HERNDON: Volkswagen announced that the Taos compact SUV will feature a new version of the EA211 turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
Making 158hp and 184 pound-feet of torque, the new engine increases in size from 1.4 to 1.5 liters and offers a number of high-tech features designed to produce outstanding fuel economy.
It features Volkswagen’s modified version of the Miller cycle, where the intake valves are closed early in the induction stroke to help with fuel economy. For a turbocharged engine, it has a very high compression ratio of up to 11.5 to one.
The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission in the front-wheel-drive model, with a Sport mode. AWD models get a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission.
“While electric vehicles are stealing the headlines these days, we are continuing to make great strides with technology on our internal combustion engines,” said Johan de Nysschen, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen Group of America.
“The new 1.5-liter engine in the Taos uses the latest advances in gasoline-engine design to bring outstanding fuel economy to the compact SUV segment. The Taos will provide a further proof point for the ability of the Volkswagen North American Region to deliver the right products for our market requirements.”
The Taos is expected to go on sale in the summer of 2021 in both front- and all-wheel-drive forms. The vehicle is positioned in the largest US vehicle segment, the compact SUV market, where 4 million vehicles were sold in 2019—around 24% of the market.
It will slot into the VW compact SUV lineup below both the Tiguan and the all-electric ID.4 SUV.
