Autoblog

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What happens when you take a Jetta Wagon, give it GTI-topping power, a stereo to wake the dead, and 4Motion all-wheel drive? You get the Golf Variant RaVe 270 concept that VW's showing off in Essen. The car's name is derived from its hopped-up GTI engine's 270 horsepower and the techno beats being emitted from its 13-speaker 1400-watt audio system. (Get it? Techno...Rave. Yeah, we rolled our eyes, too.) A full body kit including an aggressive new front fascia lends the RaVe some visual presence to go along with its extra ponies, with 19" five-spokes and a pair of double-barreled exhaust tips finishing off the lowered wagon's visual upgrades.

Strip out the ridiculous audio/video system and you've got something that seems pretty doable from a production standpoint. An AWD sportwagon with more power than an R32 and better fuel economy to boot (9.1l/100km or 25.8 mpg) is an attractive proposition, indeed. We're sure VW's paying close attention to the reaction the RaVe's getting from show attendees.

[Source: Volkswagen]

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Yesterday in Geneva, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn officially introduced the world to the new Golf Variant. Early reports, including a VW press release issued in late February, indicated that the car would launch with a pair of gasoline and a pair of diesel engines. The official word at Geneva has changed to include just one gasoline engine and a pair of TDIs. The 1.4L TSI 4-cylinder won't appear in the car at launch...a last-minute change, from the looks of things. The press release pasted after the jump still mentions "two gasoline engines" in a section that didn't get the required edit. The absence of the TSI makes the 2.0 TDI the top-flight engine in the new wagon. It generates 140 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque while sipping fuel at a rate of 42 mpg. That seems pretty impressive to us, and we're sure the economically-minded TDI driver will be able to wring even more out of it in terms of fuel economy. (Paging Chuck Goolsbee...)

Continues after the jump...

[Source: Volkswagen]

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Here's a first peek at Volkswagen's Geneva-bound Golf Variant. The new station wagon will launch with a choice of two gasoline and two diesel engines underhood. The topline petrol-drinker gets the 1.4L TFSI "Twincharger" that's good for 140 horses. The available diesels are rated at 105 hp and 140 hp, and each one is good for over 40mpg.

Cargo capacity is around 24 cubic feet with the rear seats up and baloons to 54 cubic feet when they're stowed. They fold completely flat, making it easy to load up all your stuff. No official word yet on if/when we'll be seeing it, but our friends at the Jalop say to look for it in NYC in April. We wouldn't be averse to seeing it arrive stateside as the Jetta Wagon -- with a nice, punchy GLI model topping the range. Pretty please, VW?

[Sources: VW (pics), MotorAuthority, Jalopnik]