Compact, Powerful And Sustainable, Volkswagen’s New TSI evo2 Engine

Combining high efficiency, powerful performance and lower emissions, Volkswagen presents the latest generation of its enhanced 1.5 TSI evo2 engine. 

The Volkswagen T-Roc and T-Roc Cabriolet will be the first models to underpin the new engine, followed by other models toward the end of the year.

Its compact, ultra-modern four-cylinder build will initially be available with an output of up to 110-kW (148 HP/150 PS).

Volkswagen’s board of management member for technical development, Thomas Ulbrich, said, “The 1.5 TSI is a key pillar of the Volkswagen engine range because it powers many models worldwide, from the T-Cross through to the Passat Variant. We have continuously enhanced the compact four-cylinder unit. It now offers significant fuel consumption benefits and a very dynamic response. The highlights of the latest version include Active Cylinder Management ACTplus, an emission control module close to the engine and the modern TSI-Evo combustion process.”

To begin with, what’s new for the engine is the moving of the three-way catalytic converter and petrol particulate filter close to the engine in a single emission control module.

This thereby further improves the efficiency of the emission control system, and as a contribution to sustainability, it permits reduced use of precious metals in production.

Another key feature for reducing fuel consumption is the engine’s enhanced Active Cylinder Management system (ACTplus).

Development of this new method was focused on improving activation and deactivation of the two cylinders in order to guarantee smooth engine running. 

Specifically, the combustion process in the two-cylinder operation was optimized, which allows the operating range of the Active Cylinder Management system to be extended. 

With ACTplus, the second and third cylinders are not fired when the engine is operating at low and medium loads and speeds, this switchover is hardly noticeable. 

Then, the efficiency is increased in the active cylinders, while the middle cylinders simply follow with practically no losses. They are reactivated when the accelerator is pressed again.

Next, the TSI-evo combustion process already familiar from the 1.5 TSI evo1 is also adopted in the TSI evo2 generation.

Of which, it uses the symbiosis of the Miller cycle (early closing of the inlet valves with high compression) and VTG turbocharging technology (variable turbocharger geometry). 

Additionally, the engine also has other high-tech components. E.g., a high-pressure injection system with a pressure of up to 350 bar, plasma-coated cylinder walls that reduce friction, and cast-in cooling duct pistons for optimized combustion and increased efficiency.

Other than that, the TSI evo2 engines are designed with fuels containing ingredients from renewable energy sources, meaning they are ready to meet future requirements. 

They are also suitable for various hybridization levels, notably, with a system power of up to 200-kW (268 HP/272 PS) is possible with a plug-in concept.

That said, these TSI engines have been global bestsellers since its debut in 2012, which came in three capacity variants that were already incorporating a host of high-tech components.

Each year, Volkswagen builds over four million of these sustainably engineered engines at eleven locations on three continents.