Quick Tour of my VOLKSWAGEN XL1, five years into ownership
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2024
- Here's a quick 'walk around' tour of my Volkswagen XL1. At the time the video was made, I had owned this amazing car for five years, and driven about 7200 miles in it since delivery in July 2015. This was my first video - please excuse my novice production skills, especially the editing!
Not a concept car or prototype, the XL1 is a limited edition production car, with just 200 examples sold worldwide in 2014-15.
26 cars were sold to UK buyers (including me!!) and VW UK also keep two press cars. It’s still the world’s most aerodynamic (Cd = 0.189) and most efficient production car (requires less energy per mile than any other). The official fuel consumption figure is 313 miles per gallon, but in the real world I get between 120 and 200 mpg depending on various factors.
Always amazing fun to drive and the massive and hugely positive reaction it gets out on the road makes every journey memorable, whether it's to buy the groceries or do a car show. I use it in all weathers and it's been very reliable. The seats are really comfortable and it's got all mod cons and a decent size boot/trunk for such a small two seater, so we've had some great weekends away in it (with the dog!). Also took it to around 100 car events over the last 5 years! Including winning a runner-up trophy at the Salon Privé supercar concours in 2015 (in the Pirelli Prestige & Performance Concours).
Scroll down for some more info on the car for anyone who'd like to get into more detail:
0:00 Car arrival & Intro
0:41 Exterior/body details
2:39 Wheels & tyres
3:07 Handling & grip, Steering feel
3:40 Staggered seating layout
3:50 Carbon Fibre Safety Cell
4:22 Doors, build quality
4:34 Pyrotechnic (exploding) door mounts
4:47 Front section of body, Battery
5:21 Drive System (ICE & Electric Motor)
5:52 Driving in EV mode (no ICE used)
6:14 Driving in Hybrid mode
6:27 "Sailing" (free-wheeling/coasting)
7:13 Miles per Gallon
7:51 Engine bay / More on drive system
9:12 Reliability & Build Quality
9:34 Access for servicing engine
10:00 Trunk/boot, luggage space
10:45 Interior features & comfort
12:00 Rear view cameras & screens
12:52 Optional accessories
13:14 Steering wheel
13:26 Windscreen
13:50 Ground clearance
14:12 Charging
15:16 Engine charges battery; Regen
15:37 Rear lights
16:18 Price; Purpose of car
16:36 Detailed table of specs
16:53 R&D budget same as Veyron
17:34 How I came to buy it & why
18:40 Mileage & how I've used it
18:52 Salon Privé Supercar Concours
19:10 End spiel
19:28 Design sketches
19:39 Walkaround without commentary
2015 Volkswagen XL1:
313 miles per gallon - that’s the official government-tested figure. The fuel tank holds just 10 litres of diesel, and I find I get over 300 miles on a tank pretty much however I drive it.
The main purpose of the XL1 project was to develop new technology and solutions that will enable mainstream VW cars to be more fuel-efficient. It took 12 years to develop at a cost of over £1 billion - a similar R&D budget to the Bugatti Veyron.
• Electric-diesel hybrid • Carbon fibre chassis, body panels and seats • Magnesium gearbox casing and wheels • Ceramic brakes • Weight: 795 Kg
The XL1 is a plug-in hybrid with unlimited range that achieves its NEDC fuel economy of 313 mpg (0.9 litres/100 km) with emissions of just 21 g/km of CO2. Using diesel alone it’s capable of 160 mpg. It's powered by an 830 cc two-cylinder turbo diesel engine with 47 bhp, and a 27 bhp electric motor, delivering power to the rear wheels through a 7 speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG). The drag coefficient is incredibly low at just 0.189. If driven in EV mode (on electric power alone) the range is 31 miles (50 km).
Every component of this car has been designed to be as light as possible and/or to reduce rolling resistance or air drag. And yet, the car is well appointed with air-con, hi-fi, bluetooth music/phone connection, sat nav, cruise control, computer, park sensors, powerful LED headlamps, etc. The passenger seat is located further back than the driver’s, to free up elbow space and allow the car to be narrower and thus more aerodynamic to save more fuel. The XL1 is shorter and narrower than a Volkswagen Polo, but lower than a Porsche Boxster.
