VW of America: We should be making more enthusiast cars

"MrSnrub" (sv100) 10/18/2019 at 13:52 • Filed to: None

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Hopefully that’s not just hot air . Tiguan R perhaps? Also another confirmation   that the US is getting the Mk8 GTI/R, which is good. T hey still haven’t made a decision about the regular Golf and Sportwagen, which is interesting. I thought it was already a firm no . But we’re still probably not getting it.

Spanfeller is a twat > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 14:04

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Bring in the Seats. 

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 14:05

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Hotish take: I think VW makes great enthusiast cars, but sucks at making “performance cars”.

A performance car, to me, sacrifices livability for performance/handling. VW just makes great cars that happen to have power (GTI/R).

facw > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 14:07

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Prepare yourself for the T ouareg GTI...

E90M3 > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/18/2019 at 14:08

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There are cars that don’t sacrifice  too much, but you’ve got to pay for it.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > E90M3 10/18/2019 at 14:08

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True, yes.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 14:12

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Atlas R with the A udi turbo 5 cylinder

Nibby > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 14:13

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i fell asleep reading this

Milky > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/18/2019 at 14:15

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Still pissed that engine never went into the A/S/RS 5.  Turn that thing 90 degrees already.  

atfsgeoff > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 14:15

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They already do, they’re called Porsches

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Milky 10/18/2019 at 14:16

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Still pissed they never had the balls to build this:

E90M3 > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/18/2019 at 14:19

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Take an M5 or something like that, you get a lot of performance without sacrificing too much in the way to livability. Could it be a better performing car? Absolutely , but then you wouldn’t want to drive it everyday. 

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > E90M3 10/18/2019 at 14:22

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Secondary blazing hot take: Performance cars should not be DD’d.

I personally would rather have a 3-4 cars that are cheaper (Kia Forte, Fiesta ST and VW Golf Sportwagen) than 1 or 2 “premium” cars.

I dd the Kia/VW and reserve the Fiesta for fun times only.

Svend > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2019 at 14:31

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Like a

SEAT Leon 2.0 TSi Cupra R ST 300

SEAT Leon 2.0 TSi Cupra 300

Was once a SEAT Ateca Cupra, now Cupra is it’s own brand.

Cupra Ateca 2.0 TSi 300

Milky > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/18/2019 at 14:32

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Hell, even this:

Milky > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/18/2019 at 14:35

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Thats gonna be a no from me dog.

When I get a chance to drift the Miata on the commute it brightens my day.  

dogisbadob > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 14:37

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They need to make *more reliable* cars

Rebadge teh Aygo, JDM Corolla, Vios, and Yaris

Since Toyota insists on not selling the real Yaris over here, perhaps VW can sell it here as the VW Fox. The Yaris hatch and Vios sedan can be the Fox lineup

The JDM Corolla can be their Polo, VW Fielder wagon

VW Up can be the rebadged Aygo

Spanfeller is a twat > Svend 10/18/2019 at 14:48

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Yes.

MrSnrub > Svend 10/18/2019 at 14:48

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Oh yes please

MrSnrub > atfsgeoff 10/18/2019 at 14:50

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MrSnrub > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/18/2019 at 14:52

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Agreed , and I prefer all-around livability anyway. That’s what the GTI does so well. But more options are always good.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Milky 10/18/2019 at 14:52

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Same car.

VW Max > facw 10/18/2019 at 14:53

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GTI is for true hatchbacks only...Europe got a 1st generation Touareg R50 with the diesel V10.

The Touareg is gone from the US market anyways. Atlas/Tiguan R is very likely though.

facw > VW Max 10/18/2019 at 14:57

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Hmm, I’m clearly not paying enough attention to VWs lineup. I wouldn’t count on GTI staying hatchback only, especially in the US though, I’m sure there are VW marketing people who would love to spread that positive brand image around to the cars that people are actually buying in quantity.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 14:57

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I think you called it. Get prepared for the Atlas GTI and the Tiguan R.

Milky > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/18/2019 at 14:59

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This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 15:00

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Make the entire line plug in electric, but many times better than the e-golf. Make fun nice looking well trimmed peoples cars, atone for your diesel sins, and use your dealer network and VAG money to compete directly with Tesla. P ander to your target demographic with the promise of a cleaner tomorrow   and steal 95% of non wrx Subaru buyers in the process. People won’t even care if they continue to fall apart like usual. VW buyers are used to that. Just make the damn things fun to drive and not suck to live with ., they’ll sell.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > atfsgeoff 10/18/2019 at 15:01

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What we. Need is a new 914. A small 30k 4 cylinder Porsche 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/18/2019 at 15:02

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Isn’t a S5 the same thing? 

