Tag: VW

VW Phaeton Second Generation Revealed (kind of)

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date July 23, 2022

VW recently revealed the pictures of VW Phaeton’s cancelled second generation. Sadly, the Phaeton didn’t manage to see its second generation. When Phaeton was first revealed in 2003, it shocked the industry. VW was entering into the luxury F-segment and going to compete with Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

To compete in the luxury segment, Phaeton was offering groundbreaking technologies. Phaeton was designed to be driven non-stop at 50-degree at 300 km/h, with an interior temperature of 22. This was requested by Ferdinand Piech (grandson of Ferdinand Porsche). And Phaeton achieved this request. To be an invincible vehicle, Phaeton was over-engineered with many redundancy systems. Everything had a backup system designed to survive the most challenging conditions. Another game-changer feature was the windows were coated with an anti-moisture coat. So whatever you do, inside the Phaeton, you won’t have foggy windows (Tried by Jeremy Clarkson at Top Gear).

I can’t forget the mechanical arms of the boots; they were a piece of engineering. Still, you can’t find this type of engineering in any of the cars. Phaeton was a gamer changer. Also, I can’t forget the W12 engine, not a V12, a W12! This was another game-changer in automotive engineering. Air condition would never make you sick, with the torsional rigidity of 37000 nm/degree (this is high). There were also more requests from Piech but never revealed to the public.

Sadly, Phaeton had one problem, it was a VW. And it was nearly impossible to compete with Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series, Audi A8, Maserati Quattroporte, Lexus LS and Jaguar XJ (now gone). Even the Jaguar couldn’t keep up with the competition. S-Class has always been the leader of the F-segment. VW had the money but couldn’t gain traction. Sadly, Phaeton was out of production in 2016.

Interestingly, the highest demand came from China and South Korea. Although this demand didn’t manage the keep the production alive. The Phaeton was also used for first-generation Bentley FlyingSpur and did really well.

So, what are these second-generation pictures of Phaeton? VW just wanted us to show what the second generation Phaeton could have looked like. As I am not an industrial designer, one thing I can say, the first-generation Phaeton has cleaner lines and looks better. I hope Frank Stephenson will cover the second-generation Phaeton in his future videos.

The second generation Phaeton was going to have a plug-in hybrid system, the same V6, V8, and W12 engines. Also, electrochromic side windows was on the plan. At the touch of a button, the user can switch from opaque to transparent glass.

Lastly, Phaeton was a great car. If you find a clean one with a W12 engine, go for it! If you live in China, Phaeton is kind of alive as Phideon. It is a smaller version based on a smaller platform.

Volkswagen Phaeton Second Generation — First Generation

Photos // VW

Tags VW, VW Phaeton

Cars

Do you Like Volkswagen Passat?

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date April 18, 2019

I have amazing news! The VW Passat has received a facelift. I have never understood why someone would be excited to own a Passat, I couldn’t think of a single reason. It offers a conservative design, including the interior, and it drives like a conservative car. Although the driving assistance technologies are class-leading, I have never felt anything else for the Passat.

The Passat ticks all the boxes to be a great car apart from one, it cannot tick the box for passion. Anyway, if you are planning to buy a new Passat, here it is. It has had a facelift and it looks okay. Everything you see in the photos is probably an optional extra, so get ready!

Tags Passat, VW

Cars

The New VW Touareg

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date September 2, 2018

When the VW Touareg was first revealed it was a quite shock to the automotive industry. It was introduced along with the Phaeton, and they were clear signals to the automotive market that VW is changing.

The first generation Touareg was a really good SUV. It featured two differential locks, a low-range gearbox and air suspensions. Also, most of the interior was shared with the Phaeton, which means that it was shared with the Bentley Continental GT.

Now, we have the new Touareg, 3rd generation. The Phaeton is gone and the Bentley Continental is based on the Porsche Panamera modular platform. However, this time, the Touareg shares the MLBevo modular platform with the Bentley Bentayga, the Audi Q7 and the Porsche Cayenne.

When you buy a brand new VW Touareg you are buying a Bentley Bentayga on budget. When you look at the technical details, what you will see is that the Touareg and the Bentayga are siblings. The only differences are the exterior and the interior parts.

Unfortunately, the interior part is where you have a massive difference.

