Volkswagen TSI Engine Technology receives two awards in Japan

Volkswagen has received two of Japan’s top automobile prizes in the category of “Technology of the Year” for the development of its TSI technology. Both the CAR OF THE YEAR committee and the jury of the Automotive Researchers' and Journalists' Conference (RJC) voted to give their first prizes to Volkswagen’s innovative new engine technology.

Volkswagen models with TSI engines – the Golf GT, Golf Estate and Touran – landed well ahead of the competition in the CAR OF THE YEAR category of “Most Advanced Technology Award 2008”. The so-called COTY prizes are awarded every year by Japan’s automotive journalists.

Another cause for celebration was the decision by the jury of the RJC (comprising trade experts and journalists from Japan) to likewise award its first prize in the category of “Technology of the Year” to Volkswagen’s TSI technology. Both awards were accepted by Tsutomu Umeno, president of the Volkswagen importer in Japan, who said that, “The vote taken by these juries is a clear indication that Volkswagen technology is setting standards in Japan and will continue to do so in future.”

With its new TSI engine concept, Volkswagen has managed to use petrol-direct­injection technology and innovative twin charging via compressor plus turbo charger to reduce cubic capacity to 1.4 litres, thus reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The TSI engines are available in the Golf, Touran, Jetta, Golf Plus and Golf Estate, with some 118,000 Volkswagen customers the world over already driving around with TSI technology under their bonnets.

The TSI Golf typically exemplifies how this technology enables powerful driving performance at low levels of fuel consumption. As a TSI version with 103 kW / 140 PS, it sprints to 100 km/h in just 8.8 seconds, achieves a top speed of 205 km/h and yet consumes an average of only 7.1 litres of fuel in urban traffic and a mere 5.7 litres on the cruise. All the TSI models on the market are alternatively available in combination with a direct-shift gearbox (DSG).