometry turbo and mild hybridisation will gradually be incorporated into other models of the Group Volkswagen

And that is not all. Another new technology in this engine is the variable-geometry turbocharger, a solution widely used in turbodiesel engines, but which only some brands (such as Porsche) use in petrol engines, in very sporty models and high-performance engines. Volkswagen seems to have found the key to eliminating the problems that variable-geometry turbochargers present with the high exhaust gas temperatures of petrol engines.

A “mild-hybrid” Volkswagen Golf

Finally, the new 130 CV 1.5 TSI engine for the Golf also includes “mild hybridisation”. But do not confuse it with a hybrid system. In versions with the DSG dual-clutch gearbox, the Golf 1.5 TSI BlueMotion can disconnect the engine when running in coasting mode, that is, when the driver lifts off the accelerator. In this case, the management system shuts the engine off and decouples it from the transmission, so the car moves with “zero emissions”.

To make this possible, the 12-volt electrical system includes a lithium-ion battery that recovers energy during braking and supplies the power needed for both the electric steering and the brake servo. According to Volkswagen, this technology allows consumption reductions of up to 0.4 l/100 km.

Now we only need to see how the incorporation of all these technologies affects the final price of the Volkswagen Golf with this engine, which, unless the range undergoes a restructuring (somewhat unlikely), would be positioned by power between the 125 CV 1.4 TSI and the 150 CV 1.5 TSI. Its arrival is scheduled for before the summer.

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackVolkswagen Golf28 versions · from 24,450 €