2019 Volkswagen Golf R Special Edition Review
What's the engine like? The VW Group鈥檚 2.0-litre turbo engine is beyond ubiquitous, serving time in everything from the Golf, Passat and Tiguan to much of Audi鈥檚 range, more than a couple of Skodas, a few not-for-Oz Seat models and Porsche鈥檚 Macan SUV. We鈥檝e praised it in the past for offering fuss-free, flexible performance from low in the rev range (380Nm of torque arrives at just 1850rpm) and strong performance when pressing on. Activate launch control and the VW鈥檚 213kW peak will help you reach 100km/h in 4.8 seconds, making it handily faster than front-drive alternatives. Past criticisms of the motor surround a lack of drama. Yes, it鈥檚 undeniably quick, but VW also developed this engine to serve in family SUVs and luxury cars, so it doesn鈥檛 quite have the same ferocious character as pure-bred sports machines. Those thoughts are banished by this Special Edition, which brays a throaty roar from its quad exhaust tips when you crack on, before burbling away charmingly on the over-run.
Volkswagen's little Tiguan has grown up quite a bit for its second generation. The new Tiguan has gone from a compact and cute choice for young SUV shoppers to being a solid, spacious selection for small families raising the next generation of young drivers. Packing more amenities and more safety tech, the Tiguan is better than ever before in many ways, but it's not perfect. In growing larger, the Tiguan is also a bit softer. Its performance isn't as sharp as it used to be. Are the comfort improvements worth these performance tradeoffs? The new 2018 Tiguan is about 11 inches longer than its predecessor, and both wider and taller, too. This opens up a lot of extra elbow room for all passengers and makes way for a newly available third row, giving compact SUV buyers seating for seven. Front-wheel drive models come standard with three rows. 500 third-row seating package. That way-back row is probably too tight for most adults -- I certainly didn't enjoy cramming back there to test it out -- but small kids should fit just fine. With both the second and third rows folded flat, the Tiguan boasts a spacious 65.7 cubic feet of cargo space, and an optional kick-to-open power liftgate comes in handy when your hands are full. If you value cargo room more than people room, opting for a model without the third row bumps your total cargo capacity up to 73.5 cubic feet, a full 30 percent more than the old Tiguan.
Old VW were air cooled. VW started making water cooled cars in 1973 in the US, but had been making them in Brazil many years before that. But they never stopped all the air cooled cars either. Air cooled cars are much lighter, durable, easy to maintain, and inexpensive, but tend to produce more NOx than we allow in the US. The first water cooled VW in the US was the 1973 Dasher, not the 74 Rabbit. The Dasher is not really the same as a Passat since there is a gap. You are correct the Bug ended manufacture in Mexico in 2003, but China licensed the Thing not the Bug and still makes it. Then in 1974 VW came out with their replacement for the Beetle- Rabbit or Golf. Along with that was the Scirocco and the Dasher (Passat) these are/were water cooled. However, from 1949- 1984- the Bus (Type II) or Vanagon (last name before Eurovan) it was air cooled then it became watercooled (wasserboxer). In addition, there was the Type III (Fastback, Station Wagon or Variant, and the notchback) all of which were air cooled.
Then there was the Karmann Ghia (air cooled) and the 411 and 412 both air cooled. The beetle has ceased production and was never produced in China. However it was produced in Mexico, and in some South American countries the Type II soldiers on. HERE IS YOUR ANSWER pre 1998 VW Beetles, karmann ghias, VW Thing, Squareback, Fastback and VW Buses up to 1986 are all completely air cooled; no water. If you mean newer VW's.. My engine light came on in my 2001 passat. Can I fix it myself? The manual says Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) comes on when there is an emission related malfunction. If it comes on and stayes on there is a malfunction in the engine system. Get thee to a VW dealer and get it fixed right away. Is this easy to fix myself? Go to autozone. They'll scan it for free and pull up what code it is so you can figure out what the actual problem is. AND what needs to be done to fix it.
