The rental Atlas I had(3.6) used more fuel than my truck...I wish I was kidding. I just couldn't understand how.
Volkswagen kills the VR6
- Thread starter OVERKILL
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^^^ One of the best posts ever.
edyvw
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It is an old engine. It is an FSI generation engine (2003 generation). But even then, it was known to be thirstier than competition. Couple that with Atlas's size and stricter emission standards than 20 years ago, and you have a gas guzzler.
VW today has ICE engines that are generation old. They are trying to upgrade them constantly (like EA888). But the reality is that they were supposed to have new architecture some 3-4 years ago.
ANother thing that I forgot to mention in longer post is Audi in US.
VW and Audi are each other's worst enemies. If VW goes full throttle in the US market, the first victim is Audi. Why bother getting, let's say, Q7 when you can have Atlas? I think that was a dilemma and why Atlas ended up with 3.6VR6 and not 2.5VR6 or even 2.5 R5 from Audi. The same goes for Golf R, Golf GTI, etc. If VW offers the Uber Golf R, all it can be, the Audi S3 and RS3 are done.
. City mpgs are ~16. Highway isn't bad..24 can be had but yes...not far off of a full-sized pickup. 5K lb towing is possible which is a plus of that engine over the 4s.It had a very unique burble if you will. A couple of people locally had a 3.2 golf r32 and I could always tell when I heard it.
When are you EV guys going to get the memo, the vast majority of people do not want these things for a multitude of reasons.
In Germany they killed off their most viable means of generating the enormous amounts of cheap electricity they had and now rely on outside sources for gas and other stupidity to generate the electric production. EV's are not the answer there and not for where I live either and will not be for many decades.
This has nothing to do with performance, we all know and have known for decades the electric motor is the best form of "engine" for power, low noise, etc but the problem is unlike fast 200 mph trains that get their power directly from the grid a car has to carry its own electricity and that is a huge problem in many places globally. Honestly I need an EV like I need a hole in my head from a #2 phillips.
The 2.5 turbo VRs that are/were used in China for the Terramont (Atlas) are sweet. Wish we would have gotten that here in the Atlas vs. the 3.6. A tuning company in Canada (HPA) has developed the gear to swap them in MK7 Golf Rs. Check out their YT for 2.5 VR swap content. I know a guy that is having one put in his Alltrack!
My post was based on VW's business issues, not a popularity contest.
Lack of a competitive EV is only one of VW's problems. According to CEO Blume, “Weak market demand in Europe and significantly reduced earnings from China reveal decades-long structural problems at Volkswagen.”
This is why I cited these issues. Regarding EVs, you may not want an EV, and that's fine, but VW's China demand problem shows others do. Blume has stated the company is facing significant challenges in its electric vehicle market. I wish CEO Blume luck.
Loved mine, but for reasons most here would hate. PD100 and a wagon to boot. Not sure I want it back now, but it sure hit a sweet spot for me.
No they don't, they are having them shoved down their throat like it not. That is the only way to force these things on people, CA is doing the same thing.
https://news.mit.edu/2021/chinas-transition-electric-vehicles-0429
Our Cayenne w/VR6 is a nice drive. I don't complain about the fuel mileage, but it's not lifted or running larger than stock tires. They seem to have sticky piston rings like other VW engines. Ours is got to 1qt/1k mi or more all of a sudden, but HPL seems to be steadily reversing it. Luckily it wasn't the PCV...yet. Those are a standard pain point, and unnecessarily difficult to fix in the Cayenne. Here's fuel data, mostly 93. With a 26gal tank we've gone 630mi once on a tank.
edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
China's only option to be competitive in the automotive industry are EVs. It is a hairdryer on four wheels. Wouldn’t be surprised if ConAir gets into business. Far less complicated product that doesn’t require institutional know-how in building engines and transmissions.
EVs are possible in China, where the majority of the population lives in a relatively small area with very good public transportation.
In the US, it is far from viable at this point. The problem is that the EV crowd is convinced that they know better and that there are no environmental drawbacks to EVs (absolutely not correct). I had this conversation over drinks a few weeks ago with one German until 5am (among other world problems we tried to resolve), and he is convinced we gonna all die in horrible death if we don't stop drilling for oil and that we really should only have 10% of today's world population. Of course, he is an avid Tesla fan (car, solar, house batteries). He does not see anything bad in people losing jobs because they can find another one (talking about being detached from reality) and banning ICE, etc. I heard that a lot in the EU, mostly rich EU countries. The problem is, of course, that that kind of thinking will eventually lead to political options that promise reversal of these standards, but those political options usually come with other baggage. The rise of AfD in Germany is not surprising and is directly correlated with EU mandates around emissions and everything else that led to the declining economy. The fact that in 2007, the EU had a 100 billion larger economy than the US and that it is now $10 trillion smaller is proof that they are in a downward spiral. VW is a victim of those policies, but they could do much more to save themselves.
I think their biggest flop is the US, not the Chinese market. The decline in the Chinese market could be absorbed to a certain extent in the US (BMW is an example). The fact that VW had a hybrid Tiguan in Europe 6 years ago, and not any hybrid, but a PHEV, and that they did not bring it to the US is a crime against all VW workers, shareholders, etc. Since Dieselgate, they don't have vision or courage and are victims of bureaucracy whose primary interest is always to bow to EU regulations and just muddle through. The Scholz government made the same mistakes as Merkel's. Instead of Russia, now they prop dictators and wannabe dictators in Europe in order to get to lithium while hoping the war in UKR will stop soon so they can again have cheap gas. I just cannot see how Germany, with this attitude, gets out of this mess they are in.
You're kidding, right?
Mandates are another issue; they little to do with the high EV customer satisfaction.
Regardless, the lack of a competitive EV is one of VW's problems, according to CEO Blume. Before him, CEO Deiss said the same thing.
Perhaps VW would be in a better position had they pulled their heads outta the sand. That's the business case not a popularity case.
it is what it is BUT if the manufacturers want a well built 4 banger with forced induction can make big power + torque safely if properly tuned!! todays DI has its issued but it allows more boost aka power + torque everywhere IF manufactures build a quality stout engine. go to the go APR tuning site to see the big gains that can be had with a more aggressive tune for not a lot of $$$
I'm not surprised EVs are 40% of total car sales in China. But that's China. Don't most Chinese EV drivers live in densely populated/modern/urban environments with modern and and established electrical/charging infrastructure? Where are all these cars being driven?
Do the Chinese make long road trips in their country like Americans do in their country? My wife and I can drive thousands of miles in any direction and are able to get gasoline virtually anywhere, there are hundreds of hotel options, even more restaurant choices - and of course the National Parks System - all connected by modern interstate highways.
Do the Chinese have the freedom, desire, infrastructure, etc., to drive anywhere they want inside their own borders like Americans routinely do?
For whatever reason I think not, hence the popularity of EVs there.
Scott
Do the Chinese make long road trips in their country like Americans do in their country? My wife and I can drive thousands of miles in any direction and are able to get gasoline virtually anywhere, there are hundreds of hotel options, even more restaurant choices - and of course the National Parks System - all connected by modern interstate highways.
Do the Chinese have the freedom, desire, infrastructure, etc., to drive anywhere they want inside their own borders like Americans routinely do?
For whatever reason I think not, hence the popularity of EVs there.
Scott
EVs were mentioned earlier by some others. But you are correct, my bad!
Another picture of our VR6 Passat. Best thing about it is that VR6 coupled to the DSG.
Notice too, VW puts "V6" on the back, not "VR6". I wonder why?
Scott
