16/04/08

• Price16,065
• We like...superb fuel economy, low emissions
• We don't...noisy engine

A change, here an adjustment there makes this Golf super-economical and cuts its C02If driving pricks your conscience, the newest VW Golf is right for you. With the London Congestion charge, tax penalties for big, thirsty motors, the threat of road tolls and ever-rising road congestion, there just aren’t enough reasons to smile.

But Volkswagen’s latest Golf may just be the tonic we need.  It’s the new recruit to VW’s Bluemotion line-up, joining the Polo. A Jetta and a Passat join the party, too. Bluemotion is VW’s way of giving its cars a ‘greener’ tinge. There’s nothing revolutionary in what happens to drive economy up and emissions down: but some engine-tweakery here, a little body panel reshaping there, plus some easy-roll tyres helps drop the CO2 for this car to 119g/km and up its best average up to 64.8mpg. It isn’t a flashy approach, and won’t grab the headlines. But we bet it’s cleverer than it sounds and, it works.

To drive, the Bluemotion is... pretty much as good as any Golf with a diesel engine. We thought we’d have to make allowances for its ‘green-ness’ but we didn’t need to. True, its higher-stacked gears mean you can’t be as lazy at cog-shifting as you might be usually, but it still summons plenty of go from low revs. And, if you really can’t work out which gear is best, there’s a nifty little nagger than pops up next to the speedo to advise which gear will best keep economy high and emissions low. The motor is the same 1.9 diesel that propels some other Golfs and umpteen Skodas, Seats and Audis, it’s noisy, but smooth and willing. For the Bluemotion it is tuned to squeeze every last glop from a gallon. That, its taller gears, special easy-rolling tyres and a bit of body reshaping gets this Golf where it needs to be. No magic, no mystery.

Otherwise, it’s the Volkswagen Golf we know and admire: sharp to drive, smooth to ride in, roomy in the front and back, sober and classy. There’s just the one Bluemotion engine, plus a choice between two trims: S, and Match. Ours is the S, the cheaper by £680. Make no mistake, you get a shedload of kit on the Match for your extra spend: alloy wheels, posher seat trim, an alarm, rain-sensing wipers... the list gs on.

Even so, the S has as much safety kit all you could reasonably want plus air conditioning, remote locking and a pukka CD/radio. Aside from the polished metal on the door openers, the gearknob and glovebox handle, the interior is as grey as a civil servant’s mind. But all the key bits are still made to a quality you won’t yet find in another high-selling car,

Should you go for a Bluemotion when you can buy a Golf with the same engine in ‘standard’ tune and save £460? It will pollute a bit more – its CO2 figure is 132g/km and it’ll cover, at best, 56.5mpg.

Tap at a calculator and you’ll find that the standard car costs £890 to fuel for 10,000 miles, while the Bluemotion costs £777, saving you £113. So it’ll take you 40,000 miles – or four years’ typical private motoring – before the Bluemotion pays you back in fuel savings. But cheaper road tax and, from later this year, the chance to drive in central London for free, should see you turn a profit far quicker. And  all that time, it’ll be running cleaner, of course. But then you buy one because you think you ought to, rather than to keep cash in your pocket.

• Engines1.9 TDI
• Power
• 0-60 mph11.3sec
• Economy62.8mpg
• CO2g/km119
• Insurance groups6E
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats5

Motors.co.uk value verdict: