Volkswagen MK VI Golf BlueMotion now on sale, 99 g/km of CO2
2010 VW Golf BlueMotion - click above for high-res image gallery
After announcing the BlueMotion version of the new MK VI Golf last month, Volkswagen has now put the new high efficiency model on sale. BlueMotion is VW's branding for its ultra-low CO2 editions of the various cars in its lineup. In the case of the new Golf, that means it dips into the double digits on the EU driving cycle with a rating of just 99 g/km. On the same cycle, the new Golf covers 61.9 mpg (U.S.) of ultra low sulfur diesel.
The BlueMotion Golf achieves these lofty numbers by starting with propulsion from the new 1.6-liter common rail four cylinder TDI. The 104 hp diesel gets lots of help from a wide ratio five-speed manual gearbox, automatic start-stop and brake energy regeneration. The latter two essentially provide the same functionality as the now-discontinued mild hybrid system from General Motors. The body has also been lowered on the low rolling resistance tires which are mounted on lighter, low drag rims to reduce the aerodynamic resistance. Unfortunately, only European buyers can get the Golf BlueMotion.
[Source: Volkswagen]
PRESS RELEASE:
The most economical Golf of all time is available now
Top of its class with consumption at just 3.8-litres and 99 g/CO2
13 October 2009 - The second generation Golf BlueMotion is ready on the starting grid: with TDI, start-stop function and braking energy recovery, it is the top of its class. It is already available to buy in Germany from € 21,650.
The new Golf BlueMotion now comes with an optional package of various hi-tech components and applications which allows it to reach extremely low levels of consumption and emissions. With an average fuel consumption of 3.8 l / 100 km and CO2 emissions of just 99 g/km, this is the most economical Golf of all time. The superbly efficient 1.6 TDI contributes greatly to this. The new Common Rail engine delivers a power output of 77 kW / 105 PS yet is still even more efficient than the first generation Polo BlueMotion. This comparison just goes to show how hard Volkswagen works to increase efficiency in all of its models. The engine's power is transmitted via a long-ratio five-speed manual gearbox. What's more there is a gear recommendation function so that the Golf BlueMotion is always driving in the gear best suited for optimum consumption.
Additional features in the Golf BlueMotion are a braking energy recovery function (regeneration), a start-stop system (automatic switch-off function for the engine while standing), tyres optimised for rolling resistance, exceptionally light and aerodynamic wheels, an aerodynamically refined body and a lowered running gear. The new Golf BlueMotion model is also making waves thanks to its price: it is already on the market in Germany for just € 21,650.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
meme 4:40PM (10/14/2009)
So.... it's smaller than a Prius, less powerful than a Prius, emits about the same CO2 as a Prius, emits more conventional pollution than a Prius, and costs more than a Prius.
What, exactly, are this car's selling points?
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Mike 4:50PM (10/14/2009)
selling point: its not a prius!
Prius's are butt ugly and offer zero (or close to zero) style.
KK 5:01PM (10/14/2009)
For some people, smaller size is a selling point. I myself thought a Prius was larger than I needed. (I bought a Honda Fit instead, which is less efficient but makes up for it with a lower price tag.)
Swede 5:25PM (10/14/2009)
Prius is slower, has a higher fuel consumption, offers no fahrenfreude and is significantly more expensive. And it runs on petrol, which is satans fuel.
meme 5:46PM (10/14/2009)
Okay, um... huh?
* The Prius has 134 hp to the Golf's 104.
* It only has "higher fuel consumption" because the Golf is being rated on the NEDC and it's using a fuel that's 15% denser.
* I have no clue what "fahrenfreude" is, and Google doesn't seem to know, either
* How is $22,000 (Prius) more expensive than $32,327 (Golf)?
* How is gasoline (petrol), which burns cleaner than diesel, "Satan's Fuel"?
Your post makes absolutely no sense to me
wincros 6:45PM (10/14/2009)
Amazing facts, Meme
The Prius may be more powerful, but it accelerates like a 100 hp ICE car regardless of Toyota's specifications. So the horsepower comparison is meaningless. Smaller than a Prius is a plus for many people especially since the Prius has all the agility of a Buick. The Prius costs more despite your phony figures. The price of the Golf given is 21,650 euros in the article. If you go to the Toyota Deutschland site and open the configurator the Prius is 25,450 euros before adding anything to the typical Toyota stripper that no one wants. So just about everything you said was meaningless or false.
wincros 6:57PM (10/14/2009)
Oh, yeah, the mileage. You can't compare US tests with European tests, but there was list of the 15 most fuel efficient cars in Europe with their European tests and the mileage cited for this Golf is better than the Prius as did about 10 other cars.
meme 6:59PM (10/14/2009)
None of what you are saying makes any sense.