There are no rear view mirrors - thus greatly reducing air drag and to save more fuel. Instead, two small door-mounted cameras feed pictures to internal TV screens. The cameras have great night vision too. Steering is incredibly direct and precise as there is no power-assistance (it’s not needed as the car is so light). Butterfly doors enable easy access even though the car is so low. The lithium-ion battery (capacity: 5.5 kWh) which is integrated in the front section supplies the 20 Kw electric motor with energy and is constantly being recharged when the car is going downhill or braking or when the diesel engine is running. The engine cuts in and out automatically whenever it is needed. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
fab review of a true future classic. Brilliant piece of engineering that also looks like art in motion. Thanks for the detailed review, love these cars.
Legend has it that the car came with a full tank and he's still got most of it
🤣 Yes I thought I’d never get through it all so I siphoned most of it out into a can and it’s still on the garage shelf.
Is that actually true?
@@dhutch2000 Ha ha no! I've done almost 8000 miles in the XL1 so far, so I've probably filled the 10 litre tank around 40 times or more.
@@edstratton Fair do. Still bloody good really.
@@edstratton About as good as our passat gte..
Still a really cool car tho
This is basically a supercar, except instead of being made for speed it's made for efficiency
Exactly!
Great analogy
5 years of ownership... meanwhile car looks like it’s from 2040 😂😂
Futureproofing
@@themagic8ball "Wake the f*** Up Samurai, we have a city to burn."
you will not be allowed to drive it in 2025 because itˋs a diesel 😂🤣
it does look outdated for me
dont you mean 2077
You’re such a boss for making this and for owning this car
Thanks, I enjoyed making the video. Maybe I was a bit mad to buy this car but I never regretted it. It's sort of become a big part if my life and I know I could never part with it :-)
Yes. Thank you for the time and care.
I love this car, it shows what can be done when profitability isn't a concern.
I agree. It's rare to see engineers and designers given free reign and an open chequebook to try and break new ground, and for me this is what makes the XL1 so special.
"....profitability isn't a concern." Are you kidding? This thing costs 100K pounds even second hand. Ed said that they did every panel to be molded as mass production. I know that it's a test car but if they made a version for the ordinary people with some less MPG but more powerful engine and lower price, a lot more people would of bought it and VW would come in profit from it.
@@ZeronXL I think he meant that when a vehicle is being designed purely to achieve certain engineering goals rather than to be mass produced in the hope of selling huge quantities of them, there is much more freedom for the designers to express themselves. The justification for the project from VW's point of view was of course that it would be great R&D that would hopefully lead to other future VW models being more efficient (and therefore sell more) - hence why they spent huge money on developing the ability to mass produce carbon fibre panels even though they did not intend to mass produce the XL1. If they had intended to mass produce the XL1, you can be sure it would not have been made of so much carbon and magnesium or have so quite many compromises on the comfort and practicality. I really hope VW will make another car that looks similar to this and mass produce it, even if the mpg is less than half what the XL1 can do.
@@edstratton I understand all of this, but all the achievements they made with that car were 5 years ago, the same technology they used to make it all happen is a lot cheaper now, and the most important thing is that carbonfibre materials are really not as expensive as manufacturers are forcing us to believe. So there is no reason not to produce it again by just adding some compromise to the really pricy stuff. For instance I don't need it to do 300 MPG, when 150 MPG is enough for everyone, add 30 liter tank, about 15-20 bhp more and that is all it needs. Ecofriendly shouldn't mean expensive by all means.
@@ZeronXL this isn't far for people to buy so its price shouldnt be compared to cars meant to be bought
They should build that kind of cars instead of SUV.
It's pretty expensive to make one. It's all made out of carbon fiber
@@pruviu3577 if they would have made it in big Series and researched in Carbon, they could for sure made it way cheaper. I mean i get your Point, but VW said they want to get environmental friendly. They could have done something for it, but instead they decided to make 2,5T SUVs, and this is a bit paradox, isnt it?
The problem is that very few people would buy it. People want family vehicles. SUVs bridge the gap between this and mini vans.
The suv world is big rn it makes them more money making suvs
@@EatMyYeeties SUVs don't bridge the gap between a 2-seat coupe and a minivan. Hatchbacks, sedans and then wagons do. SUVs are a bastard spinoff that bridges the gap between regular cars and proper offroaders, or at least do their best to outwardly appear to.
