8:47 am, July 31, 2008
FOR several years now, diesel has been the eco engine of choice.
But now, petrol is beginning to catch up – perfectly timed to chime with consumer dissatisfaction at the premium of diesel at the pumps.
The latest maker to launch a high-efficiency new petrol engine is Audi. From October, the A5 is to get a new 2.0 TFSI 180 engine, replacing the old 1.8 TFSI 170 unit. Don’t confuse it with the 2.0 TFSI 211 unit that it sits below: Audi plans to sell both.
Not only is the 2.0 180 engine faster than the old 1.8 170 (62mph in 7.8secs, 148mph), it is also even more economical. Here’s the headline figure, in fact – this engine does 42.8mpg on the combined cycle, and emits just 154g/km of CO2.
Quite frankly, that’s exceptional. And we thought 39.8mpg from the 1.8 was already pretty good. This is supermini economy from a large luxurious coupe, which costs from £26,710.
Indeed, it’s actually the most economical A5 you can buy – more efficient than both the diesels (admittedly, they’re V6s, but even so).
This is a sign of things to come. We’re going to be seeing much more efficient petrol engines coming through the system over the next few years, which is salvation for customers bitten by the credit crunch.
Large engines, as you’re probably finding, struggle to sell. Luckily, makers are bringing through the economical ones too, ensuring the premium-end market will remain viable. We can’t wait to see residual values for this new A5…