And, I didn’t have a chance to drive one. However, if you are planning to buy one, you won’t make a wrong choice. I accept that the Touareg looks a bit boring and ordinary. On the other hand, what you are buying is a car sharing the same infrastructure as a Bentley.

3rd generation VW Touareg — 3.0 V6 TDI engine with 210 kW / 286 PS

Photo Credit // VW

Tags Touareg, VW

Cars

VW Phideon

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date March 1, 2016

The VW Phaeton was getting old and wasn’t performing well on the annual sales figures. Everyone was expecting to see something new to replace the Phaeton and here it is the Roman goddess of fidelity, Phideon. This time VW decided to shift to Ancient Roman rather than the Ancient Greek.

Unfortunately, Phideon cannot achieve the success of the ancient Romans on the automotive market. It will be replacing the Phaeton only in Chinese market, which is very far away from the Rome! Literally, if you fall in love with the Phideon, there is no chance you can own one if you live outside of China!

Here are some facts;

The innovative PHIDEON is positioned above the Passat and the Magotan (don’t know what it is!), which is available in China.
The five metre saloon car is characterised by an extremely elegant yet simultaneously dynamic body design (We designed to make it look expensive to charge premium price!).
With its charismatic front end, the PHIDEON paves the way for the future design of Volkswagen’s top-of-the-range saloons (The charismatic front and profile designs resemble a lot with the KIA K9, so we were hit but the budget cuts!).
The new PHIDEON was developed in Germany with the assistance of VW’s Chinese partner SAIC Volkswagen. It will be launched in China in the third quarter of 2016.
The saloon will be offered with high-efficiency TSI engines (turbocharged petrol engines) and a plug-in hybrid drive is also planned (Even the Bugatti Veyron is TSI!).
In Geneva, Volkswagen will unveil the flagship model in the series: the four-wheel drive PHIDEON 3.0 TSI 4MOTION with 300 PS (People will end up with 1.4-TSI front-wheel version due its premium price tag) .
This high-tech PHIDEON is the first Volkswagen to use a camera-based night vision system (Everyone -including the Audi- had the night vision, we had to have it).
The interior is tailored perfectly to the needs of the driver, with the PHIDEON’s luxurious rear passenger compartment also making it an ideal chauffeur-driven limousine (It was easier -more affordable- to say this rather than making a long-wheel base version).
The PHIDEON is the first Volkswagen to be based on the Modular Longitudinal Matrix (MLB) (We worked on MLB for a decade!).

Photo Credits | VW

Tags VW, VW Phideon

Cars

New Volkswagen Polo Safety Features

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date July 10, 2014

I know you are looking for new Volkswagen Polo safety features, a little bird told me this (Google Analytics and it is not little!). And I have placed the all safety feature videos of the new Volkswagen Polo.

By the way, it is a facelift of the existing Volkswagen Polo don’t get excited that much! And what I think about new Polo’s safety features? Amazing! Even though, Polo does not offer blind spot assist feature, the new safety features are really exciting and definitely safe your and other peoples’ lives. And buy all these safety features, it will be fun to use them as well.

You may check the engine specs and other features from the Volkswagen’s website. Why I didn’t write them here? They are too long. Also don’t mingle with other drivers while driving. Last bit, don’t buy manual gearbox it is old technology. 7-speed dual clutch automatic is way better ;)

Photos Credits

Volkswagen

Tags VW, VW Polo

Cars

Retro Volkswagen Golf Photo | Fourth Generation

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date November 1, 2013

Volkswagen Golf, the all time best seller car on planet and also all time retro. Promises high quality, reliability and boring design. Actually, the latest Volkswagen Golf does not look that boring and promises a dynamic character. However, Golf was not a very exciting car end of 1990s, exactly 1998! It has been 15 years ago! Honestly, I clearly remember the whole 1998. And seems like yesterday to me.

And I can clearly remember the fourth generation Volkswagen Golf, despite its boring design and look quality interior finish. It was a sensation in automotive industry. First time, we saw a transparent headlight covers instead of glass ones. Standard airbags and so on.

I am not going to discuss about the fourth generation Volkswagen Golf. I want to share the press photo of the Golf from 1998. License plate does not have DE bar at the left side. A fake couple pretending to show their love towards the Golf. I am trying to understand the composition of the photo and why a couple dress up and hold hands to show their love towards a car. During those years, it was very common to see meaningless photos like this. No one on this planet will ever dresses up and holds hands in front of a car. If they do it, they will be on Twitter!

