Volkswagen Tries out the Semi-Spicy GTS Trim in Sao Paolo

Following up on the weird neatness of the Tarok, Volkswagen released another South American concept yesterday: the Virtus GTS.

Trading on some of the GTI’s design language the little sedan may look like something to envy Brazil for but worry not, because it’s a lot like that bowl of soup you just microwaved: hot on the outside, cold on the inside.

The Virtus is, essentially, South America’s Polo, but they get a sedan version. As a result of that lineage–not to mention the Polo GTI’s red grille stripe and tartan seats–and a name straight out of the Porsche lineup, you’d expect the Virtus to be pretty good. But alas…

Unlike the Polo GTI, which gets a 2.0-liter engine that makes 200 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque—not bad for a car its size—the Virtus GTS only gets the 1.5-liter unit, which only makes 150 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque and only sends that power through an automatic transmission with a number gears that I frankly to care to learn.

It seems, therefore, that this is not unlike North America’s R-Line trim, using the trappings of a performance model to sell a deeply normal model.

The trim, though, does come with everything. No options will be offered, so you get a digital dash, 8-inch touchscreen, rearview camera, light sensors and all for the base price. Which is nice.

The post Volkswagen Tries out the Semi-Spicy GTS Trim in Sao Paolo appeared first on VWVortex.

from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2F6SCAN
via IFTTT

Comments

2018 Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster Review

“Supercars just don’t excite me anymore.” These words, spoken to me over a month ago by another journalist, friend, and (so-called) enthusiast were echoing in my head for far too long, but they’ve finally been drowned out. Drowned out by the wail of a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine mounted in the middle of the new Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster. My friend’s point is that back in the good old days, there was a crop of supercars that captured the imagination with amazing style, sounds, performance, and more. Today, it seems like everything is capable of supercar performance, with large luxury sedans outdoing some of the best and most dedicated teams of car nuts, while former pillars of automotive excellence are suddenly pumping out family-friendly SUVs. Beyond that, another league of supercars, dubbed hypercars have cropped up with hybrid gas-electric powertrains that make magical things happen quickly, but at the cost of the acoustic drama, visual flair, and engag...

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier. The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow. While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something . To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it. Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait. So with this in mind, we lined our G...

Project Golf SportWagen- Intro

I’ve never really been one for SUVs and crossovers. The current offerings aren’t the body-on-frame, go-anywhere specialty tools I remember from my youth, and what they lack in capability, they also lack in on-road performance. The current crop isn’t terribly good at handling or being efficient, which in my opinion are major components of our ideal driving experience. So when it comes to space or utility, I usually look for something of the wagon variety- and it seems that I’m not alone. We hit quite a few shows around the east coast each summer, and we see modified Jetta SportWagens at nearly every event. Even amongst common consumers, these cars are highly sought-after. They don’t depreciate much, making even early Mk 5 2.5 versions expensive in comparison to other Jettas or Golfs of the same vintage. This year, Volkswagen launched their latest SportWagen, which is now billed as a Golf. In many ways, this latest SportWagen is the best yet and it has certai...

Vorderman Volkswagen

Search This Blog