What is BlueMotion and why is that important?
With the world cringing at the thought of climate change and the need for greener alternatives doing the rounds, Volkswagen, the famous car manufacturer has introduced the revolutionary BlueMotion concept into its cars (or bil deler in Norwegian). It is true that consumers of today are being wooed into greener alternatives not simply because it is eco-friendly but also it would soon be an alternative to the more expensive hydrocarbon fuel. However, the BlueMotion concept is not directly linked to fuel as the following points explain.
The concept and Engine
The Volkswagen MK4 Polo BlueMotion that was launched in the year 2006 introduced the concept of BlueMotion engineering. Vehicles tagged with this name were designed to increase efficiency of the present technologies and covering all aspects of car design from engines to tires.
Technologies such as Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) and Turbocharged Stratified injection (TSI) have been incorporated into the engines of diesel and petrol respectively to improve fuel efficiency. Apart from enhancing efficiency of fuel use, it increases the torque and the emissions have been comparatively lowered (NOxemissions were reduced by about 90 percent).
Idle Fuel efficiency
Fuel can be saved by turning the engine off when not in use such as, at the traffic light. BlueMotion technology innovative upon this to save fuel by killing the engine on its own when the gear has been shifted to neutral and the clutch has been released. When the clutch is reapplied, the car will restart the engine almost immediately. This piece of innovation can be disabled at will.
Kinetic Energy
A major inefficiency in today’s cars is the wastage of kinetic energy upon the braking of the car as heat. However, cars with the new BlueMotion concept recycle this energy by improvising the battery and alternator of the car. The car battery is charged while slowing down. The energy that is saved in the battery is later used to automatically start the engine during the idle scenario as mentioned above.
Designing Aerodynamics
The Volkswagen Polo (or billige polo as we Norwegians call it ) BlueMotion is lighter and more agile than its predecessor as the manufacturers have abandoned many features. The electric mirror and the sixth gear have been dispensed for a lighter car. Spoilers have been added and radiator-cooling splits shifted to enable a smoother airflow. Attention to detail is apparent, as they have smoothened the rear bumper in favor of better aerodynamics.
Gear box
Electronic shifting of gears has been adopted for the BlueMotion car. This enables quicker gear change. The dashboard sports an indicator that indicates the time to shift gears. This is determined by the Intelligent Engine Management System and is a feature that can be disabled as per the requirement. Fuel efficiency has been further strengthened by the allocation of higher speeds to certain higher gear ratios. However, a disadvantage that comes with higher speeds means that the speed limit may exceed at times.
The company has introduced BlueMotion into many of its models such as the Passat, Golf, SEAT Ibiza and SEAT Lѐon. So choose your new vehicle with the BlueMotion technology that will enable you get the best out of the lot and enjoy the new experience of driving!