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Par f the course?...

28th January 1977
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Page 22, 28th January 1977 — Par f the course?...
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. . . and VW improve the LT range

IF VOLKSWAGEN goes ahead with production of its Golf van, shown in prototype form at this year's Brussels Show (CM, January 21), British small van makers will have a potentially formidable competitor on their hands.

For the Golf van would have the economical diesel power unit already offered as an option on the Golf car range.

With a capacity of 1,600cc (98cuin) the diesel engine produces 37kW (50bhp) at 5,00O-pm, and is claimed to produce fuel consumption figures of up to 41 litre/100km (60mpg).

Although the van is pleasantly styled — it is a Golf saloon with a different sidepressing which fills in the windows — its shape seems to be its biggest drawback.

A high sill at the rear makes loading more difficult and the angled rear window and single lift-up back door cut down the available load space.

Nevertheless, the Golf van is still very much a prototype, so it's likely that modifications will be made to improve its carrying capacity before production begins.

Modifications also announced this week by Volkswagen to the LT range of light commercials should give the vehicles more appeal to drivers.

Probably the most significant change is the closing of the ratio gap between second and third gear.

Both the petrol and diesel versions share the same gearbox and running gear, and during our road tests of these (CM, March 5, 1976 and November 12, 1976) the poor ratio spread was one of our chief complaints.

An additional benefit of the gearbox changes, says VW, should be improved fuel consumption.

Although our Perkins diesel version returned a very acceptable 10.9 litre/100km (25.8mpg) overall), the petrol model could only manage 17.5 litre/100km (16.1mpg) when tested over the same route.

It's likely that closing the gap will help the petrol versions more than the diesel and thus make them more competitive.

Another change. again particularly affecting the petrol vehicles, concerns the fuel system.

We found that filling was a very slow process during our first test of the LT. It took over 15 minutes to put in 12 gallons.

To overcome the problem, VW has fitted a new flat frame to the tank and lowered it, while at the same time fitting a single return pipe back to the fitter neck.

These changes, it is claimed, will help speed up re-fuelling. At the moment VW enjoys an eight per cent share of the 2.5 tonnes (2.86 tons) to 3.5 tonnes (3.44 tons) market with the LT, and the modifications it has made may very well help to increase this figure.

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