KEY POINTS:
According to a cross-section of European car brands, small petrol engines are the new big petrol engines. They like diesels over there, but makers such as Volkswagen are also extending their petrol engines to give diesel-like economy/flexibility, but with high-revving petrol performance when you want it.
Enter the new entry-level Golf, called the TSI. VW is reluctant to nail a cubic capacity to the name because it's only a 1.4-litre. But with direct-injection and a turbocharger, it makes impressive numbers - 90kW/220Nm, with peak torque at a diesel-like 1500rpm. To cap it off, you get a seven-speed VW Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG).
It's a hoot. The turbo engine sounds great and feels crisp. The DSG has a low first gear for wheel-spinning starts, and, with twin clutches (each new gear is preselected), it bangs through each ratio like a little racing car.
It's all the more amusing because the Golf is not particularly sporty. It's a comfort-oriented car with soft suspension that rewards smooth driving.
It takes on a decidedly eager turn when you press the throttle. It'll sprint to 100km/h in about the same time as a 2.0-litre family car, yet it still returns a diesel-like - that phrase again - 5.9 litres per 100km in the combined cycle.
The 90kW TSI replaces the 1.6-litre FSI Golf and certainly leaves it for dead on performance, economy and sheer driveability.
Here's the thing. The 2.0-litre Golf has also been deleted - replaced by a 103kW/220Nm of the 1.4-litre TSI engine. Times are changing.