Easily the most intriguing modern car i can think of
Never realized how small the XL1 is
5 years and it still looks beautiful and futuristic, a car I didn't know I wanted.
Had no idea I wanted one until I saw my first photo of one online and that was it, I was obsessed.
@@edstratton It's basically a concept car, I wasn't even aware they could sell these for the public road.
@@bean3243 Yeah everyone thinks it's a concept and you can see why from the looks, but also because VW launched their planned run of 200 cars without advertising, knowing they would all sell out quickly. So it got loads of press coverage in the magazines (over 100 different reviews on TH-cam etc) but without advertising and marketing most people seem to have remained unaware of it, or if they did see it mentioned, just assumed from the looks that it wasn't going to go into production.
I remember seeing this as a concept. I never new they actually made some! Great car! Love it!
i believe they sold some in europe in very low numbers
@@francissanto12 They sold 200 of the XL1, which went to customers in many different European countries.
@@edstratton also in US, RCR drive one, irc Leno have one
@@mateuszzimon8216 Actually the one that RCR reviewed is the one at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, which is the only one in the US. Jay Leno doesn't have one, as far as I'm aware, unless he got it very recently?
You, sir, got some rare and exquisite car.
Thank you, I feel incredibly fortunate.
All cars should be like this.
„The build quality is truly extraordinary!“ or as the germans call it ‚NORMAL‘
Ha ha well yes, that has been my experience!
Ah yes. We all know how long German cars last...
not anymore.. almost all (New) VAG products right now are abysmal quality wise
Depends really. This was a "halo" car. They had a big budget.
@@Gentleman...Driver Yes I was told by VW that they spent over £1 billion GBP on the project, but they also told me that VW spent that much just to facelift the Golf! They certainly do have big budgets alright.
I absolutely admire you for buying this car, it's like a supercar for people with brains.
I'd have this over a Veyron.
Burst out laughing when I read that! Just about sums the car up. I wouldn’t know what to do with a Veyron, or where to hide it until a dealer could come in the dead of night to take it away to be sold!
This really shows if they put their minds to it they can really push us forward on the mobility front. They just choose to hold back technology for commercial reasons. With this kind of cars on the road Tesla would have never existed. Really nice car. You got something special there. There is nothing else quite like it on the road right now..
I would kill to get my hands on one of these. Maybe if I win the lottery.
Remember seeing one outside the MK vw center without the rear wheel covers. Looks freaky without them.
they currently sell about 100 000 Eur, so, yeah, lottery it is :D
But yeah totally worth it. If well maintained this thing just gains value over time
Why? This car's performance is not that impressive, it's not that green either, it's not particularly historical significant, even less after Tesla succeeded in creating a practical electrical car.
This car was the product of the egomaniacal diesel gate VW, who wanted a 1l/100km car to show German -superiority- superior engineering.
In the late 90s VW wanted to show the world that it was the best car company, they created 3 projects: the fastest car in the world (W12/Veyron), the best luxury car (Phantom/Continental) and the first 1l/100km car (XL1). But then they cheated (dieselgate) and were beaten by a small Californian start up. Now they have swallowed their pride and are cutting their losses with the ID range (awful name BTW). So the XL1 is representative of a past even VW is not proud of.
@@jnvqc you can't say id is a bad name and then get all hot and bothered over the name "model" from tesla lol
@@jnvqc Most of your comments are complete nonsense:
"This car's performance is not that impressive" - rubbish, you know this car was ONLY designed for efficiency and NOTHING else, and in that regard it out-performs anything else ever built, even to this day;
"It's not that green either" - Not correct. The greenest car is the car that requires the least energy to be propelled along the road and that is the XL1, by a big margin. However I admit it is TRUE that when the XL1's combustion engine is running it is NOT as green as a pure electric car running on electricity that was generated from a renewable source like wind power or solar;
"It is not particularly historically significant" - You're kidding! The XL1 is still the only car ever put into production that was designed 100% for EXTREME efficiency above all else by taking weight, aerodynamics and low rolling resistance to extreme limits. It's a total landmark in automotive design. You are correct that Teslas launched a practical pure electric car years before (the Tesla Roadster in Feb 2008) but that was a different kind of landmark, albeit an amazing one.
"This product was the product of dieselgate VW" - NO, the cheating all started years after the XL1 was launched and had nothing to do with it;
You meant Phaeton, not "Phantom".
