Accelerated development

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This article was published 11/12/2015 (3813 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KANATA, Ont. — Just how old is Volkswagen’s outgoing 2.0-litre four-cylinder gas engine that is being laid to rest for 2016? Even the folks at the German automaker aren’t quite sure.

Here at the aging four-banger’s wake, Volkswagen Canada joked that the 2.0’s origins go as far back as the dinosaur age. For anyone who has ever owned a Volkswagen powered by this agricultural mill, that sounds about right. Volkswagen’s old engine may not be brontosaurus-old, but it’s still old.

First seeing duty in 1993, a time when gas was around 50 cents a litre, the Toronto Blue Jays were baseball’s back-to-back World Series Champions and the original non-Chris Pratt Jurassic Park movie debuted, the 22-year old 2.0 has been kept on life support to allow Volkswagen to advertise a relatively low under-$15,000 base price for its compact Jetta sedan.

Canadian new-car buyers didn’t seem to care what was powering their Jettas; it sold well despite being known for delivering tepid power, grumbly acoustics and lacklustre fuel economy. Even on its deathbed, the old eight-valve naturally aspirated engine made up about 20 per cent of all Volkswagen Canada’s annual sales last year. Needless to say, the four-cylinder gas engine that replaces the 2.0 in the base model 2016 Jetta is a bit fresher. It is a thoroughly modern, downsized, direct-injected and turbocharged 1.4-L unit that performs the double trick of being more powerful and more fuel efficient.

For instance, the 2016 Jetta 1.4 TSI (for Turbocharged Stratified Injection, as per the front-wheel-drive, five-passenger Jetta’s existing 1.8 and 2.0 TSI units) scores fuel economy estimates of 8.3 litres per 100 kilometres in the city and 5.9 on the highway when equipped with the standard five-speed manual transmission — a big improvement over the old 2.0’s respective 9.5 and 6.9 figures. Similar efficiency gains can be seen when opting for the six-speed automatic gearbox, rated at 8.5 L/100 km in the city, 6.0 on the highway; the old 2.0 manual scored less-efficient 10.4 and 7.0 numbers.

With only 115 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque, the Jetta’s old base power plant came by its “2.Slow” nickname honestly.

Hipsters on fixie bikes were threats at stoplights, while getting up to legal highway speeds took more than 13 seconds — 30 per cent slower than a Toyota Prius hybrid. But with 150 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque on board, the new Jetta 1.4 TSI should shave about five seconds off the old model’s zero to 100 km/h time, in line with base-model versions of the Honda Civic, Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla.

The new 1.4 TSI engine is the latest in a string of ongoing improvements to Volkswagen Canada’s bestselling Jetta since the sixth-generation model was introduced to the sound of one hand clapping.

Volkswagen tried to pull every penny it could out of the 2011 Jetta to make it price competitive with the above-mentioned Japanese-brand rivals. As a result, the small German sedan lost much of the quality details and refinement the previous 2005 to 2011 Jettas came with.

Since then, Volkswagen has continually been primping and preening its popular model.

We’ve seen four-wheel disc brakes and an independent rear suspension added to the Jetta. Bluetooth connectivity, a trip computer and touch-screen infotainment with a rear-view camera became standard. Last year the Jetta got a mid-cycle refresh that included an upgraded interior with more upscale materials, more optional safety kit (such as blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, forward-collision warning), tweaked exterior styling for better air management and trendy LED and bi-xenon headlights.

Volkswagen has added more than the new base engine to the 2016 version. Even the starter 2016 Jetta Trendline gets Volkswagen’s all-new “MIB 2” touch-screen infotainment system, which adds a larger screen with greater resolution, faster processing, SD card/Aux in/USB connections and, for smartphone users, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

Even though its under-$15K starting price helped sell truckloads of Jettas, Volkswagen could not hold the old sedan’s base price with all of these improvements. Alas, the starting price for the base 2016 Jetta 1.4 TSI Trendline with the five-speed stick starts at $15,995 (not including freight and pre-delivery inspection fees) or $17,395 for the autobox.

The top 2016 Jetta model with the new 1.4 TSI is the Comfortline ($22,595 manual/$23,995 automatic), which adds, among other things, automatic climate control, sunroof, rain-sensing wipers and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Volkswagen Canada expects the most popular 2016 model will be the automatic-equipped $20,195 Jetta 1.4 TSI Trendline+ ($18,795 for the manual version), highlighted by heated front seats, wiper nozzles and side mirrors and remote entry, among other details. As such, that’s the Jetta I drove during the one-day media event.

It’s safe to say the Jetta’s base engine has finally caught up with the rest of the much-improved small car. Beyond being quicker and more efficient at the pumps (using regular gas, no less), the 2016 Jetta’s new 1.4 TSI mill is also more refined in use than the boat anchor it replaces.

Re-engineered in every respect, the 1.4 TSI has pulling power throughout its range with minimal turbo lag. It smoothly idles and revs so happily all the way up to its red line with so little noise that I found little subjective difference between the 1.4 TSI and the Jetta’s larger 170-hp 1.8 TSI gas unit ($27,995) that shares the same torque rating of 184 pound-feet.

The rest of the 2016 Jetta 1.4 TSI driving experience remains much the same. Its body structure is now very rigid, mainly to ensure the small Volkswagen sedan passes more stringent crash tests. Even with its three-season 16-inch rubber, the Jetta 1.4 TSI’s road manners include taut body motion, confident handling characteristics, a quiet cabin and quick steering.

You may miss paying 50 cents for a litre of gas. But you won’t miss Volkswagen’s 2.Slow, may it rest in peace.

— Postmedia Network Inc. 2016