Volkswagen Philippines revealed a “triple treat” for Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) visitors with the market premiere of three new models: the CC, Caddy, and Golf GTI Oettinger Edition.


Volkswagen CC

The highlight of the pavilion is undoubtedly the sexy CC four-door coupe. Shown in the pure white shade, it highlights the sporty yet elegant styling of this four-seater executive coupe/sedan. Based off the Passat, it’s differentiated primarily by its Euro-5 emissions compliant 2.0-liter Turbo Direct Injection (TDI) engine. With 177 horsepower and 380 Nm of torque, it combines performance and efficiency. It also comes with the 6-speed DSG (dual clutch) automatic with an idle start/stop system.

Aside from the powertrain, the CC ups the handling thanks to its solid platform underpinned with front 3-point Double Wishbones and rear 4-link independent suspension. It also rides on massive 19-inch rims with 235/35 R 19 tires. And aiding the driver is a wealth of aids including Adaptive Chassis Control (ACC), Electronic Differential Lock (XDS), Engine Drag Torque Control, and Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP).

Interior amenities include a 12-way driver’s seat with memory, automatic climate control, leather seats, and many more.

It retails for P 2,850,000.

Specifications:

• Engine: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged direct injection diesel
• Max. Output: 177 horsepower @ 4,200 rpm
• Max. Torque: 380 Nm @ 1,750 –2,500 rpm
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 70L
• Emissions: Euro 5
• Gearbox: 6-speed DSG
• Drivetrain: Front wheel drive
• Steering: Electromechanical, speed-sensing
• Front suspension: Struts and 3-point wishbone with stabilizer
• Rear suspension: 4-link with stabilizer
• Dimensions (LxWxH): 4,802 mm x 1,855 mm x 1,421 mm
• Wheelbase: 2,710 mm
• Wheel size: 8J x 19”
• Tire size: 235/35 R 19

Volkswagen Caddy

For those who want something more family-friendly, Volkswagen is bringing to market the Caddy. Based off the Golf Mk V platform, the Caddy is uncompromising in terms of driving dynamics, but can also deliver the practicality, flexibility, and spaciousness of an MPV.

Powered by a 2.0-liter TDI engine, the Caddy generates 140 horsepower and 320 Nm of torque. This potent engine is mated to a 6-speed DSG gearbox while power is routed through a 4Motion all-wheel drive system.

Compared to the Touran, the Caddy replaces the swing doors for traditional sliding ones. Yet, styling doesn’t take a backseat with its 17-inch rims fitted with 205/50 R 17 tires.

As a family-friendly vehicle, the MPV comes with 4 airbags, stability control, hill hold control, cruise control apart from the aforementioned all-wheel drive system.

The Caddy comes in a range of seven colors: Candy White, Toffee Brown, Reflex Silver, Natural Gray, Lav Red, Night Blue, and Deep Black Pearl for a price of P 1,550,000.

Specifications:

• Engine: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged direct injection diesel
• Max. Output: 140 horsepower @ 4,200 rpm
• Max. Torque: 320 Nm @ 1,750 rpm
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 60L
• Emissions: Euro 5
• Gearbox: 6-speed DSG
• Drivetrain: 4Motion all-wheel drive
• Steering: Electromechanical, speed-sensing
• Front suspension: MacPherson struts with subframe and stabilizer
• Rear suspension: Rigid axle
• Dimensions (LxWxH): 4,878 mm x 1,794 mm x 1,893 mm
• Wheelbase: 3,006 mm
• Wheel size: 6J x 17”
• Tire size: 205/50 R 17

Volkswagen Golf GTI Oettinger Edition

Finally, Volkswagen is giving its Golf GTI hot hatch the tuner treatment with the unveil of the Oettinger Edition.

