Volkswagen 1.8L Turbo Four Replacing 2.5L Five
Volkswagen will begin phasing out its 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine with the 2014 model year, the company announced today.
The engine will gradually take the place of the larger five-mill in VW’s Jetta, Bettle and Passat vehicles to offer the same power as the five-cylinder while offering 185 lb-ft of torque, which is a seven lb-ft improvement. Apart from upping the twist, VW also says the engine change will help improve fuel economy. Specifically, it expects a 16 percent improvement for the Jetta SE and SEL models, both of which will get the turbo four.
Gradual integration of the engine will see the entire Jetta lineup adopt it along with the SEL-trimmed Passat. Both the Beetle and remainder of the Passat line will follow later in the model year.
The decision to adopt the turbocharged engine across the Bettle line will mean that current Beetle turbos will now wear the R Line badge. Volkswagen will also offer the limited-run Beetle GSR first seen at the Chicago Auto Show in february and pictured above.
Discuss this story at VolkswagenOwnersClub.com
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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I have a 2006 NB 2.5L... And I can tell you, the high maintenance costs of the 1.8L turbo far outweigh the better MPG it may get. My 2.5 has none of the turbo extras that break, like the turbo itself, waste gate, heat shields, extra expensive hoses. The 2.5 has no timing belt to change... 167,500 miles later.... I haven't had to replace anything engine related. Not even an O2 sensor. So... BOOOOOOO!!!!! On VW for phasing out this wonderful power-house!