There's a reason why Volkswagen's new Golf doesn't come with a ridiculously underpowered two-cylinder engine is because the Germans have found much cleverer ways to safe fuel.
This engine should be familiar to anybody who's lusted over the Polo BlueGT hot hatchling. It's the new 1.4 TSI. Not to be confused with either the 1.4 TSI 122 in lesser Golfs or the 180 hp version in the Polo GTI, this new unit is designed for economy.
The engine produces a very impressive 140 PS and 250 Nm of torque yet is about as efficient as a 1.2 TSI.
The latest VW Blue Motion technology means two of the cylinders are cut. The active cylinder management ACT closes the valves and cuts off fuel supply to cylinder 2 and 3. It's believed this reduces fuel consumption by 0.5 liters in combined driving or as much as 0.7 liters per kilometer in the city.
Although this is a very expensive optional extra, we recommend you go for the DSG7 gearbox to get the best fuel savings from the 1.4 TSI ACT engine.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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