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 15:04

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(Audi and Porsche turn and give the stink eye)

The Ghost of Oppo > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/18/2019 at 15:07

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While I’d say it’s an argument of semantics, I’d definitely take a stripped down R 

The Ghost of Oppo > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2019 at 15:07

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All VWs have S eats, in fact I’d be so bold to say all cars have Seats

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 10/18/2019 at 15:08

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Nope, this is a shorter wheelbase with the turbo 5 cylinder

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 10/18/2019 at 15:09

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A used 718 Boxs ter

Svend > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 15:12

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Yep, 296bhp from a 2.0 TSi in a three or five door hatchback, estate or SUV.

The dashboard isn’t exactly full of features but does have what you need and really nice comfy seats. 

The Ghost of Oppo > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 15:15

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I just don’ t get  how putting faster powertrains or even better suspensions in SUVs make them enthusiast cars. It’s just another badge for mom and dad to brag about in the car pool lane.  

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/18/2019 at 15:24

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Oh. Yeah I like both of those things 

CompactLuxuryFan > facw 10/18/2019 at 15:26

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Enter the Jetta GLI, currently starting at $25,995:

Now back to being on the same platform as the GTI, it’s better than ever, albeit still an ‘American sedanified’ version of the GTI. Like 5+ grand cheaper, though.

MrSnrub > Svend 10/18/2019 at 15:36

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Yeah, I’ve long admired Seat’s lineup from afar. The Leon and Ateca in particular

MrSnrub > The Ghost of Oppo 10/18/2019 at 15:39

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I mean, I’m an enthusiast and I’m not completely against the idea of an enthusiast-oriented SUV. I have a GTI right now but something with a bit more ground clearance and cargo space but similarly firm suspension and power would be nice.

Tripper > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 15:43

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“enthusiast-oriented SUV”  

They’re called wagons bruv.

VW Max > facw 10/18/2019 at 15:59

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https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/06/there-will-never-be-volkswagen-gti-suv-crossover/

facw > VW Max 10/18/2019 at 16:00

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A lot of things are true until they aren’t.

MrSnrub > Tripper 10/18/2019 at 16:12

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Well, yeah, but they’re all dead. Plus a little extra ground clearance is nice, worrying about scraping  on every incline gets old . a GTI’ d Alltrack would have been awesome.

Tripper > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 16:18

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I recently bought a 19 Alltrack SE 6MT with that very vision. I’ve ordered most of the suspension components from the Golf R Estate and I’m going to go with the warranty covered tune from APR, a set of wheels and done.

dieseldub > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/18/2019 at 16:19

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Yeah, when most of your cars are transverse FWD, they aren’t going to be in the same class as a proper sports car, no. But they are still fun, tossable, and more importantly, practical in every day use. Great supportive seats, easy to figure out and use controls, nice shifters, light clutch effort, just all around pleasant vehicles to be inside of and driving.

With that in mind, it’s less about bleeding edge performance, it’s just a really nice car to make driving on public roads more fun. I’ll take that any day for my main vehicle.

MrSnrub > facw 10/18/2019 at 16:29

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I think if the T-Roc is any indication, they’ll stick to their guns and give the crossovers R variants only. Although it does look like the Tiguan GTE could be a thing, I don’t think that counts

The Ghost of Oppo > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 16:30

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That already exists as the SQ5 and Macan, which are status symbols 

dieseldub > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 16:31

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That’s... pretty much what the Tiguan originally was. A tall bodied, lifted Mk5 Golf with a smidge more space behind the rear seats. Same 2.0T as the late Mk5 and mk6 GTIs, but usually coupled to the 6 speed slushbox 09G instead of the DSG... and rarely option with AWD, but at least *could* be so optioned. They even sold a manual trans version, but it was only in a very stripped down model and in miniscule numbers.

I remember driving a Mk2 GTI a little over 10 years ago when I lived in Michigan. Since most roads are pretty straight and boring, one of the things I’d do to liven up commutes is take exit ramps and on ramps to near the limit of adhesion where the front tires start to screech in protest just a little, so long as there’s no one in front of me.

One day I was doing this on my normal route home and I look in my rearview to see a brand new Tiguan matching my pace and leaning pretty hard into the looping ramp. I was pretty impressed, not just that it would hold on like that, but that there was someone ballsy enough to do it in a higher up vehicle. lol

But really, the suspension genuinely is a lifted Mk5. You can put Tiguan springs and struts/shocks on a Mk5 or Mk6 Golf to lift it up. They fit and work.