"VW made the Veyron, the Phaeton and the XL1 but were then beaten by Tesla" (or words to that effect) - If you think that getting a few years head start on VW in electric car development means they had "beaten" all of those amazing achievements by VW, you have a very distorted sense of perspective;
"VW are cutting their losses with the ID range" - hardly cutting their losses considering that the ID cars are already outselling all Tesla sales in some countries, and their MEB platform appears to be well on course to dominate the electric car market within 5 to 10 years;
"The XL1 is representative of a past even VW are not proud of" - how can that possibly be correct when the time that VW are not proud of (the dieselgate cheating) came years AFTER the XL1 was launched.
I'm not belittling Tesla's achievements which have been incredibly impressive - just trying to get a more correct sense of context and perspective here. A lot of Tesla enthusiasts are launching verbal attacks on VW at the moment because they are starting to see that Tesla's days leading the electric car market in terms of sales will soon be over (though I suspect they will lead the way on the software side of things for a long time to come).
@@edstratton great reaction.... I think some Tesla enthousiasts don't realize that when the big boys enter (like VW, Porsche, Toyota, Mercedes, Audi, etc) the electric dominance of Tesla is not going to hold. Again, like you mentioned, they did an astonishing job and I'm glad that they were pioneers on this front but their sales are not comparable to the other car manufacturers.
didnt even know this car existed till today. now its my favorite.
Same
Awesome looking thing! I didnt know VW sold these. You are blessed to have one.
I am truly blessed, I know it. Me and my little silverfish will never be parted...
Didn't even know it existed... Cool car
Imagine this with latest motor and battery tech and a heat pump.
This car looks like it’s from the Blade Runner movie. Love it!
A marvel of efficiency! I hope that one day the lightweight construction will be mated to an electric drivetrain in a more affordable vehicle.
That's what I'm hoping for too! I love driving the XL1 in EV (pure electric) mode but I only tend to do that on the way home when I get about 25 miles from home, as the range in EV mode is quite limited on a hybrid vehicle (VW claim 30 miles in the XL1).
I like the fact that they made it mid-engined with vents that look like the original Beetle, much better than boring front wheel drive hybrids like the Prius.
As a long time Lupo 3L owner, I love this car. So thank you for the tour.
The freewheel feature does take some getting used to, and when to not use it to slow for things.
This was the ultimate culmination of what I like to call Volkswagen's "Wermacht" period. The Phaeton, the Bugatti Veyron, W8 Passat, Touareg V10 TDI, Audi's Q7 V12 TDI and Le Mans racing program, even the way some of the Golfs and Jettas were built back then. They were going HARD, and of course it turned out to be too hard at the end of the day. Getting high on your own supply has serious consequences. But still, they created some glorious Automobiles and the XL1 is in some ways thier crowning achievement, along with the Veyron at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. It's too bad that the XL1 never got the attention or the glory it deserved. Thank you for making this video documenting yours, it's important for people to see this thing.
Audi bragging about their camera's as side mirrors in 2020. This car had them years ago...
Regulations have been updated since this car was released, the technical requirements for modern Mirror Replacement Cameras are significantly more advanced and difficult to integrate into the packaging requirements of a car.... though it is impressive to see this technology in such an old car, meeting current regulations is more of a challenge now than it would have been then.
audi is voltswagen
Audi = Volkswagen
Yes it seems a no-brainer to have cameras instead of mirrors, and not hard to do (just like reversing cameras), so it's funny how it's taken them so long to do this.
That said, I think there are regulations around this, depending on country, so that might be why.
@1% Evan Ł volkswagen owns audi for more than a decade as far as i know so its not audi's product
I own a 1.9TDI mk4 Jetta. VW diesels are great, I get amazing MPG. I’d love to have one of these and get the incredible economy!
That's such a sick car to have in your possession, kina reminds me of the Audi from the movie "irobot", definitely a unique car that will be greatly appreciated in decades to come if its in good nick.
Thanks for taking the time to review such a great and under rated car. What a rare close up review. Really rare to see an owner talk about it.Thanks. They need to make more of these.
“Baby steps”.
It’s great that you bought and keep this car.
She’s a collectible.
I adore her.
God bless you Mister, this is now one of my dream cars. Drive safe 😇
One of the coolest production cars ever! Thanks for the nice video.