With over 60 years of experience tuning high-performance German cars, Oettinger is adding even more style to the Golf GTI with a motorsports-inspired body kit. The Oettinger kit is comprised of a front spoiler, front splitter, side skirt set, 4-pipe rear skirt insert with diffuser, roof spoiler, and 4-pipe rear muffler, light-weight 19-inch twine spoke rims with 225/40 R 19 tires. It’s also wrapped in a matte black wrap.

The Oettinger Edition is more show than go however as the engine remains unchanged. It still generates 220 horsepower and 350 Nm of torque from its turbocharged 2.0-liter TSI engine. Euro 4 compliant, the Golf GTI delivers power to its front wheels via a 6-speed dual clutch automatic.

The price of the Golf GTI Oettinger Edition is P 2,918,511.16 with the kit costing P 628,511.16.

Specifications:

• Engine: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline
• Max. Output: 220 horsepower @ 4,500 – 6,200 rpm
• Max. Torque: 350 Nm @ 1,500 – 4,400 rpm
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 50L
• Emissions: Euro 4
• Gearbox: 6-speed DSG
• Drivetrain: Front wheel drive
• Steering: Electromechanical, speed-sensing, progressive steering system
• Front suspension: Struts and 3-point wishbone with stabilizer
• Rear suspension: 4-link with stabilizer
• Accessories:
• Twine spoke, Black gloss machine 7.5J x 19” alloy
• 225/40 R 19 Pirelli Cinturato
• Oettinger front spoiler
• Oettinger front splitter
• Oettinger side skirt set
• Oettinger 4-pipe rear skirt insert with diffuser
• Oettinger roof spoiler
• Oettinger 4-pipe rear muffler (4 x 84mm diameter)
• Matte black foil

Last September 5, the Makati Shangri-La Hotel formally received 31 units of the Passat limousines from Volkswagen Philippines during a ceremonial hand over.

Volkswagen Philippines is set to cement its own unique sense of style in the executive sedan segment with the launch of its four-door coupe, the CC. A brisk seller globally, where more than 270,000 have found their way into garages, the CC adds a more dynamic shape to the elegant Passat on which the CC is based on.

Volkswagen will hold a test drive event at the Cebu Business Park on July 30 and 31, 2016, in time for the Sugbo Mercado and the Ayala Center Cebu Gadget Sale.

Here’s the June-July 2016 edition of The Philippine Car Price Guide. Since there wasn’t much happening in way of car launches, this update focuses more on new variants and price adjustments.  Before going further, take note that all Car Models that have links means we’ve driven them. At least you can also use this as a handy guide if you want to keep tabs on our test drives.

• BMW (model updates)
• Ford EcoSport (price adjustment)
• Ford Fiesta (new variants)
• Honda Accord
• Honda Civic 1.8 E Modulo
• Honda Odyssey
• Hyundai Accent (price adjustment)
• Hyundai Elantra (price adjustment)
• Hyundai Starex (price adjustment)
• Isuzu (model updates)
• Mitsubishi ASX (price adjustment)
• Mitsubishi Mirage G4 (price adjustment)
• Mitsubishi Montero Sport (price adjustment)
• Mitsubishi Pajero (price adjustment)
• Nissan NP300 Navara (price adjustment, new variants)
• Nissan NV350 Urvan (price adjustment)
• Subaru XV (price adjustment)

The height of summer brings some of the coolest new cars to hit the Philippine market. In this update of the Philippine Car Price Guide, we have some of the much-awaited new cars making their debut on the list. Also, any vehicle that’s clickable (with a link) brings you to our test drive or first drive of that particular variant. Now neat is that?

• Chevrolet Colorado (new variant)
• Ford Everest (price increase)
• Ford Explorer Sport (price increase)
• Great Wall Haval M4
• Honda Accord (price increase)
• Honda Brio Amaze (new variant)
• Honda City (price increase)
• Honda Civic
• Honda HR-V (price increase)
• Honda Jazz (price increase)
• Honda Mobilio (price increase)
• Honda Odyssey (price increase)
• Isuzu mu-X
• Kia Soul (new variant)
• Mazda6 Skyactiv-D
• Mazda CX-5 Skyactiv-D
• MINI Cooper Convertible
• Suzuki Ertiga
• Toyota Wigo (price increase)
• Volkswagen Golf
• Volkswagen Jetta
• Volkswagen Polo

The Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) has just ended and with that, it’s time to update The Philippine Car Price Guide. Given the several car launches/previews held at the annual summer motoring show, we’ve included them in this update.