I don’t comment about the dress and the suit. 1990s was that catastrophic, believe me :)

End of the 1990s were really hilarious and I still cannot believe we were looking at those pictures and thought that in real life people behave like this.

Photo Credit

Tags VW, VW Golf

Cars

Aston Martin Cygnet is Dead

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date October 1, 2013

Aston Martin Cygnet is dead! Today Aston Martin officially announced their decision to stop making Cygnet model. Honestly, I am bit sad with this news, despite all efforts tiny Cygnet could not keep up with its older siblings.

Since the Cygnet was revealed, it never managed to achieve any success or respected by the consumers. Aston Martin first announced that, Cygnet will be available to existing Aston Martin owners and they changed their mind and then they change their mind again. Because, it was based on Toyota iQ without any technical modification and didn’t have enough money to replace the Toyota details.

Honestly, it was obvious mistake since the beginning. Aston Martin tried to reduce their fleet emission level by cutting corners and did not manage to reveal a proper luxury small car. Actually, luxury small car market is immature. MINI Inspired by Goodwood version managed stay in dealers to attempt world record. Their demand is so niche and so weak, manufacturing is not a feasible option.

Now, Cygnet will take its place on Aston Martin’s history as a failure from the beginning. I am sure, the small luxury car market will expand in future as the younger generation who loves to play with iPhones gets older. However, wrapping up a Toyota iQ was not a very reasonable solution to reveal a luxury product.

If Bentley produces a small Bentley based Volkswagen Polo platform, it will be the right time!

Actually, I liked the Aston Martin Cygnet. It was a very cute car but its fate was not that bright. And I am really happy to see it in real life.

Tags Aston Martin, Bentley, Cygnet, Inspired by Goodwood, Mini, Toyota, VW, VW Polo

Cars

Kia pro_cee’d GT vs.

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date October 1, 2013

Kia pro_cee’d GT is the new rival of Golf GTI segment. Please don’t start moaning about Kia and why I mentioned in my blog. Kia is different now, it is not the same company ten years ago. If you still think, Kia has never changed and everything is the same; I assume you might be thinking the world is flat despite the proof of photos! So, we are over with this discussion.

pro_cee’d GT has one of the most interesting name. Because, it is really hard to type on keyboard! This interesting character is not limited with the keyboard, pro_cee’d GT is designed by the Peter Schreyer. He is the person who responsible for this magnificent change in Kia. Especially, Peter Schreyer’s design philosophy is focused on form follows function and every design detail of this car has a reason to be there.

Now, let’s talk about VW Golf GTI vs. pro_cee’d GT discussion, which would never end. I know Golf GTI is an iconic car, I don’t argue with that but you are not ignore the fact that pro_cee’d GT is a very good car. What I like with pro_cee’d GT is the 1.6-lt turbo petrol engine with 204 HP and 250 Nm of torque. If a car company offers a small sized engines with lots of horses packed inside means one thing, they invest on new technology. This engine accelerates pro_cee’d GT to 100 km/h in 7.7 seconds and the top speed of 230 km/h. However, it offers only manual transmission! Unfortunately, I am against manual transmissions in this era. They are old technology, they are not efficient, they reduce the ability of controlling emissions when you compare them with double clutch gearboxes! I am 32 years old and supporting automatic gearboxes since 1997. I really don’t know why the year 1997.

Anyway, if don’t have a subconscious trauma with manual gearboxes or obsessed with double clutch automatics. Kia pro_cee’d GT will offer you a great driving experience, way better price than its competitors and magnificent look. I really loved the LED fog light lights. And this looks really amazing! Don’t recall your old memories with Kia from 1998, everyone changes :)

And also, Kia pro_cee’d GT offers suede and leather upholstery :)

Photos Credits

Kia

Tags Golf GTI, Kia, Peter Schreyer, pro_ceed GT, VW

Cars

The Most Sympathetic Car Show, Москва 24!

