2021 Volkswagen Taos Gets New Version of the Jetta's Turbo Four
We speculated before that the Volkswagen Taos would get an existing VW engine, likely the 1.4-liter turbo-four from the Jetta.
We were close.
The Taos will get a 1.5-liter version of the same EA211 turbo-four from, yes, the Jetta.
It will make 158 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque in the Taos. That’s 11 more horsepower than in the Jetta, and the same amount of torque.
The compression ratio is “up to” 11.5:1, compared to the Jetta’s 10:1. Volkswagen claims that this version of the EA211 will be more fuel-efficient.
Front-wheel drive Taos models (what is the plural of that? Taoses? Taos’s?) will get an eight-speed automatic transmission, while the all-wheel-drive versions will have a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic.
“While electric vehicles are stealing the headlines these days, we are continuing to make great strides with technology on our internal combustion engines,” said Johan de Nysschen, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen Group of America. “The new 1.5-liter engine in the Taos uses the latest advances in gasoline-engine design to bring outstanding fuel economy to the compact SUV segment. The Taos will provide a further proof point for the ability of the Volkswagen North American Region to deliver the right products for our market requirements.”
The Taos uses VW’s MQB platform and is set for an on-sale date of summer 2011. The compact crossover SUV is 11 inches shorter than the brand’s Tiguan, with an overall length of 174.2 inches.
The Full Monty, so to speak, will be revealed on October 13. In the meantime, a few other outlets have driven the prototype.
[Image: Volkswagen]
Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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I am pleasantly surprised with the 1.4 in our Ace of Base Jetta S. It was clearly designed for people who liked the TDI...lots of torque off the bottom, flattens out at higher RPM. We get 35 mpg consistently, where my TDI got 39. The cheaper fuel and lack of expensive breaking nonsense on the exhaust side make up for the 4 mpg. NVH is excellent, and servicing is very easy. The Base car has a wide ratio five speed, but the whole package is nicely designed. I'm waiting for the powertrain warranty to expire, the 140 hp can be bumped to 180 hp with an ECU reprogram. This was the first car the 1.4 was installed in in the US, and so far, no disasters reported in the VW forums....
Is this 1.5L truly new or same as the 1.L TSI available in Europe?
So, this is for folks with very short memories. The old Tiguan was 174.5 inches before VW lengthened it to 185 inches a few years back; this one is 174.2. It's not "new" in any sense of the word, just rebranded probably with a lot of new touchscreens. VW has been pulling this sort of bait and switch with North America for several years, I suppose to punish us for Dieselgate. That said, I love my 2017 Golf and need to get a Mk VII GTI before they're all gone (VIII looks like a nightmare, technology-wise).
Since there are very few, if any, occasions where apostrophes should be used to pluralize nouns, per style manuals everywhere, I'd say it would be Taosses. I'm curious why VW choose to tune the 1.5s down to that little power? If Ford can get 181hp/190tq out of the same displacememt in a 3 cylinder, it's curious. Is this an attempt to prevent the engine from being too stressed?