VW Golf BlueMotion

Nov 17 2008 Jonathan Smith

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To the casual observer, it looks like a typical Golf. You know, the sort that's been around for the last few years and driven by school-run mums and junior reps just dying to move up to a Passat.

But on closer examination the shiny black five-door is a bit different. It's a bit lower, for a start, and there are tiny silver badges front and rear. That's because my set of wheels for next six months is the Bluemotion version - a family car that sets out to save the worldand save its owner a few quid on fuel bills too.

With an emissions level of 119g/km it scrapes into Band B which means you pay just £35 car tax a year. Fuel consumption - the more common slide-rule for economy - works out at an amazing 62.8mpg average putting it almost on a par with the hybrid Toyota Prius, and six mpg better than the standard Golf TDI.

With a 1.9litre engine that develops a reasonable 104bhp you don't feel any hardship in squeezing more miles out of every gallon. It eventually runs out of steam at 116mph and 62mph is reached in an acceptable 11.3seconds.

VW have achieved their fuel savings by lowering the ride height to reduce drag and smoothing out the underside of the Golf to make it more aerodynamic. Any unnecessary air vents are also blanked out. Longer gear ratios in third, fourth and fifth make cruising more frugal and the engine management system has been tweaked for economy. Price is £16,750 for the Match version - about £500 more than comparative TDI.

The great thing about the Golf Bluemotion - apart from the promise of cheap running - is that you don't feel like some sort of Jesus sandal-wearing freak out to hug trees and driving a 'Noddy' car. It feels like any other Golfand drives like one. It even has a small rear spoiler and racy alloy wheels. Sure the elderly 1.9litre is a bit clattery at start-up, but it pulls like a train with its 184lb/ft of torque so progress is nippy enough.

An immediate observation was that surprisingly it is fitted with a five speed gearbox rather than a six which would have allowed still more economical cruising. The Match model has a few goodies that I would not have liked to live without - the most important of which is aircon. The other treat was an on board computer, which is really useful for economy checks, and the nicely trimmed leather steering wheel.

My metallic black Bluemotion - maybe I should have opted for blue! - arrived just a few days ago with 119 miles on the clock and already I have notched up a further 500. My average economy is working out at around 55mpg, but on a longish motorway trip doing around the legal limit I passed the 60mpg mark

The trouble is you start to get a bit obsessive about economy and find yourself choosing a gear early just to notch up a better figure - the direct opposite to my normal style of driving.

But with diesel around 10p a litre dearer than petrol, only high mileage users are going to reap the cash benefits. Here's to more milesand may they be cheap ones.

FAST FACTS: VW Golf 1.9TDI Bluemotion Match. Price: £16,750. Mechanical: 104bhp, 1,896cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via five spd manual gearbox. Max spd: 116mph. 0-62mph: 11.3 secs. Combined mpg: 62.8. Insurance group: 6. Co2 emissions: 119g/km. BiK rating: 13%. Warranty: 3yrs,/60k mechanical, 12yrs anti-rust, 3yrs paint.