We review the Volkswagen XL1 SEV from price to economy and all its features
THE Volkswagen Group’s ambitions are simple. They aim to become the world’s number one car firm by 2018.
And when you realise the group includes Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche, Skoda, Seat and Lamborghini, you just know that target will become a reality.
The future is here ... XL1 SEV is a leap forward in engineering
It’s a stable of diverse manufacturers producing everything from supermini Polos to Bentley supercars that no other car firm can match.
The group has just announced record sales of 7.14million vehicles for 2010, a 13.5 per cent growth which further emphasises the unstoppable momentum of the German juggernaut.
In the next five years they plan to spend 51.6billion euros (£44.5billion) on technology and new models they say will shape the future of motoring. This week I got an exclusive first drive of an amazing new model, the XL1. This is the most fuel efficient car in the world, capable of a mind-blowing 313mpg.
It could end the nightmare of sky-high fuel prices and, as it emits CO2 of just 24g/km, it’s saving the planet while saving you cash.
The XL1 is the perfect showcase of VW’s ability to develop world-beating technology and engineering solutions for the cars of the very near future. VW say the XL1 will be on the road in two years.
Volkswagen chairman Professor Martin Winterkorn wouldn’t name a price but he told me the diesel/electric hybrid would be affordable. And he believes it is a far better solution than pure electric. He said: “The XL1 has no range restrictions, it is a car that stirs the emotions and it’s fun to drive.”
VW will produce a limited series of the 800cc diesel/electric XL1 in 2013. But you will be driving affordable mainstream versions of VW’s Polo, Golf and the new Up city car that uses the same engine technology in three years.
Rather fittingly, VW unveiled the XL1 at the Qatar Motor Show in the Middle East. Qatar is a small country with big plans, after all, it has already beaten the United States to host the 2022 World Cup.
The XL1 is the brainchild of the VW Group supervisory board chairman Dr Ferdinand Piech, 73, who has masterminded the company’s expansion into a global motoring empire.
If he can oversee the XL1 into an affordable production vehicle, it could be his ultimate masterpiece.
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ROAD TEST: Volkswagen XL1
IT glides across the Tarmac like a spacecraft from another planet and its fuel consumption is out of this world.
I’m driving the answer to every motorist’s prayer, a car that does 313 miles – that’s London to Gretna Green – on one gallon.
Volkswagen’s XL1 is not only the world’s most economical car, it is also super-green, emitting just 24g/km CO2, and it looks amazing. This is pioneering motoring.
It’s only the length of a Polo at less than 4m but at a height of 1.18m it sits lower than a Lamborghini Gallardo.
This is a supermini with the drama and style of a supercar. You even enter by exotic gull-wing doors that add to the feeling you are driving something special.
Despite its supercar styling, the figures that blow you away are not mph but 313mpg.
VW believe mpg will become far more relevant than speed in the future and that motorists will change the way they drive.
The amazing fuel figures are achieved by a potent combination of a diesel engine, an electric motor, the most aerodynamic shaped car in the world and a body made of ultra-light high-tech materials.
It weighs just 795kg thanks to the state-of- the-art carbon fibre and aluminium body, which is why it only needs an 800cc turbo diesel and a 20kw electric motor to power it.
But the engine is powerful enough to deliver 0-62mph in 11.9 seconds and a top speed of 99mph.
You can drive 22 miles on pure electric power but together with the diesel engine the XL1 has a range of 340 miles. And you can recharge the battery overnight through a standard household plug.
In traffic it drives a bit like a sports car strangely combined with the nimbleness of a supermini. It may not be supercar fast but it’s fun to drive. Easing into the snug cabin, I instantly notice that the two seats are staggered slightly and the steering wheel is smaller than normal, both to maximise the tight interior space.
It’s a minimal cabin with the feel of a sports car and there is no unnecessary decoration. Everything on board has a purpose.
You sit low to the ground on sculpted sports seats and when you start the XL1, all you hear is the silence of the electric motor. It’s only when you accelerate hard that the two-cylinder diesel engine kicks.
The 800cc diesel may be great for economy but it sounds like a turbo-charged lawnmower, which is a great anti-climax for a car that looks so cool.
But VW engineers say they are working on the refinement and the engine note before the car goes into production in 2013. And the XL1 handles superbly for a one-off show car. It’s agile and nipped in and out of heavy traffic with ease in the centre of Doha.
As I drove through the traffic, the locals were mesmerised by the XL1, honking horns, taking pictures and waving as if an alien had landed in their midst.
And in many ways that’s what the XL1 is, a motoring alien from another galaxy with the ability to deliver mileage that seems out of this world.
Volkswagen genuinely don’t know what price they are going to charge for the XL1 in 2013, it depends how exclusive they intend to make it and whether they retain all the expensive technology. My guess is somewhere between £30,000 and £40,000.
What is sure is that the technology in the car will go into mainstream production models and be a major influence on the way we drive in the very near future.