Loading ...
A “Volks-pop” for the Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel
What could be more exciting for a German than being offered the choice of testing a brand new Touareg TDI Clean Diesel on a race course! Well, this is what I was offered last week. So today I would like to share my experience of driving these great cars. I must admit it was quite an adventure, as I don’t even own a car. It’s not that I don’t like them, on the contrary, it’s just that I decided a few years ago to live car-free in an effort to do my part for the environment. So I travel using public transport or car sharing; I’ve been the latter using for more than 10 years.
Just a word about me: I’m German. You know the ones. Those who invented highways with no speed limit. So you can imagine the sacrifice I made in giving up my car. As well as being German, I’m a “neo-ecologist” or “practical environmentalist,” which means I’m very concerned about protecting our beautiful planet. I’m especially involved in the preservation of marine ecosystems, notably coral reefs. But let’s get back to the subject at hand, i.e. the magnificent day I spent last May 26 trying out the Touareg TDI 2010.
For my first steps in the world of racing, I had the privilege of driving the Touareg TDI Clean Diesel on the Mécaglisse track, a superb combination of asphalt, dirt, all-terrain and sand – an excellent choice to try out all the aspects of 4XMOTION driving. I can already hear the sceptics saying “he’s going to try to make DIESEL out to be green technology!”
12:30 pm – First Test: sand track. Might as well go for the most fun first (after all, this is a 4XMOTION TDI).
Let’s look at some of the names for a minute. They’re not the easiest to remember, but I’m sure you’ll have them mastered by the end of the article.
4XMOTION – This one isn’t too difficult to get. It’s the Volkswagen feature that gives traction to all four wheels. I’ll spare you the technical details about what goes on between the front wheels and the back, the right wheels and the left, but if you insist about knowing more, you can click here.
TOUAREG – Yes, it’s a bit difficult to pronounce, I’ll grant you that. Just break it up into three syllables: To-Ah-Reg. So what does it mean? The Tuareg (in French it’s spelled with an O) are a people of northern Africa. The “blue men of the Sahara” wear an indigo head covering that protects them from desert extremes. They are built tough, having to endure one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet, with 50°C temperatures during the day and minus 10°C at night, not to mention sandstorms, water shortages, and relative humidity at 50%. And we think we have it bad in Canada! We sort of have the opposite extremes here, with minus 50 and plus 10. OK, I exaggerate, but we do have snowstorms and 100% humidity! Anyway, the Volkswagen Touareg TDI is like the desert Tuareg, i.e. tough and ready for anything. In a word, it’s just what we need in Canada!
TDI – Turbocharged Direct Injection. I don’t really want to get into the technical side of things, so let’s just say that a TDI engine is powerful enough to pull a small crane, a big log, or any number of things you can imagine. What’s it for? You’ll see what it’s for when you have to drive it out of a snow bank the snowplough buried you in during the night. While your neighbour is warming up with a few shovelling exercises between 6 and 7 in the morning, you’ll just press the 4XMOTION button and wave at him wearing a big smile on your face. Ladies, keep in mind that you’ll no longer have to put on lumberjack boots to go to the office: those Feragamos and Manolos won’t have to stay in the closet during the whole winter. And gentlemen, donate your shovels with heatable handles to the Canadian Museum of Winter Suffering.
Adblue explained
CLEAN DIESEL – I can hear some people saying that the Germans have come up with the best oxymoron of all time. Even I thought they were pushing it by calling their new diesel “clean.” So I asked my German friends for some clarifications. You remember the black smoke that came out of diesel cars in the 70s? You can forget it now. Diesel has come a long way since then, and TDI has gone even further than that! In fact, TDI is somewhat of a revolution in terms of green house gas reductions as these Clean Diesel engines reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions by 90%! And furthermore, Volkswagen has developed emission control technology called AdBlue that uses a urea solution to transform NOx emissions into nitrogen and water with no other undesirable by-products. The techies among you can read the article on AdBlue by my colleague Louis-Alain Richard:
In a nutshell, Volkswagen has succeeded in making diesel engines ultra clean, so clean in fact that they already meet new Bin 5 / ULEV II standards imposed by President Obama, the strictest standards now on the books anywhere in the world.
I won’t go so far as to say that Volkswagen’s TDIs are “organic” engines, but you’ll understand the enthusiasm of someone who is sensitive about environmental issues. And it won’t come as a surprise to learn that a TDI car was recently named 2009 Green Car of the Year by Green Car Journal.
Touareg TDI Clean Diesel – So much for the vocabulary. Let’s get back to the test drive. In honour the Tuareg people, we decided to start with the sand track.
Needless to say that I would never go out on such a track with an ordinary vehicle. The fine sand under the wheels of our Touareg was more like slippery snow, even ice! But with the flick of a switch, I activated the 4XMOTION. With my back and head comfortably installed in the seat (the Touareg get 5 out of 5 for comfort), I stepped on the gas. The vehicle reacted with a slight delay, which is normal for a turbocharged engine, but the surprise was the noise, or rather the lack of it. A traditional diesel engine would have clattered and knocked. The TDI purrs like a V6. I think to myself that they must have covered the pistons in velvet and the cylinder heads in silk. There’s that typically German attention to detail!
When I floored it, the tires bit right into the sand. But I had to stop right away when I heard screaming! My passenger colleagues in the back were now covered in fine sand from head to foot. They hadn’t shut their windows. So after making sure all the windows and sunroof were all closed, I floored it again. This was a really impressive experience!
The Touareg TDI sticks to the ground and effortlessly glides over the sand. This was even more impressive when it came to the sandy slopes. Just for fun, we decided to try out a 15% climb, on this time on slightly firmer ground. There again, no problem at all. There was a lot of dirt being sprayed by the tires mind you, especially in the 90-degree turns, but this was to be expected on a track that seemed to be made of quicksand. I must admit that I was expecting a somewhat impressive performance on this type of track, if only because I knew about the Touareg’s exceptional record at the world’s toughest rally race, the Dakar.
Take note that the more functional interior of the Race Touareg has nothing to do with the comfort and luxury of the Touareg TDI. Don’t take my word for it, go out and see for yourself with a test drive.
Next week, I’ll be taking you out on the asphalt track, so save your adrenalin for then. In the meantime, you can always visit your Volkswagen dealer and try out the Touareg TDI Clean Diesel. Take my word for it: you’ll be impressed, even on the asphalt.
0 Comments