Without a doubt, European cars feature some of the most advanced engineering technologies in the world. It’s no surprise that anecdotal evidence suggests that their cars are extremely difficult to own. The truth is, the superior torque and power leads to owners driving faster and harder in German-made cars than they would in Japanese ones.
No more is this more apparent than with Volkswagens. Their cars are, without a doubt, more complex and powerful than most Malaysians have been accustom to at the sub-RM200,000 mark. They make cars that are priced to compete with familiar names, but thanks to their turbocharged engines and supercar-quick Direct-Shift Gearboxes, many treat the average Volkswagen like a performance car.
In truth, TSI and DSG were made to reduce emissions and fuel consumption. They do a mighty job in those regards, but the side effect is that they are inherently more powerful than their Asian counterparts by a wide margin.
In smaller towns, problems with Volkswagen cars seem to be less apparent. This may be due to the fact that the cars don’t spends hours sitting in traffic under the sun for hours like they do in KL and PJ.
Regardless, almost all cars sold by Volkswagen Malaysia have recommended service intervals of 15,000km. Additionally, the company has stated as early as 2014 that warranties will still stay intact even if owners miss their service intervals by as much as 1500km. Having said that, there are a few reasons owners might want to service their cars more often than is recommended.
Firstly, if you live in the Klang Valley, traffic is likely unavoidable. This means your engine is running for hours daily without the odometer racking up additional kilometres. So, by the time you send it in for a 15,000km oil change, the TSI engine may have already experienced 17,000km worth of wear and tear. These engines, because of their turbo and superchargers, experience much higher temperatures which make them prone to failing when the oil isn’t regularly changed. Dry dual clutch transmissions like the 7-speed DSG also experience clutch wear when crawling in traffic. This is because the clutch is not fully disengaged at low speeds, meaning friction and heat builds up in traffic.
Secondly, as stated, the TSI and DSG combination is a recipe for some serious fun. Owners who would otherwise drive purpose-built performance cars might find themselves pushing their regular Jettas or Passats to the limit quite regularly. As great as that is to experience in an everyday car, it does come at a cost – and that cost is that parts and oil must be replaced more often. It happens in all cars that are driven hard, but not all cars deliver the kind of torque with the small displacement engines modern Volkswagens come equipped with.
