141-MPG Plug-in Volkswagen Golf by 2015


141 miles per gallon (mpg) isn’t quite what a bicyclist gets (that would be approximately 984 mpg), but it’s pretty darn good for a car! Despite Greenpeace being very upset with Volkswagen’s lobbying in Europe, I imagine it must be very happy to see Volkswagen coming out with a 141-mpg vehicle. Of course, the plug-in hybrid MkVII Golf is still a concept and a few years off.

Hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles are all the rage these days, and Volkswagen is revving up to enter the domain electrified vehicles. In a new report, it is revealed the the ol’ Vdub will put a plug-in hybrid drivetrain into its next-gen MkVII Golf, and it will be capable of delivering the equivalent of 141 mpg.

That’s in Imperial gallons though; in the U.S. that’s about 117 mpg, still an incredible number, though these conversions are far from an exact science. Let us not forget GM’s magical 230 MPG claim.

But in this case, AutoExpress has gotten behind the wheel of a prototype vehicle, and they seem rather impressed. A 1.4 liter turbocharged gas engine is supported by a powerful 80 kW electric motor. The plug-in Golf will have an all-electric range of around 30 miles, and from the sounds of it, the electric motor does most of the work except at very high speeds. As a result the VW claims the this next-gen plug-in Golf will emit as little as 46g/km of emissions.

It all sounds very promising, though price and real-world performance will be what matters most. 2015 is a long ways away, and you know what they say about something that sounds too good to be true.

It probably is.

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