VW Commercials is vehicle sponsor for Ploughing

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle is again to be official vehicle sponsor for the National Ploughing Championships which will take place from September 23rd in Ratheniska, Stradbally, Co Laois.

The 83rd National Ploughing Championship will run for four days and attracts on average 1,100 exhibitors and 189,000 visitors. The event is Ireland's largest and one of Europe’s largest outdoor exhibitions and agricultural trade shows.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will provide a fleet of Amarok 4x4 Pickups and Caddy Vans equipped with 4 Motion, Volkswagen's 4-wheel-drive system, to support the championships on and off-road transportation needs.

The company will also have a stand at the show featuring a display of vehicles. Volkswagen trained Commercial Vehicle Specialists will also be on hand to discuss and assist in any questions visitors may have and also discuss their new to market 0% APR agri-finance product which will be launched at the event.

Pictured above with Anna May McHugh, National Ploughing Association Managing Director, is Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Managing Director Alan Bateson.

New Jetta launched here

The new generation Volkswagen Jetta has been launched in Ireland at a starting price of €21,985, writes Trish Whelan.

The car is completely redesigned and is longer, with a longer wheelbase that provides substantially increased legroom in the rear.

The car has a range of petrol and diesel powertrains, from the 105hp 1.2 TSI to a 140hp 2.0 TDI. The most efficient engine is a 105hp 1.6 TDI with a 4.5L/100km economy and an A CO2 band rating here. All engines are A or B rated.

Exterior changes bring the Jetta in line with current VW styling cues, while the interior design is now similar to the Golf, in whose segment the Jetta sells.

There are three trim levels, Trendline, Comfortline and Highline. Standard features include ESP.

Pictured below at the launch of the new VW Jetta in Ireland at Killeen Golf Club, Co Meath, were, from Volkswagen Ireland, Alan Bateson; Adam Chamberlain, Sales & Marketing Director; Anna Dawson; Niall Philips, and Steffen Nass.

Passat, Sharan, get five safety stars

VW's new Passat and Sharan models have achieved a 5-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test regime.

The Sharan was awarded an overall rating of 96 percent, in part thanks to the provision of nine airbags.

The Passat retained the rating of its predecessor gaining strong scores for adult, child and pedestrian protection. Among its safety innovations is a fatigue detection system and a city traffic emergency braking function.

The VW Amorak pickup due for launch in Ireland during the first half of 2011 was awarded a 4-star rating.

Porsche will build smaller SUV

Porsche has signed off on the development of another SUV/crossover, a smaller version of the Cayenne.

The Cayenne is based on the VW Touareg, so it is likely the new vehicle, code-named Cajun, will have some relationship to the VW Tiguan.

It will be the fifth model in the Porsche range.

VW wins Engine of the Year, again

The new 1.4 TSI petrol engine developed by Volkswagen has won the International Engine of the Year Award 2010.

The engine also won its category in the 1.0-1.4 litres section.

It is the second year in a row for VW to win the award. The company has also won the 2010 World Green Car of the Year for the Volkswagen BlueMotion models and World and European Car of the Year awards for the Volkswagen Polo.

Meanwhile, Toyota won again the ‘Green Engine of the Year’ award with its Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain. The company's 1.0 VVT-i engine was awarded ‘Sub-1.0 Litre Engine of the Year’ for the fourth year running. Fiat's FPT 1.4 Turbo engine, the first Fiat power unit to incorporate MultiAir technology, won the 'Best New Engine' category.

New Golf Van on sale

Volkswagen Ireland has launched the van version of the Golf VI.

There's a choice of two engines and trim levels - Trendline 1.6TDI 3DR 90BHP Van for €21,890 and Comfortline 1.6TDI 3DR 105BHP Van at €23,795.

VW offers Golf service deal

Owners of 2007 VW Golfs or older can availa of a new offer from VW Ireland to have their cars serviced for a guaranteed €199.

The offer goes through 30 June and applies to 1.4 petrol Golfs. The service includes change of engine oil and filter, replacement of the pollen filter, spark plugs, and wiper blades, and a full vehicle check.

The deal is available from any authorised VW dealer in the Republic, and includes VAT.

Revised Passat next year

A revised version of the VW Passat going on sale early next year will have the new family look brought in with the Scirocco and subsequently seen in the new Golf and Polo.

Front changes will also include new headlights with LED daylight running lights. Different rear lights will also feature, while the powertrains will be the familiar 1.4 and 1.8 TSIs in petrol and 1.6 and 2.0 TDIs.

The car will debut in Paris at the end of September.

Polo gets World Car title

The VW Polo has been awarded the title World Car of the Year 2010.

The announcement was made today at the New York Auto Show.

The VW Bluemotion model range was awarded a collective World Green Car of the Year 2010, while Chevrolet's Camaro got the World Car Design award. The Audi R8 V10 was declared the 2010 World Performance Car.

Automotive journalist Padraic Deane from Roscommon is the Irish juror, and he's pictured above on the right with Des Collins, Vice President European Communications Office, Bridgestone Europe, who presented the Green Car award. The Volkswagen Polo was chosen from an initial entry list of 30 entries nominated by 59 World Car jurors from 25 countries.

Fords take top two sales spots

Ford's Fiesta is the best-selling car so far this year, according to an analysis of the first quarter sales in 2010.

With 2,123 units registered, the Fiesta has just pipped its sibling Focus, which has had 2,067 units registered in the new car sales sector.

VW's Golf is third with 1,880 and Nissan's Qashqai completes the top five at 1,803 units.

Overall car sales are up 38 percent at 42,795, according to Motorcheck.ie, whose figures are used in this story.

