VW Unveils New 1.5L Gasoline Engine

VIENNA – Volkswagen confirms plans for a new turbocharged 1.5L direct-injection gasoline engine with the unveiling of a prototype version of the upcoming 4-cyl. at the 2016 Vienna Motor Symposium in Austria.

Known under the internal codename EA211 TSI Evo, the new powerplant is a derivative of VW’s existing 1.4L gasoline engine. It will make its production debut in the facelifted seventh-generation Golf on sale in Europe later this year with initial outputs of 128 hp and 147 hp.

It also will go into other models, including the Polo, Passat, Tiguan and Touran over time.

Full details are yet to be made public, although WardsAuto can confirm the 128-hp variant will boast 147 lb.-ft. (199 Nm) of torque between 1,300 and 4,500 rpm. This is the same torque loading as the 122-hp version of today’s 1.4L, but it is developed 200 rpm earlier and extends 500 rpm further in range – figures that hint at improved flexibility and linearity.

To achieve the larger capacity and provide its new 1.5L with the potential for a wider torque band, VW has lengthened the stroke of the EA211 engine from 80.0 mm to 85.9 mm.

As with Audi’s recently introduced turbocharged 2.0L 4-cyl., the new 1.5L adopts the Miller combustion cycle process and runs a comparatively high compression ratio of 12.5:1, up from 10.5:1 for the current 1.4L.

Further developments used by the new engine include a variable-vane turbocharger, newly developed fuel-injection system designed to operate at up to 5,075 psi (350 bar), a revised cylinder head with new hydraulic camshaft actuators and a cylinder-on-demand system that closes down the middle two cylinders on light throttle loads.

At 128 hp and 147 hp, the new 1.5L delivers 8 hp and 7 hp more than VW’s existing 1.4L. Along with the moderate increase in power, the German automaker claims the initial 1.5L will boast improved fuel economy.

In its highest state of tune, the new engine is expected to kick out 174 hp and 221 lb.-ft. (300 Nm) of torque, although VW has yet to confirm when that version will be introduced. There also are plans for the new unit to form part of a plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain for use in a wide variety of VW models.

Together with the 1.5L version of the EA211 TSI Evo, VW also confirms plans for smaller turbocharged 1.0L 3-cyl. variant in Vienna.