Porsche is not yet fully a part of the Volkswagen family, but the connections run deep—especially when it comes to their midsize SUVs: the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg. The vehicles share a common powertrain, but there are key differences in terms of how the companies tackle the challenge of greater fuel efficiency (depending on the driving style and pocketbook of car buyers). Hybridcars.com had the chance to experience two hybrid versions, and one diesel, back-to-back at the last week’s Western Automotive Journalists' Media Day program in Monterey, Calif.
Volkswagen, along with other European auto companies, has long proclaimed diesels as a better green strategy than hybridization. True, diesels are efficient and practical, but in the U.S., they have a reputation of being noisy and smelly. VW has worked hard to overcome that image with cars like the Jetta TDI but now are apparently changing direction.
After years of arguing that clean diesel is a better efficiency strategy compared to hybrids, Volkswagen is switching gears. In a statement issued on the eve of the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Martin Winterkorn, VW chairman of the board, said, "We will take the hybrid out of its niche status with our high-volume models. In the future, the heart of the brand will also beat with electricity." A hybrid version of the Jetta will be offered in the US in 2012.
