The introduction of Volkswagen Polo GT TSI has brought GDI technology closer to mass production cars in India
With the launch of the Polo GT TSI, Volkswagen has indeed brought the direct gasoline injection technology within the scope of the mass volume segment. At Rs 7.99 lakh, the Polo GT TSI is costlier than many petrol engine B-segment hatchbacks. It, in fact, cuts into the C-segment, which is made up of entry-level sedans.
Not expected to gather the kind of volumes a B-segment hatchback does therefore, what the Polo GT TSI has done, is throw open the doors for new, exciting technologies. Technologies that make a difference, and are no less revolutionary.
Clearly, the TSI technology was until now found on much costlier, and bigger cars like the Volkswagen Jetta and Skoda Laura only. Entering into details, the 1198 cc, 4-cylinder petrol engine of the Polo GT TSI produces 103bhp @ 5000rpm. Apart from direct fuel injection, this engine also sports a turbocharger. Imported from Germany according to sources close to the company, this engine was received very well in advanced markets like the UK. The reason being its ability to deliver performance as well as fuel efficiency. And emit less enough to command less tax.
To put it more precisely, the essence of the technology the engine boasts of lies in three letters – TSI. TSI means turbocharged stratified injection. Having won the “Best New Engine of 2006” award for a 1.4-litre TSI engine found on the Golf, the technology involves a combination of a supercharger, and a turbocharger. In case of the 1.2-litre engine found on the Polo GT TSI, it is the turbocharger rather than a combination of a supercharger and a turbocharger according to industry sources.
If higher performance, superior fuel efficiency, and lower emissions are the three prime objectives, the engine employing TSI technology has achieved, a 1.2-litre engine producing 103bhp and 175Nm of torque between 1500rpm and 4100rpm is not ordinary.
Said a source at Volkswagen in Europe, that in developing TSI technology it was our aim to create engines that offer significant benefits by reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions while offering impressive power delivery.
The recipe for the success of Volkswagen’s TSI engines is to be found in downsizing for certain. Maximum power is obtained with minimum fuel consumption from a smaller engine. The reduction in engine size has brought better efficiency, as there is less power loss resulting from friction. The smaller engines also have the advantage of being lighter from the outset, so there’s less weight to shift in the vehicle.
Inhaling through two valves per cylinder, and exhaling through two valves per cylinder, the 1.2-litre engine of the Polo GT TSI offers the advantage of being more efficient. If the turbo ensures that more air is available to aid efficient combustion of fuel in the cylinder, the direct injection system ensures that the process is more precisely governed than in an engine with multi-point fuel injection. The injection pressures of a direct injection petrol engine are higher than that of a multi-point fuel injection system. Interestingly, the turbocharger plays an important role in ensuring good drive-ability.
Sources close to Volkswagen claim that turbochargers have been the accepted solution for diesel engines of all sizes and power outputs for some time now, until a few years ago, when they were only installed in high-performance petrol engines. That was before climate protection concerns and the need for more efficient use of resources made turbocharging an attractive option for small engines, too.
Drawing attention towards TSI engines being available in a variety of size classes with power outputs ranging from 77 to 199 kW, they add that the 77kW, 1.2-litre TSI engine found on the Polo GT TSI is the youngest.
What the engine of the Polo GT TSI could trigger is a new era of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in India. Offering impressive performance and environmental figures other than superior fuel efficiency. Volkswagen is running Passats in Europe with TSI engines powered by Natural gas, calling the engine as TSI Ecofuel. To conclude, compared with normally aspirated engines, TSI engines offer lower fuel consumption and emissions during their service life, as well as comparable environmental impacts during the manufacturing and recycling phases. The overall environmental profile of the TSI engine therefore represents a substantial improvement over that of a normally aspirated petrol engine.
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