Of course, much of what made some of us fans of the brand in the early 2000s was the fact they were a step ahead in interior niceness and features compared to their direct competitors. They were simply just nice vehicles to be inside of and operate. Then they tried to be more cost competitive and threw that out the window. Dynamically, the newer cars are still very good, but the cheapening is sometimes too evident. The exterior styling has gotten rather conservative too.

And of course, there’s the whole diesel-set... I’ve been told by more than one representative at auto shows that they were “tired of hearing about it” when asked when/if diesels are returning. Small in numbers in the grand scheme of things in terms of the greater market , but they were making up a pretty significant percentage of VW’s sales before the scandal here. Not that that’s saying much, since their sales numbers aren’t anything to write home about in this market.

I guess some of us just miss Piech’s influence about crazy engineering and moving things more upscale than they need to be for the price point.

MrSnrub > Tripper 10/18/2019 at 16:33

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T hat sounds awesome . Although I’m still not sure about the APR Plus warranty. Interested to hear about your experience with it.

B_dol > Tripper 10/18/2019 at 16:36

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Let me know how the APR experience goes. Interested in doing a tune on my wife’s 2016 GTI. 

facw > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 16:39

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We’ll see I guess.

MrSnrub > dieseldub 10/18/2019 at 16:43

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I’ve heard the Mk1 Tiguan referred to as the GTI of SUVs. It was a really good size/power combo for sure. Too bad there’s nothing really similar to it in the lineup any more. Apart from the larger size, the new one is supposedly a slug. This will basically take the place of the Mk1 Tiguan size-wise but I’m guessing the powertrain will be more Jetta than GTI, and I don’t really care for the looks anyway:

Tripper > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 16:45

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Nor am I. So I’m driving a few extra miles to have it done at a VW dealer that is also an APR dealer (Very few of these exist) to hopefully minimize any finger pointing if there is an issue. There service manager said that they tune em right off the truck if a client wants. I said that I’d rather wait until after my first oil change.

Tripper > B_dol 10/18/2019 at 16:47

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I definitely will review. I’m having it done at one of very few VW dealers that is also an APR dealer. Hopefully I won’t have an issue but if I do it will be a VW dealer dealing with APR instead of me playing middle man between APR and my dealer.

dieseldub > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 17:00

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Rumor has it, VW is going to bring a crapton of crossover-ish vehicles to market. We’ll see if any of them have “sporting” pretensions.

The new Biguan, er, Tiguan, yeah, not so great. They continued to make the original smaller Tiguan alongside for a year or two since there was still demand for the smaller body.

I’m not sure about the weight difference, everything is seemingly on the MQB platform, but it can be scaled to just about any size, so weight can vary greatly. The engine is still a 2.0T, but new 3rd gen with the crazy sliding exhaust cam lobes, but it seems the Biguan and Atlas got lower horsepower versions of them, but higher torque at lower RPM. Not sure how they drive, haven’t tried one yet. The torque figures are reasonably impressive and come on very low, though. But I’m sure given the extra sheet metal and optional pop up 3rd row, it’ll weigh quite a bit more than the original.

I get disappointed seeing either Atlas or Tiguan on the road and see this stupid huge fuel door. When I popped one open at an auto show, it became very readily apparent what it was engineered for from the beginning: to have a diesel. The fuel filler is moved all the way forward, leaving this huge blank space next to it... obviously leaving room for a DEF filler.

I keep looking at the diesels VW has in Europe and go “Fuck, that would be perfect!”

How’s a 2.0 TDI with 240 hp and 368 ft lbs of torque from the factory sound? Yeah, those exist in Europe from the factory... robbed. Again.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Milky 10/18/2019 at 20:13

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As much as I love hitting the loud pedal in my Z06 every day, I miss my GTI dearly. It was still fun, but it was so relaxing when I didn’t want it to be harsh.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 10/18/2019 at 20:15

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I honestly enjoyed the Tiguan loaner I had, power was all it was really missing. It just felt like a slightly higher Golf. It handled way better than the CX5. The CX5 gave me the confidence of a 1/2 ton truck with a top heavy maxed out payload.

UnderSTeerEnthusiast - Triumph Fanboy > MrSnrub 10/18/2019 at 20:19

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Id like a truck, but I m wanting something that’s quick and can handle like my st but also can tow a trailer with two motorcycles to a track day, while being comfortable. Here’s looking at you, SQ5/X3M40i. Never thought I’d think that but here we are 

Milky > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 10/19/2019 at 14:40

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