I remember when these came out. It's good to hear from an actual owner. I was curious at the time about how the car would perform in the real world. Thanks for answering my question and for a great video.
So much tech...carbon fiber, diesel engine with electric motor and DSG..Cd - 0.189.
In 1999 , small car with some modifications - VW Lupo 3L , 4 seater ,weight 830kg , Cd - 0.29 , 1.2 TDi engine with primitive start/stop and automated manual transmission :) Only few parts from alluminium and magnesium
Wow, I remember when I saw this car in a magazine when I was younger, so cool to finally see it in more detail! Awesome video and beautiful car!
Great tour, thank you.
I would love to see an XL2, possibly fully electric.
This got recommended to me after watching mr jww video lol.
Thanks I hadn't yet noticed JWW had done a video on the XL1. He did a great job of it too!
Same here
Same, love the xl1
Me too
This video was far-far better; not the supercar bulls***.
Super cool video! Thanks for sharing!
out of everything, i really appreciate the open door graphic that shows the door is up over the car.
Thank you so much for making this wonderful video. I loved it too when it came out. I have also followed the Aptera project for past ten years. It’s a dream car! I love the aerodynamics and weight saving ideas. Thank you .
Thank you. I too am following the Aptera project with great interest.
Breathtaking. VW are fantastic. Welcome to the future!!!
Wonderful. Thank you for this detailed video. Always loved this car.
Thank you, I enjoyed making it.
Thank’s for showing your fantastic car
This is an awesome car a classic for future generations to come
Most beautiful VW ever built! Shame it never went into full scale production. Brilliant design.
This is a great video. Thank you so much for allowing us to see the car from your perspective. It was so hard to get your hands on one of these, as you know. Thanks for taking the time to do this!
Thank you! I'm delighted that TH-cam gives me a chance to share it and hear feedback.
Wonderful presentation of this rare car. Thanks!
Thank You!
Side effect of early morning filming = wonderful birdsong! Wow!
Yes we love our birdsong here! Song thrushes galore! We are very lucky to live in a remote unspoilt location surrounded by woodland.
Awesome car, and thank you very much for showing it to us! We really appreciate it 👏👏👏👏😉😉😉😉
Thanks! You’re welcome, I enjoyed making my first video!
@@edstratton Congrats, and I assure you that it will have lots of views 👏👏👏😁😁😁
This was a really great video / owners review. You really got a knack for making nice relaxing informative videos. Thanks for this, very interesting!
Thanks for the encouragement, I really appreciate it! I will do more videos soon.
She's an absolute stunner!
Way ahead of its time awesome
Beautiful car, I remember reading about it when it first came out, always wondered what happened to it.
Still looks brand new after 5 years of ownership. Well done 👍
Thanks! I have always tried very hard to keep it looking new. It’s quite difficult to keep the interior plastics perfect in the foot wells due to the fine knobbly surface which takes permanent scuffs incredibly easily. You literally have to guide passenger’s legs in and out and preferably wrap their shoes/feet in a towel!!!
Always liked the look of this vehicle, just wished they made it a full EV. Maybe scale it up a bit as well. Dreams...
just love your car, thanks for sharing
A downwards incline is a decline :).
This is the first time I've seen this type of car. Very cool machine, thanks for sharing!
Great walk thru!
THey should've made many, many more of these. If they were affordable I'd have one.
I so wish VW would make a new, more affordable version, using cheaper materials, as a pure EV, and a bit bigger, but exactly the same look and shape. It would be a hit.
@@edstratton i'd want one for sure.
Wonderful review, loved the video and was hooked till the last second. Keep it up!!
Thank you very much!
they need to make more of these kinds of cars! its brilliant
we need more of these hyper efficient cars on the road.
Every electric car is hyper efficient compared to an ice one.
@@maerklin29800 Nope. Range is the problem.
@@winnerwinds6509 so 300-400 miles is notbenough for you?
@@maerklin29800 No, because after that 300 miles ( which a gas car also achieves), you have to wait hours to recharge it rather than just putting gas into the tank. Untill electric cars can charge in minutes, i wont be buying one.
I think hybrid is a much better option since you get best of both worlds.
@@winnerwinds6509 wtf?! In which year do you live man. We have 2020 and electric cars are capable of charging to 80% in round about 25 minutes.