• Chevrolet Sail
• Chrysler Town&Country (price update)
• Dodge (price update)
• Ford EcoSport (new variant)
• Ford Everest (new variant)
• Foton Toplander (new variants)
• Honda City 1.5 E Special Edition
• Hyundai Accent (2016 model)
• Hyundai Elantra (new variant)
• Hyundai Eon (new variant)
• Hyundai Santa Fe (2016 model)
• Hyundai Veloster
• Isuzu Crosswind (new variants)
• Jeep Wrangler (new variants)
• Kia Grand Carnival (price update)
• Kia Sportage
• Mazda2 (new variant)
• MINI Cooper Clubman
• Mitsubishi Mirage (2016 model)
• Mitsubishi Lancer EX (2016 model)
• SsangYong Korando
• SsangYong Tivoli
• SsangYong Rodius
• Subaru Forester (2016 model)
• Suzuki Ciaz

Stumbling out of the starting block since its launch two years ago, Volkswagen Philippines is starting to get into the groove. With the arrival of the Golf GTI, enthusiasts began taking the brand seriously—no longer does VW have to rely solely on hippy sentiments to sell; they have a proper world-class hot hatch in their line-up. Though not entirely perfect, the Golf GTI paved the way for even better Volkswagens starting with the 2016 Passat.

Obviously, this update is a tad late for February. Of course, there’s good reason for it: we had to wait for Toyota to drop the Innova bombshell. Aside from the MPV everyone seems to love, here are the other updates for this month’s Philippine Car Price Guide.

• Aston Martin – NEW ENTRY
• BYD – Price Update
• Ford Explorer – NEW ENTRY
• Honda Pilot – NEW ENTRY
• Hyundai Elantra – NEW ENTRY
• Kia Grand Carnival (11-Seater) – NEW ENTRY
• Mahindra – NEW ENTRY
• Mazda2 1.5 S – NEW ENTRY
• Mazda3 – Price Update
• Toyota Innova – NEW ENTRY

The Passat has been around since 1973 and is one of Volkswagen’s oldest active product lines. The current one actually marks the eighth-generation model and apart from its lineage, is the most beautiful and most advanced one ever made. It’s so well-made that former Volkswagen Chairman of the Board Martin Winterkorn said, “It is a premium car without the premium price.” Indeed, VW is pitting the Passat not against the Camrys and Accords of this world, but instead against the Audi A4 or BMW 3 Series. This move may seem mad, but there’s reason for VW’s confidence.

At their annual Media Appreciation Night held at the Volkswagen Bonifacio Global City showroom, the German carmaker outlined their product plans for 2016 after a banner  2015. This includes the introduction of upgrades and enhancements to existing product lines and introduction of sought-after new models.

Happy New Year and welcome to the first edition of the Philippine Car Price Guide for 2016. In this update, we’ve got some new and notable entries including two of the most awaited vehicles this year. Anyway, here are the updated entries:

• Audi Q7
• Ford Fiesta (price update)
• Ford Mustang (price update)
• Ford Ranger (price update)
• Honda Brio (new variants)
• Honda Brio Amaze (new variants)
• Honda Civic (price update)
• Honda CR-Z
• Honda Mobilio (new variants)
• Hyundai Grand Santa Fe (price update)
• Hyundai Tucson (new variants)
• Mazda2 (new variants)
• Mazda3 (price update)
• Mitsubishi ASX (price update)
• Mitsubishi Montero Sport
• Subaru Levorg
• Suzuki Swift (price update and new variant)
• Toyota Avanza (price update)
• Toyota Fortuner
• Toyota Hiace (price update)
• Toyota Land Cruiser (price update)

The final Philippine Car Price Guide for 2015 is now out. We apologize for the delays for this edition, but we’re packing it all here—in the last update of the year. Here’s the list of updated or new entries that spans from October to December of this year.