"The Prius may be more powerful, but it accelerates like a 100 hp ICE car"
Huh? This Golf has barely 100 horsepower, and you're saying it out-accelerates a 134 hp car with two separate drivetrains (thus a better range of optimal hp)? Come on. To put it another way, the "sporty" Golf versions that do 0-60 in 7.5-8 seconds require a ~175hp engine to do that. So while I can't find the 0-60 times on the Bluemotion listed anywhere, logic suggests a 0-60 of about 13 seconds -- way worse than the Prius's 10.
"Smaller than a Prius is a plus for many people especially since the Prius has all the agility of a Buick."
Then those people can consider it a plus. Most people don't, but some do.
"The Prius costs more despite your phony figures."
You could be a lot nicer and just say, "You used the US price on the Prius, but you should have used the European price, which far higher".
evilpaul 11:15PM (10/14/2009)
do you know what torque is? That is why the golf is faster. Event though it has only 100 hp, It has over 200 torque. The golf is probably lighter weight too. Also diesel cars are cleaner than petrol these days.
And to be fair even if all your facts WERE true, it would still be worth it to not be owning a prius. Prius's are the least environmentally friendly cars, with all the mining for the batteries, transporting, and refining the battery.
meme 11:44PM (10/14/2009)
"do you know what torque is?"
Yes. It's horsepower over gearing ratio. Horsepower and torque are interchangeable by gearing.
"The golf is probably lighter weight too."
Perhaps, but so?
"Also diesel cars are cleaner than petrol these days."
Show me a single SULEV diesel. The Prius is a SULEV. I don't think they've even achieved that in the concept-level, let alone on a mass production level.
Compare EPA emissions scores. Diesels suck.
"Prius's are the least environmentally friendly cars, with all the mining for the batteries, transporting, and refining the battery."
God, how many times does Autoblog Green have to debunk this myth?
Neil 10:20AM (10/15/2009)
It is a Volkswagen, not a Toyota. This might not be a big selling point in the USA, but it is in Germany.
It uses less of a cheaper fuel (diesel costs less than petrol in Germany). You can argue about the fuel density or calorific value, but to a normal customer less litres per 100km and a lower price per litre is a win-win.
It looks almost like any other Golf, so avoids the Prius' "look at me - I'm environmental" connotations.
It has a lower environmental footprint for production/distribution (no semi-precious NiMH batteries, and to the German customer has been transported half-way across one country, not half-way around the world).
It is €3000 cheaper than a Prius.
And yes, being smaller than a Prius is an advantage in European towns and cities, where parallel parking on the kerbside is the norm (and not usually in marked bays, so the smaller the car the more spaces it will fit into).
I suspect that the Prius' CO2 advantage mostly comes from its urban performance. On the Autobahnen I would expect the Golf to use less fuel and emit less CO2.
ToroQ3000 1:16PM (10/15/2009)
Whoa buddy, Horsepower is Torque divided by time, or how fast the engine revs. You have to gear the drivetrain with torque in mind, and there's of course mechanical losses of torque and revs, but the gearbox doesn't put out anything but a ratio of what the engine gives it.
The Prius' weak point is its CVT. Granted its a technology that has a future, right now its a slippery thing. The computer has to limit the engine so much in input when it turns on or revs so it doesn't burn out the CVT.
And lastly, all of what wincros said is very true. You just have to get your head out of the ground and look around.
One more thing, this is a completely new engine that VW is just starting out. Most TDis are another model, tuned to 140hp, 170hp, or 200hp depending on boost from the turbo.
meme 2:13PM (10/15/2009)
Torq3000:
There is no practical difference between a 77kW engine that provides 370 n-m peak torque at 2000 RPM and a 77kW engine that provides 185 n-m peak torque at 4000 RPM and is geared down twice as much. This obsession over engine torque is meaningless, as torque at the wheels varies depending on your gearing ratio.
As for "other TDIs" with more horsepower, they also burn more fuel.
I fully agree with Neil's comments, by the way (except for his repeating of the thousand-times-debunked battery myth). But most of the rest of you seem to be deluding yourselves in terms of performance, emissions, and so forth.
Sam 3:53PM (10/15/2009)
0-60 mph is around 11 seconds on this bluemotion model
11.3 to 100 km/hr
meme 3:58PM (10/15/2009)
Thanks, Sam! So yes, it is (unsurprisingly) slower than a Prius.
paulwesterberg 4:57PM (10/14/2009)
Its got lots of gears, gearheads like gears.
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paulwesterberg 5:01PM (10/14/2009)
Also, its got Fahrvergnügen.
Dracula 5:01PM (10/14/2009)
For one, it drives better than a Prius.
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tantareanujellob 6:01PM (10/14/2009)
I would take a prius over this POS any day.
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hans_solo 9:19PM (10/14/2009)
I'd take any car over a schmock Prius.