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date May 15, 2013

The most sympathetic car show, Москва 24! You probably never predict the answer, sorry it is not the one starts with T or F. The most sympathetic car show is from Russia by Anastasia Tregubova. According to my content, you may think I have a biased view. But No! This is a very objective judgement. Until Kate Upton starts a car show :)

I watched many car shows since I started to watch TV. There were some terrible, some excellent, some creative, some boring, some inspiring and some nothing! However, most of the shows had a similar concept. More or less they were the same or they reached their creative boundaries and entered into a loop!

The thing I like with Anastasia’s Москва 24 is the naïve character of the show. She is not trying to burn tyre or racing with F35 jet plane or pushing boundaries to make us laugh. What Anatasia does, a car show made by a women :) Москва 24 is like Maserati GranTurismo; combination of feminine curves with muscular lines. I really don’t find interesting to see smoke coming from the tyres at 200 km/h inside a corner, because it is the loop which I found not anymore interesting.

Москва 24 is in Russian and I have no clue what Anastasia says during the show, actually YouTube translates it but, still I have no clue. But I like the concept of the show and the scenario, simple and elegant. I am expecting Anastasia to do the show in English in future :)

And now you can jump to news from Das Neu Mercedes S-Klasse! Sorry the new Mercedes S-Class.

You can watch Москва 24 on YouTube | Anastasia Tregubova on Twitter | Instagram

Photo Credits

Anastasia Trgubova

Tags Anastasia Tregubova, BMW, Camaro, Jeep, Mercedes, Opel, Renault, Russia, Smart, VW

Cars

VW Polo Dad Advertisement: Is VW Polo a Safe Car?

Post author By Uygar Kilic
Post date March 24, 2013

Volkswagen Polo Dad advertisement, don’t worry I will not connect the Polo Dad with Kate Upton’s Cat Daddy video. But it does sound a very idea. Anyway, I recently watched the Volkswagen UK’s Polo Dad advertisement after they released it ten months ago. As you can easily realise that I don’t watch TV. If any video or advertisement is not available on YouTube, then I am a bit unaware of it :P

(Volkswagen UK made a very creative advertisement. A child does take so much sacrifice to raise and no one want their kids to have a poorly made car. Advertisement gives the message, you can remember it very easily and the scenario did not overcome the brand, well done.)

I am definitely sure, after the VW Polo Dad advertisement, many parents started to Google, “is VW Polo safe” or “is VW Polo a car safe” and this combination goes forever. So, I decided to express my personal opinion about VW Polo’s safety. Here is the proof from EuroNCAP, Polo received 5-star!

Literally, VW Polo is a safe car, don’t worry. I know you want more information than my one sentence statement. Polo is a small but it is larger than the first generation VW Golf, so it is not that small. Are small cars safe? Yes, they are safe. Being small does not mean that VW Polo will be a weak car during a crash. The important point with the car safety is the manufacturing technologies and crash avoidance systems. Polo is a product of Volkswagen Group, and they have most advanced manufacturing technology in automotive industry. VW uses laser-welding technology. This increase the strength of the Polo’s structure and enables to overcome serious impacts. Also, engineering of the car is very important. A very well engineered small car may offer better safety than a ten-year old SUV.

Modern cars are engineered way different than the old cars. During a crash, VW Polo will transfer the energy of the impact outside of the cabin. Thus, the crash impact will be distributed around the vehicle and occupants receive the least from the crash. You can notice this quite easily, just check crashed modern cars; their whole body receives the impact and the cabin stays safe. This is pure engineering.

And while ordering the VW Polo ask the dealer for the optional safety features. Car companies update their packages too often and it is really hard to keep up with them. And order every type of safety features. They all worth that money! Some of the standard electronic safety systems; “ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme) including ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System), HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assist), EDL (Electronic Differential Lock) and ASR (Traction Control)”.

And avoid 3-door version, it looks ugly! I am really VW but three-door Polo does not have nice proportion, may be this is due to lack of golden ratio. Five-door Polo does look way better.

Built quality of VW Polo? Volkswagen Group manufactures Audi and Bentley, so Polo offers the best interior quality on market.

Honestly, I always wanted to have a VW Polo. I really don’t know why but there is something attractive with this car.

And if you are reading this article alone, you can watch the Kate Upton’s Cat Daddy video. If you are reading with your wife, you can watch the VW Polo Dad advertisement again :)

Pictures’ Copyrights

Tags VW, VW Polo, VW Polo Dad, YouTube