Amorak revealed

The first official photographs of the new VW Amorak pickup have been revealed. The vehicle will launch in Europe in September of next year. It is being built in Argentina.

It will launch with a double cab version and a single cab will follow in 2011. Payload capacity is up to 1.15 tonnes.

For normal use it will have rear-wheel drive, and switchable or permanent all-wheel drive


There will be a choice of two 2.0-litre common rail TDI engines producing 163hp, with torque of 400 Nm, or 122hp with maximum torque of 340 Nm.

Both engines have a six-speed manual transmission.

Polo wins European COTY

The Volkswagen Polo has been voted European Car of the Year 2010 by a jury of 59 members from 23 European countries.

The last time a Volkswagen won was in 1992 with the new third generation Golf

The new Polo won from the Toyota IQ, Opel Astra, Skoda Yeti, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Peugeot 3008, and Citroen C3 Picasso.

VW Ireland cuts prices

Volkswagen Ireland has announced price reductions and specification upgrades across their range.

Golf models have been chopped by 10 percent whilst ESP has been added as standard. The Passat gets an 11 percent price cut.

Pack options offer savings of up to 40 percent against single options.

And Volkswagen Ireland in conjunction with Volkswagen Bank Ireland are offering finance at 6.75 percent APR. The bank has a current approval rate of 67 percent.

New Polo to lift segment share

The new generation Volkswagen Polo goes on sale in Ireland at a starting price of €14,590 for the Comfortline 3-door. The 5-door costs €14,990.


There are five engine options at launch, including 1.2 petrol in 60hp and 70hp versions, and a turbocharged 1.2 with 105hp. Two diesel versions of the 1.6 version are available, with 75hp and 90hp outputs.

All the above cars are in CO2 bands A and B. An 87g/km variant in the BlueMotion grade will be coming in the first quarter of 2010.

There are three grades, Trendline, Comfortline and Highline.

Head of sales and marketing at Volkswagen Group Ireland, Adam Chamberlain said at the press launch today that while the VW brand has performed well in Ireland, the Polo performance was only 'average'. The company intends to use the new Polo, which comes in at a less expensive entry level than before, to help boost its segment share from the current 9 percent to 15 percent in 2010.

VW launches new GTI here

The sixth generation of the iconic Golf GTI has been launched here by Volkswagen Group Ireland.

The 210hp car can achieve the 0-100 km/h sprint in 6.9 seconds and is on sale from €35,175, a marginal decrease on the price of the outgoing car. GTD diesel has also been introduced, with 170hp and a CO2 B rating, prices from €33,400.

VW Group Ireland will also be introducing four new Golf variants in January, three of them powered by diesel engines with CO2 emissions between 99-119g/km, as well as a 1.2 TSI petrol engine with 105hp.

Some 1,300 Mk V Golf GTIs were sold in Ireland, but marketing and sales manager Adam Chamberlain said at last night's launch event that it would be difficult to suggest what level of sales the new car might achieve initially.

New small VWs for 2011

Volkswagen now plans to have its new sub-supermini car, based on the Up concept rolling off the lines in 2011.



The company will build the car in Slovakia, and will produce versions for each of its brands -- VW, Audi, SEAT and Skoda.

There will be three and five door variants on what it calls its 'New Small Family' platform.

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Diesel GT Golf on the way

Volkswagen is introducing a new performance version of its Golf powered by a diesel engine.



The GTD goes on sale in RHD markets in June and has a 170hp 2.0 diesel engine under the bonnet.

The 0-100 km/h sprint is achievable in 8.1 seconds and CO2 emissions are 139 g/km.

A new front bumper from the GTI sits below a honeycomb grille element framed by chrome horizontal fins and a prominent ‘GTD’ badge. At the rear, full body-coloured bumpers make the GTD appear lower and wider than it really is, while the Golf’s standard wheels are replaced with unique 17-inch ‘Seattle Black’ alloys.

Inside, the main contact points are unique to the Golf GTD – a flat-bottomed steering wheel, a leather gearshift and a standard tartan interior. The tartan finish is unique to the GTD and is subtly different from that found in the GTI, being grey, white and black, rather than red, white and black.

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Golf gets World Car award

The Volkswagen Golf has been awarded the 2009 World Car of the Year accolade by a jury comprised of 59 international automotive journalists from 25 countries.

The verdict was announced during the New York International Auto Show.

It is the second year of the award, which in 2009 went to the Mazda2.

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New Polo revealed

The fifth generation of Volkswagen’s evergreen supermini, the Polo, has been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.



It weighs 7.5 per cent less than the vehicle it replaces – despite being marginally wider and longer – but it is also stronger

The new Polo is powered by a mix of naturally aspirated 1.2- and 1.4-litre engines as well as a new turbocharged 1.2-litre TSI petrol unit joining another all-new 1.6-litre TDI common rail diesel engine. All are equipped with either five- or six-speed manual gearboxes.

A Polo BlueMotion model will also join the range shortly after launch. Powered by a highly efficient 1.6-litre 90 PS TDI common rail diesel engine and linked to a five-speed gearbox with lengthened ratios in third, fourth and fifth, the new BlueMotion achieves 74 mpg while emitting just 96 g/km of CO2.

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VW shows sports car concept

At Detroit Motor Show this week, VW has revealed a concept for a mid-engined sports car.


Concept Bluesport is a low-emissions roadster with just 113g/km outputting from its 2.0 180ps Clean Diesel TDI with a 6-speed dual clutch transmission.

The 100km sprint is achieved in just 6.6 seconds.

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