It is said that "good food is not afraid of late", and now Volkswagen's 1.5T engine is really coming, I don't know if it is too late.
In 2020, when Volkswagen's 1.5T engine was installed on overseas golf, its excellent power performance once made many people's eyes shine. Although there was news at the time that this engine would also enter the country in the future, but after all, the ear was virtual, how long to wait, whether it could wait, was always unknown.
In the blink of an eye, 2 years have passed, and even when many people are not hopeful about this matter, they have even forgotten this stubble, and the news that Volkswagen's new Sagittarius will be equipped with a 1.5T engine has finally stirred up a "wave". But to be honest, the public can put this 1.5T launch in China is indeed a bit of a surprise, but for its "belated", there are still many questions to be solved.
Do the "late birds" still have worms to eat?
Let's first talk about some of the general parameters of this engine.
As the latest member of the EA211 family, the "Volkswagen EA211 1.5T Evo Engine" is only 8kW more than the 1.4T engine if it is only from the book data. However, it is not this data that pulls the gap between the two engines, the 1.5T engine is mainly victorious in technical advantages - the 1.5T engine adopts a high compression ratio Miller cycle, and the 12.5:1 compression ratio greatly improves the combustion efficiency, and the thermal efficiency can reach 37.5%. In general, the higher the compression ratio, the more completely the gasification of gasoline, and the better the power performance.
▲ The true appearance of the Volkswagen EA211 1.5T Evo engine is long like this
In addition, variable-section turbine technology is a major feature of this engine.
The so-called variable-section turbocharger, its role is actually to make the turbine maintain high efficiency operating conditions. Whether at low or high speeds, the ideal boosting effect can be achieved with variable-section turbine technology.
At this point, some people may have begun to understand: "In this way, isn't it both a fish and a bear's paw?" "That's right, that's it. In the past, it was always difficult for the traditional turbo-increase engine to take into account both high speed and low speed conditions, especially at low speed, the problem of "turbo hysteresis" was a headache. Even with a small turbine to improve, the pros and cons are mixed. And this technology is a small master of "improvisation".
▲ Variable section turbine technology, the turbine is more difficult, need to maintain high efficiency operation
Of course, technology is indeed a serious and good technology. But the old saying goes: the first to eat meat, the later to drink soup. There are not many enterprises that have made rapid progress in technology in China in recent years, and variable section turbine technology is actually not unusual in China, and BYD's DM-i super hybrid system has already applied VGT variable section turbochargers to it.
Although BYD specializes in DM-i super hybrid is an electrically based architecture, but people can indeed take into account the high and low speed performance, strong power and economy is good enough, the reputation in China is still very good.
The key problem is that some things are always first-come, first-served, even for BYD's DM-i super hybrid system, the engine is only auxiliary power, and its "variable-section turbocharger" has been mixed with consumers. In other words, even if Volkswagen brings a 1.5T engine to the market at this time, consumers may not have too much "freshness" in its engine technology. Of course, what you don't get is always better. I subjectively think that the Volkswagen 1.5T engine entry is a little late, but after all, this is also the first time to return to China, whether there can be a good market performance can not be determined.
Is there something else hidden in the delay?
Two years ago, when the 8th generation golf equipped with this engine achieved the lowest fuel consumption of 4.9L in 100 kilometers on high-speed roads, we also questioned whether the fuel consumption of volkswagen's 1.5T Evo engine reported by foreign media has dropped to less than 5L per 100 kilometers. In fact, in addition to fuel consumption, this engine can indeed be used in terms of power performance. The maximum power of 118kW, the peak torque of 250N·m, under the blessing of various technologies, so that some domestic owners who pursue performance of the 8th generation golf have only envy and jealousy, and the 8.3s 100 km acceleration can only listen to the experience of overseas owners.
▲Volkswagen's 1.5T Evo engine is divided into high power (150 hp) and low power (130 hp) versions overseas, indicating that the maximum power of 118 kW introduced into our country has been newly adjusted
It is reasonable to say that China's automobile market is so large that it has always been a must for many car companies. Since the Volkswagen 1.5T engine has such an excellent performance overseas, it should enter the country early and have more market share. However, this is not the case, it has been released overseas for three years before it is released in China, and the reason behind the delay is curious.
On the surface, Volkswagen seems to be a bit "stupid" and did not come in time to divide the "cake" of the domestic automobile market, and it is not surprising to think carefully about Volkswagen doing so.
Volkswagen's engine has excellent performance is not false, but these performances are ultimately because it has a lot of technical blessings, which also brings about an increase in costs.
To put it bluntly, consumers need to pay more for it. And the domestic car price competition has not stopped in recent years, price cuts and concessions have almost become an inertia, when the first reaction of consumers is to compare prices and discounts, your car is strong enough to go to the back row. Taking this into account, the public naturally will not rush to layout in the country.
