Road test: Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion

The Volkswagen Golf is perhaps the ultimate middle class car, and the BlueMotion version its most London-friendly variant.

Rather than packing the car with hybrid technology, Volkswagen has wrought class-leading economy and emissions from a suite of conventional engineering tweaks, to produce a family hatchback claimed to manage 88.3mpg and class-leading emissions of 85g/CO2 per kilometre, which makes this 1,600cc family car exempt from road tax but not the Congestion Charge.

VW has done things to the engine and six-speed gearbox so that there’s less energy sapping friction in their internals, the tyres are designed for economy, and the body has been given a raft of aerodynamic modifications to help it cleave the air more efficiently. There’s an engine stop/start system, regenerative braking and a host of engineering tricks to aid the car’s efficiency.

The ride is pliant, the handling tidy and mechanical refinement generally good. The decently spacious interior boasts the usual mix of high quality materials and thoughtful design that has been a hallmark of VW since the 1990s. It’s pretty well-equipped, with daytime running lights, alloy wheels, a touch screen, air-conditioning, electric windows and so on.

The BlueMotion’s performance (0-62 in 10.5secs) is hardly in the GTi league, but fine for real-world driving, and there’s boringly little to criticise about this car.

Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion
Top speed: 124mph; 0-62mph: 10.5sec;
Combined MPG: 88.3;
Emissions: 85g/km;
Price: £19,600