• Audi TT
• Chevrolet Trax
• Ford Explorer Sport
• Ford Focus 1.5 EcoBoost
• Honda Legend
• Hyundai Accent 1.6 DCT
• Hyundai Azera (price update)
• Isuzu D-MAX 3.0 VGS
• Isuzu mu-X 3.0 VGS
• Lexus LX 570
• Lexus RX 350
• Lexus RX 450h
• Mercedes-AMG GT
• Mercedes-AMG GLA 45
• Nissan Almera
• Peugeot 308
• Subaru Outback 2.5i-S
• Tata Super Ace
• Volkswagen Passat

After 42 years and 8 generations in production, and with more than 22 million vehicles in its series sold worldwide, the Passat is finally available in the Philippine market (this is after a preview done a month ago).

We sort of missed the September 2015 update for the Philippine Car Price Guide. Still, don’t panic since here’s the October 2015 edition. In this update, we’re highlighting the following:

• Chevrolet Trax
• Foton Gratour
• Foton Toano
• Foton Toplander
• Haima S5
• Hyundai i20 Cross Sport
• Hyundai Tucson
• Mitsubishi Mirage Special Edition
• Nissan Juke
• Nissan NP300 Navara (price increase)
• Nissan NV350 Urvan (price increase)
• Nissan Patrol Royale (price decrease)
• Toyota Avanza
• Toyota Land Cruiser 200

UPDATE 3: Volkswagen Philippines issued a statement (10/03).

UPDATE 2: The Dieselgate scandal has caused some heads to roll (9/26).

UPDATE 1: More information provided below. Seems the cheat involves engines worldwide (9/23).

Volkswagen is the middle of a corporate catastrophe that undermines a loss of trust towards consumers and government regulators. Just last week, the US-based Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has discovered that certain VW models are able to circumvent emission requirements during testing with a “defeat device”. This affects close to 500,000 cars and could also mean that the German automaker could face stiff fines.

After selling some 2.64 million copies worldwide, Volkswagen is ready to move its compact crossover, the Tiguan to the big leagues. Moving to the new MQB architecture that also underpins the all-new Golf and Passat, the 2016 Tiguan marks the beginning of the brand’s SUV offensive and will actually be available in two wheelbases with the long wheelbase model specifically designed for markets such as the US and China.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Volkswagen Philippines will officially be entering the executive sedan segment with the all-new 2016 Passat (B8) beginning in October of this year. However, as part of a series of preview nights, VW has given members of the media a sneak peek of the 2015 European Car of the Year.

The August Edition of CarGuide.PH’s Philippine Car Price Guide is now out and in this update we have the following changes and/or updates:

• Chevrolet Captiva (price increase)
• Chevrolet Colorado Tracker / Tracker Pro
• Chrysler 300C
• Ford EcoSport Trend Urban Pack
• Ford Ranger
• Honda City VX Navi Modulo
• Honda City VX Navi MUGEN
• Hyundai Tucson 2.0 S VGT AWD
• Lexus ES 350
• Mazda2 Speed
• Mitsubishi Adventure (price increase)
• Mitsubishi Montero Sport GTV 4WD SE (price increase)
• Peugeot 2008
• Suzuki Celerio
• Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6 V (price decrease)
• Toyota Hilux
• Toyota Innova (price increase)
• Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (price increase)
• Toyota Wigo (price increase)

The Philippines will soon get a taste of Volkswagen’s own take on the executive sedan market when it’s set to arrive by the third quarter of this year. The all-new Passat, called B8 by Volkswagen, will exude style, handling, and performance like no other according to a company statement.