Volkswagen Group of America has confirmed that its latest generation of 2.0-liter clean diesel engines will debut in the U.S. in the second half of 2014.

The engine, a version of which is already on sale in several European VW group models, will see service in the 2015 model-year Golf, Beetle, Passat and Jetta.

Designated EA288, the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged diesel unit is a direct replacement for the 2.0 TDI currently found in several VW group vehicles.

With common rail technology and direct injection, total output is boosted to 150 horsepower--10 hp more than before--and torque to 236 pounds-feet. While similar in capacity to the old unit, virtually every parameter is different.

The new clean diesel unit incorporates high pressure and cooled low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), integration of the water cooled intercooler and EGR valve with the intake manifold, and a combined diesel particulate filter and catalyst--mounted close to the engine to improve warm-up time.

Several low-friction measures are used to improve economy and enhance smoothness, the later further improved by balancer shafts.

It's the same unit used in the high-performance Volkswagen Golf GTD, a car our sister site Motor Authority has already tested. In that application, it's even more powerful--181 horsepower, to be precise--but still returns over 40 mpg at highway speeds. Better still, that car is due in the U.S. too.

Importantly for Volkswagen, the car already meets Europe's strict Euro 6 emissions standards and features urea injection, meaning no changes required to meet California's legendarily strict emissions regulations.

For more on the next-generation Golf, head over to The Car Connection's 2015 Volkswagen Golf preview page.

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