THE TSI STORY

We take a look at Volkswagen India’s unsung hero: the petrol TSI engine

- KURT MORRIS

THE STORY FOR THE TSI IN INDIA ACTUALLY begins with the Volkswagen Passat. VW took a topdown approach in our country, by introducing their bigger sedan in our market and then brought in smaller cars to reach a broader audience. It was a 1.8-litre four-cylinder unit that combined turbocharging and direct injection, where the TSI badge stands for “turbocharged stratified injection”. Following this, Volkswagen introduced the smaller TSI engines that would fit in its more affordable offerings like the Polo and Vento.

Looking back

As Volkswagen completes 10 years in India, let’s take a look back at this gem of an engine and what it means for the brand. Volkswagen has to be credited with downsizing its engines to smaller capacity units way before it became trendy. The goal from VW was to offer customers compact engines with great fuel efficiency, while matching performance of larger capacity engines, and that is exactly what the TSI engine did.

After setting the tone with the Passat, Volkswagen introduced a smaller 1.2-litre TSI engine in the Polo GT TSI, a car that has been a crowd favorite for more than seven years now and was one of the first hatchbacks to be fitted with a seven-speed DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox), or a twin-clutch gearbox. The main selling point for the Polo GT was the TSI engine that offered good fuel efficiency and, at the same time, kept its customers happy with its power.

Another TSI highlight was the Polo GTI that was launched with a limited run of just 200 units in India. The GTI featured the 1.8 TSI with 189bhp and weighing in at just 1272kg, it could achieve a sportscar-shaming top speed of 236kmph. The GTI proved its might in enthusiast circles and remains the king of the hot hatches in India.