“GREEN motion” might have been a more apt catchword to identify Volkswagen’s latest eco technology, but the company instead settled for “BlueMotion”.
Besides, the latter sounds cool and it does trip off the tongue more easily. It is also a more intriguing and subtle acknowledgement to the green battle.
The only thing blue at Volskswagen’s driving day in the Yorkshire Dales was the sky. Everywhere else was a lush verdant vista.
While Volkswagen was keen to show off the latest products to undergo the “green” – sorry “blue” – treatment, it was just as enthusiastic in showcasing its latest pride and joy from the high performance stables – as well as its latest updates in the leisure sector.
Hence VW’s: “Think Blue, Think R, Think Space” mantra, which pretty much covered its latest improvements across the product range.
The event also coincided with the arrival of VW’s most fuel-efficient five- seater yet, the new Polo BlueMotion with an amazing CO² of 91g/km. As well as scooping the current European Car of the Year title, the Polo was named “World Car of the Year” at the New York Auto Show, in the spring.
Unfortunately, the green “star” of the roadshow was bagged time and again from under my nose, but I managed finally to hitch a lift in the 1.2-litre turbo-diesel Polo.
The three-cylinder 74bhp Polo boasts a cracking combined fuel consumption of just over 80mpg, and on a short dart around the Dales still managed an impressive 60mpg-plus.
Costing £15,000, it isn’t cheap, but quality and class, plus its eco-credentials, make it an attractive proposition.
A 1.6-litre TDI Golf BlueMotion, still under that magical 100g/km figure, with a CO² of 99g/km – which avoids road tax and congestion charges – followed a similar route and again turned out impressive fuel figures. It didn’t match the official combined figure of 74.3mpg, but on spaghetti routes you can’t argue with 58mpg.
Basic on-the-road price is £18,130, which seems steep, but there’s a long list of safety and electronic features which helps mollify the outlay. These include ABS, Hydraulic Brake Assist, ESP, including Electronic Diff Lock, and Traction Control and wall-to-wall airbags. The BlueMotion Golf also gets Stop/Start function, semi automatic air-con, alloys and a lot more. “Thinking R”, I made a bee-line for the high- performance sector and a Scirocco R 2.0-litre TSI boasting a top speed of 155mph and a 0-62mph sprint in just six seconds.
The Scirocco, liveried in a psychedelic green – looked stunning, with alloys, black brake calipers and “R” styling touches all round.
Developing 263bhp, the Scirocco’s two-litre unit feels amazingly fast and slick, with creamy gear changes , but the basic on-the-road price of £28,505 brings you back to reality with a jolt.
Next, I grabbed the wheel of the California mobile home/office to test out VW’s “Think Space” theme, and instantly switched to leisure mode.
This has oceans of cabin space and, of course, has everything including the kitchen sink – but neatly and cleverly hidden away while on the move.
It is beautifully tailored to your every need, and even this sometimes mobile home can achieve a combined fuel return of 36mpg.
One of the most impressive aspects of the £43,515 California is the two-litre Bi-TDI, which proved amazingly smooth and athletic considering the weight it was hauling.