With hybrids you don't get the best of both worlds, you get the worst. No pure electric power and no electric range combined with a highly inefficient motor that needs maintenance.
Electric cars nearly don't need any maintenance. Tesla for ecample has no service intervalls. So they are a lot cheaper to operate than hybrids and ice.
Fantastic video, Fantastic car
Great video about a seriously impressive car. I envy its owner!
Am I the only one who really enjoyed all bird twitter in the backgroud?
I was wondering when someone would mention that! I made that video back in May when the birds were in song most of the day. Really enjoy hearing them now that we’re in the depths of winter.
I can hardly hear the audio on my earbuds even with the volume turned all the way up.
Highly informed man 🙂 I could watch more content from you. Great video sir!
I appreciate that! Thank you.
Really well done. Thanks
Neat, thanks for sharing. Now about those editing skills :D
Seen these for sale about twice but never knew much about them. Very intriguing vehicle
Got to drive one last year in university in the automotive software development class. It's very interesting to drive one of these. Found the mirrors to be a little bit awkward, but you probably get used to them. I really liked the seating position and how the steering felt.
Love this car, thanks for sharing! I also followed it as well, but it never came to the U.S. so I've never seen one in person :( I really wish they had kept developing the XL series and made the XL Sport, the wider bodied, AWD sport version they touted, but never produced. I flew to Germany back in 2003 just to drive the MK4 R32 on the Autobahn and visit Autostadt, And then promptly bought one when available in 2004 in the US. Had it for 13 years and sold it once I had the eGolf, (which I was hoping had more XL tech then it did) I now own a Tesla Model 3 and absolutely love it and I imagine it is what you feel when you say that the XL was the car you were waiting for... same for me now with the Tesla. Thanks again for sharing, look forward to seeing more and hopefully one day see or even drive an XL1! cheers!
Yes I was disappointed too about the XL Sport not being produced. It was gorgeous and technically right up my street. I know what you mean about your Tesla. I was very interested in the model S when it came out. Unfortunately for me however, just having one big screen to look at as my dashboard was a real turn off as I'd got sick of having to look at laptops and tablets all day every day for work and the last thing I wanted was to have another one to look at in my car! Good luck and I hope you do get to drive an XL1 one day.
I had a Daihatsu Copen, which is a conventional car with a 1.3l, 90hp engine. Weighted only 850kg, and was almost the same size as this. Also was a convertible with hard top. It's completely possible to make normal cars this light and efficient, not supercar-like carbon fiber toys like this one.
I didn't know they actually sold this. I was aware of the L1 but not the XL1. thank you youtube algorithm. and thanks Ed for making this Video
fantastic video, keep it up!
Thank you very much!
What a great looking car
I'd love one of these.
That looks like so much fun
It's fun to drive but the best fun is the reaction it gets! Stopping to fill up is always an event!
Unironically one of my favorite cars made in the past decade, regardless of dieselgate.
Great video, watched it in one sitting. I am not young(38), but it is getting harder to watch videos longer than 10 mins :) this is different though, very imformative and sincere. Hope you will post more of these. Thank you.
Thank you! I really appreciate your comment, as it's my first ever video. [I smiled when you said 38 is not young! I am 63 and I still feel young... ! But yes it gets harder to watch long videos!]
Not young???
@@jamesengland7461 Yes, interesting, I'm 38 and still I feel like kid - I bought to myself last week winter cap with bunny ears. Couldn resist it for 4 quid. My wife doesn't want to go out with me wearing that, but apart from those small kiddish contenments I'm fully functional owner of small business. Guess age is definition of individual. However, I see something other here and that's Onur's incapability of concentration for watching anything longer of 10 minutes. That shows where we're headed as world. If I'm not interested, I'm not watching, if subject is of my choice then I could watch for hours depending if it's business related or pure amusement/relaxation.
Very articulate and knowledgeable review, well done and thank you! You're great at this, you should try to build up your channel!
Thanks Roscoe!
Such a cool car 👍🏼
Im a huge fan of this car.I love it when engineering not accountants bring a car to market.Still looks futuristic.But I will stick with my trusty up!
Love these cars, some very clever tech. Clever design as well, love all the aero touches and the overall tiny footprint. Shame they're not cheaper!
As I usually don't like the concept of new cars, yours commentary made me to like this VW XL1. This car feels amazing! Could you please make video of you driving this beauty?
