Volkswagen has unveiled its latest Golf Twin Drive plug-in hybrid prototype. For VW, this wagon is more or less an updated version of the original Golf Twin Drive hatchback that the German automaker revealed back in 2008. The Golf Twin Drive wagon will join a stable of vehicles in VW's "fleet study in electric mobility," which runs until July 2012.

VW says this latest plug-in prototype has an electric-only range of 35 miles and comes packing a direct-injected 1.4-liter gasoline engine that provides the Golf Twin Drive with a total range of 559 miles. The wagon's electric traction motor puts out a reasonable 85 kW (114 horsepower). When that motor is working in conjunction with the vehicle's 1.4-liter gasser, output jumps to 161 hp.

The Golf Twin Drive also features a single-speed transmission, an electronically actuated "separation" clutch and is equipped with either a 13.2-kWh or an 11.2-kWh lithium-ion battery pack – Volkswagen is testing out different packs from GAIA and SB LiMotive.

In terms of performance, the Golf Twin Drive can hit a top speed of 106 miles per hour and zip from 0 to 60 mph in "under 12 seconds." In electric-only mode, though, it tops out at 75 mph. Calculating fuel economy ratings for a plug-in hybrid is a dark art, but VW has listed a fuel consumption estimate of 2.1 liters per 100 kilometers (112 miles per gallon U.S.).

VW will immediately wheel out 20 Golf Twin Drives for real-world testing ahead of its planned 2013 launch of a production plug-in hybrid.



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