VW Beetle: TDI together with DSG

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Many reports lately are about this combination: a TDI engine with DSG transmission. Now it comes to a VW Beetle and the Automobile Magazine is reporting about it.

Convincing evidence that an old dog can learn a new trick, the tediously familiar Volkswagen New Beetle makes its eighth year of production a whole lot more interesting with one very tricky option: the remarkable direct-shift gearbox (DSG). Debuting to acclaim in the 2004 Audi TT 3.2 Quattro, DSG radically shortens shift times by anticipating and preselecting the next gear. With one gear driving the wheels and another poised to take over when the computer (or the driver) gives the nod, the act of shifting becomes a lightning-quick relay race. Two clutches alternately open and close as one gear after another goes from at-bat to on-deck status in a scant two-tenths of a second, with no interruption of the torque flow during full-throttle acceleration.

DSG won't make the New Beetle TDI the street racer's weapon of choice, but it does make it attractive for drivers who care about more than fuel economy-42 mpg has never been so much fun.

Source: Automobile Magazine

Labels: VW