Yes I plan to do a driving video in the near future! When the weather improves...
I have to say this is a wonderful review sometimes I feel that the XL1 is going under the radar but from a design perspective it makes a Ferrari F8 Tributo look ordinary I m not surprised it won a highly decorated price at Salon Prive.Many Congratulations again
Thank you!
The greatest tragedy is this brilliant design seems to have been ignored. But I really like that car. Its exactly my approach to design, efficiency and capability. Love it!
The VW Lupo 3L and Audi A2 3L forerunners to these 10 years before (best mpg I have had was 87mpg on a 50+ mile run at motorway speeds but 114.8mpg has been achieved driving round the coastline of Britain in 2001 by Shigeru Miyano), and you can see the XL1 is an evolution of some aspects of the earlier cars taken to extreme. Those 3L models are very cheap now, and an A2 3L might be an interesting companion to this. Once you learn how the computer gets the good MPG with crazy gear changes and coasting, you can manually anticipate terrain, traffic and your own desired route and optimise further by seeing ahead and manually controlling shifts, stop start, gear changes getting up to another 5%. Would be interesting to know if you can beat the computer in the XL1 like that!
I’m really surprised how similar it looks to the original concept sketches, you don’t see that very often, looks like they knew what they wanted from the car from the get go and everything went to plan!
Good buy!
Thanks for this video, it’s really interesting to hear from an owner of one of these what they think.
I think they’re really cool vehicles. As an engineering exercise like you say it’s truly impressive what they achieved and a totally different sort of “supercar”. While obviously electric vehicles are the way of the future, in some ways it’s a shame that we likely won’t see more extremely efficient hybrid combustion engine vehicles like this. I wish they’d built lots more of them, because then I might have a chance of being able to afford one one day! I’ve thought about buying a VW Lupo 3L, which of course was a more consumer level vehicle in a similar hyper efficient vein and I believe probably took a lot of ideas from the very start of XL1 development when it came out in 2001ish, getting around 90mpg I think compared to 310mpg, or maybe it inspired them to do the XL1. I would really really love to see VW do the same thing in a few years with an electric drivetrain, and see how they can make a light, efficient and slippery consumer EV based on what they learnt from the XL1. Despite their emissions scandal, which was a great shame, it’s really impressive what VW can manage.
cjeam, I agree with everything you say! I believe VW started developing the "1 litre car" (which became the XL1) in 2002 so I can imagine that the Lupo 3L was the previous efficiency project which provided inspiration for the project. Like you I hope very much that VW will one day mass produce a more affordable pure electric, light, efficient and slippery consumer EV that uses all that they learned from the XL1.
Yes. Presumably they didn't think the market would stand more, or didn't actually make money on the sales vs build cost even excluding development? Not sure. I would love one, but could justify the new cost.
@@edstratton while... I mean. It's an efficient car but the l1 already feels overpowered, the xl1. Kinda fat for the carbon etc. A plastic n aluminum caterham weighs way less at80hp. Sure no roof... Still. For being so expensive and using fairydust materials, it ain't impressive. I'd love an actual reason why the l1 at half the weight with better aero didnt happen.
Couldn’t help but notice the Aston in the garage, amazing
Actually the grey car that you can see the back of in the garage is an old Fiat 1500 from 1961. I don’t own an Aston! The other car, the one with a cover over it, is an old VW Phaeton from 2011 which I have since sold.
Wonderful. Thank
Dear Sir, thanks for sharing your video and opinions, nice car, i can imagine this as a daily driver too 😄
Thanks. It does make a great daily driver!
If this car is/was available in America at all, I'd gladly trade my current in for this, no doubt
Thankyou for the full walk around ,tour and owner knowledge.
Did vw secure a large batch of the tyres,as I guess your local Kwik fit isn't going to stock them?
Buyers of the XL1 were advised that VW would support the car with all parts for at least 15 years, so until 2030 at least. I've already had one rear tyre replaced but I didn't pay for it because it was damaged by something on the surface of the trailer on which it was transported to be serviced. I was advised that a new tyre costs around £800 GBP!
This is how modern cars should look like, but instead they are 2tons monster SUVs.
A pure EV in that shape would be interessting.
I agree!
2.5 ton
Shell eco marathon urban concept motivation!
AMAZINGNES!!!
I want one!