New VW Base 2.0-Liter Coming for 2018
CARS.COM — Volkswagen has a more efficient new version of its turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine for the redesigned 2018 Tiguan going on sale this summer. The engine will also become the new base engine for the 2018 Passat and Beetle, says VW spokesman Mark Gillies.
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It’s an updated version of VW’s EA888 four-cylinder, which first appeared in the 2009 CC, and has a modified combustion cycle that VW says will improve both fuel economy and power response. It showed up first in the Audi A4 Ultra.
VW says the focus of the engine’s development was to improve performance in everyday situations rather than to raise horsepower. EPA ratings are not yet available, but VW says that compared with the 1.8-liter EA888 Generation 3 engine in the Passat, some Jettas, Beetle and Golf, the new engine (dubbed generation 3B) will score higher mpg while also boosting maximum torque 20 percent, which should make it feel peppier in regular driving.
For the Tiguan application, where it will be the only engine offered, the four-cylinder will produce 184 horsepower, 16 less than the 2017 Tiguan’s ]2.0-liter. But it will produce maximum horsepower at 4,400 rpm, 400 revs sooner than the current 1.8-liter four-cylinder in other models; maximum torque of 221 pounds-feet is produced at 1,600 to 3,940 rpm.
To boost output, VW modified the engine’s traditional Miller cycle to close the intake valves earlier in the intake cycle, as well as refined the variable valve timing and gave the engine higher-pressure fuel injectors, higher compression, a new piston design, a new electronic management system and tweaks to reduce friction.
