German Car Zone

Volkswagen TDI Diesel Powers Ahead at the 2006 AA EnergyWise Rally

Volkswagen’s success at this weeks AA Energywise Rally has further demonstrated the benefits of Volkswagen’s TDI diesel engine technology for everyday driving. Volkswagen was the most successful brand at the event with 3 wins out of the 7 competitive classes. All Volkswagen vehicles entered in the rally were powered by TDI diesel engines.
The AA Energywise Rally 2006 involved 54 competitors driving over 1,624km over 4 days. The journey was from Auckland to Palmerston North, to Wellington and back to Palmerston North, to Rotorua and then back to Auckland. It involved a mix of city driving, motorways and highways and back country rural roads to best reflect what the average New Zealand driver experiences in their day to day motoring.
The Jetta 2.0 TDI led the Medium / Executive vehicle class with a total cost of just $134.40, averaging fuel consumption of 5.15L/100km (54.85 miles/gallon). In the large vehicle class, the Passat 2.0 TDI won with a total cost of $140.65, averaging fuel consumption of 5.54L/100km (50.95 miles/gallon). And finally, the Transporter 1.9 TDI SWB won the commercial vehicle class with a total cost of $159.03, averaging fuel consumption of 6.69L/100km (42.21 miles/gallon). All three class winners were also the most environmentally friendly vehicles in their respective classes, with the lowest levels of CO2 emissions.
Another notable performance was the recently launched Polo TDI. The 1.4L TDI diesel engine consumed on average just 4.35L/100km, making it narrowly the second most frugal vehicle in the event (by fuel consumption). The Polo TDI for example consumed just $69.41 of diesel.
Dean Sheed, Volkswagen General Manager, commented on the event, “The success of our TDI diesel vehicles at this rally clearly demonstrates the advantages of this technology in real world driving situations. In the event, penalties were incurred if vehicles travelled too slowly. Speed limits were expected to be met whenever safely possible to do so. The generous levels of torque produced by a TDI diesel engine made it easy to do this in an economical way. With consumption figures achieved in this event, both the Jetta and Passat could theoretically achieve well over 1,000km on one tank of fuel.”
Paul Sherley, Volkswagen TDI Diesel Team Manager commented, “After being a driver in this years rally, I am extremely confident in the ability of TDI diesel in everyday situations. All of the vehicles proved that you don’t need to sacrifice performance or drivability for fuel economy. Our new Polo TDI comfortably handled the rally conditions while achieving such outstanding levels of fuel efficiency! We must also thank the rally organisers for co-ordinating an event of this calibre. The AA EnergyWise Rally 2006 has been an overwhelming success and we welcome the opportunity to be a part of future events.”
Volkswagen also took the opportunity to enter a Caddy 1.9 TDI in the demonstration class, running it on a B5 blend of biodiesel. Even with a payload of 375kg, the Caddy performed extremely well, averaging 6.69L/100km, or 42.21 miles/gallon.
Volkswagen TDI diesel passenger and commercial vehicles were first available in New Zealand in 2001, since when over 2,800 TDI diesel vehicles have been registered. TDI is now available in most of the Volkswagen model range

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Text from http://www.vwasia.com/publish/vwasia...wise_Rally.pdf

Why doesn't our government allow diesel!