Of course, this is only one of them. From another point of view, volkswagen's 1.4T engine has been mixed in China. The maximum power of 110kW, the peak torque of 250N·m, and the transmission efficiency of the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission are also high enough, whether it is in power or fuel consumption performance, it has a certain competitiveness. And the 1.4T engine has been produced for more than a decade, and Volkswagen will be more confident about its cost control, which is more conducive to ensuring profits. It is normal to be able to develop more steadily, and the public does not want to be too radical.
Regarding the late arrival of the Volkswagen 1.5T engine, another key reason is that it needs a mature time to match with domestic consumers and the use environment.
On the one hand, many consumers in China do have expectations for this engine, but if they really enter the country early, the attitude of consumers may not be as positive as now.
Our consumers have their own characteristics when choosing a car, and the car itself is of course important, but at the same time, consumers will also pay attention to the data, such as what kind of improvement this engine has in the data.
The improvement brought by the Volkswagen 1.5T engine will be mainly reflected in the low-speed torque response, and there will be no direct embodiment in the data, which just conflicts with the concept of Chinese consumers, and the persuasiveness will naturally weaken. No way, consumers are so contradictory, and more people may worry about whether car companies are "experimenting" with domestic consumers.
On the other hand, the performance of this engine overseas is very good, but it can not be used directly, or it is necessary to consider the differences in the environment of overseas and domestic car use, and then act after more time to test, which can pave the road smoother after entering the country. Some people may say, "Why is the public so cautious?" In fact, this question is not difficult to answer, which is completely the result of "eating a long and wise". Volkswagen's 2021 Tanyue 330TSI's GPF (Particle Trap) blockage incident was so loud that Volkswagen didn't have enough time to do enough testing. To bring the Volkswagen 1.5T engine to China now, it is natural to learn the lessons of the past and be well prepared.
What is the purpose of the "new power" entering the domestic market?
The Volkswagen 1.4T engine is not small in China, and it is mounted on many of Volkswagen's hot models, and it can be regarded as "operating" in China for many years. Just now we said that the competitiveness of volkswagen 1.4T engine in China is good, that is, compared with mainstream competitors, it does not have to be "virtual". Although it will have a little bit of burning oil and oil leakage, but the overall stability is very good, in the power performance and fuel consumption performance have also been tested by domestic consumers. Normally speaking, domestic consumers recognize that the public itself can also control the cost very well and ensure its own profits, which can be said to be a very "safe" state.
Recently, many people have seen the new phase of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology declaration map, the tail of volkswagen's new Sagitar adopts the logo of "300TSI", which clearly tells everyone that the "new power" of volkswagen is coming to China. At this time, Volkswagen introduced a 1.5T engine and replaced the 1.4T engine, which is a "big general", in addition to expectations, but also makes many people curious: "With new power into the country, what is Volkswagen's intention?" ”
To know Volkswagen's intentions, we still have to look at the technical advantages of this engine. In addition to the variable-section turbine technology (VTG) and high-compression ratio Miller cycle technology (compression ratio 12.5:1) just mentioned, it also has APS plasma cylinder wall friction reduction coating and electronically controlled cooling system technology that improves fuel economy; and the fuel injection pressure is also increased to 350 bar, which is directly increased by 150 bar compared with the previous 1.4T engine, which can simply improve combustion efficiency and reduce exhaust emissions.
Speaking of which, do you feel that you understand some of the public's intentions? On the one hand, now that oil prices are rising, fuel saving is to save money; in the case of stronger power, its fuel consumption is lower than that of 1.4T engines, and consumers naturally like such cars; on the other hand, the domestic environmental protection and low carbon pay special attention, 1.5T engines reduce emissions, in line with national policies and ideas, after coming in, it is naturally a smooth state. At this time, the 1.5T engine was introduced into The country, the conditions are ripe, and it can be regarded as volkswagen conforming to the mature layout of "time, place, and people".
Of course, this is one of them. On the other hand, there are too many new cars launched in China now, and in addition to those models that only change shells to find a sense of existence, there are also many new cars with technical advantages. And if Volkswagen always holds a 1.4T engine in the domestic mix, obviously a little unable to keep up with the current situation, like the Golf 8, Audi A3 and other new cars, after the replacement, people feel that they are new, but not completely new. After all, many consumers still like "fresh" things, others have new things out, you always take the old set to use, consumers inevitably have to spit a sentence: "Who does not want to spend money to buy a car with new technology?" Even if Volkswagen has many years of "deep cultivation" in China, giving users "new dishes" is a necessary step to maintain the temperature between consumers and consumers.
Write at the end
In general, the Volkswagen 1.5T Evo engine was introduced into The country, which is more powerful, the fuel economy is improved, and it is more environmentally friendly, which is undoubtedly the advantage of replacing the existing 1.4T engine. However, while the improvement of technology brings "sweetness" to consumers, it also has to pay a price. For example, after the new engine is equipped, the price will not be low, even if the price is satisfactory to consumers, then the car company will not do some technical "castration", which is a more worrying place. Of course, for the time being, everything is not conclusive, and it is not known whether the public will bring us greater surprises.
Issue 1837
Author: Zi Yue