VW Group Plans PHEV Onslaught

VW Group’s PHEV Filled Future

Recently, Volkswagen Group released a future mobility presentation with the cover page as seen directly below:

VW’s Future

In it we find all sorts of plug-in related details, but perhaps most interesting is VW Group’s intense future focus on PHEVs.

VW lists PHEVs as suitable for every need, or for “Unlimited Mobility,” as VW calls it.

PHEVs For Unlimited Mobility

This tells us that, moving forward, VW feels that all buyers are ready for the PHEV.  Makes sense to us, as a PHEV requires no compromise at all.

Hybrid/PHEV Powertrain Options

You’ll find some specific info for BEVs in VW’s presentation too, including battery energy density targets and even range targets for VW’s various BEVs.

VW “Future Mobility” PDF at this link.

2015 Volkswagen Golf Launch Edition Priced At Under $19,000

On sale in Europe for the some time, the seven-generation 2015 Volkswagen Golf is about to hit U.S. showrooms.

Volkswagen announced pricing for the 2015 Golf range, which will start under $19,000, but just barely.

The company will kick off U.S. Golf sales with a Launch Edition model priced at $18,815, including destination. This model will be sold in limited numbers, and will only be available in the two-door body style with a five-speed manual transmission.

The true bottom of the Golf range, then, will be the S model, which starts at $19,815 for a two-door, manual-transmission car. A six-speed dual-clutchautomatic transmission can be substituted for $1,100

An automatic-only four-door model starts at $21,515, compared to $20,815 for a comparable 2014 Golf--the cheapest model available for the sixth-generation Golf's final year.

Next is the Golf S with Sunroof, which is available only as a four-door with either  manual ($21,815) or automatic ($22,915) transmissions.

Buyers can add a $995 Lighting Package to that and get LED daytime running lights, LED reading lights, and an Adaptive Front-lighting System or Driver Assistance Package ($695), which includes a forward-collision warning system and park-distance control.

The gasoline Golf range--badged "TSI"--is completed by the mid-range SE model--which starts at $25,315--and the top SEL model ($27,815). Both are available only with four doors and automatic transmissions.

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI

All gasoline Golf models (excluding the sporty GTI) use the new EA888 1.8-liter turbocharged and direct-injected four-cylinder engine, which develops 170 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque.

Meanwhile, the 2015 Golf TDI features a 2.0-liter turbodiesel version of the EA288, with 150 hp and 236 lb-ft. Transmission choices include a six-speed manual or six-speed DSG automatic.

Available only as a four-door hatchback, the TDI will have a base price of $22,815 in base S form. The mid-range Golf TDI SE will start at $26,315, while the top TDI SEL will cost $28,815.

As with the gasoline Golf models, adding the DSG transmission to a Golf TDI costs $1,100.

The addition of the value-conscious TDI S lowers diesel prices somewhat. A base 2014 Golf TDI started at $26,020 in four-door, manual-transmission form.

The 2015 Volkswagen Golf arrives in showrooms this July.

The 2015 e-Golf electric version will follow in November or December in electric-car-friendly markets, including California and several Northeastern states.

That Perfect 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTD May Not Happen

The 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTD seems, on the surface, to be the best of all possible worlds. It’s got a near-premium badge that’s not too flashy. It’s got a willing, well-suspended chassis. It’s good-looking and practical, but not so much so that your soul revolts, minivan-style, at the sight of it. The best part? It’s got VW’s high-torque, ultra-efficient, and (arguably) clean-burning EA288 turbo diesel engine. It stops just short of being everything a car guy/gal could ask for …

… which, of course, means that Volkswagen won’t be bringing it to the US.

That word comes down from on high. From Volkswagen’s “CEO of the Americas” Michael Horn, who said that the chances of a 2015 Golf GTD coming to the US are diminishing. “The price point (about $27,000 US) is not really attractive,” says Horn- despite the fact that a $27,000 price-point would put it almost $1000 below the definitely-not-a-premium-brand Chevy Cruze diesel.

Too bad, that. It would have been nice to have a “nearly perfect-er” 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTD wagon to flog around Joliet once or twice a year nestled into the garage with the bikes and the wife’s mommy-mobile. Maybe next year/CEO. Until then, take a look at some GTD pictures and lament what could have been.

Source | Photos: VW, via MotorAuthority; ZerCustoms.