Right, bit of a different start today, because as you can probably tell, we’re in a petrol
station.
Why?
Well, this is the new Golf BlueMotion, so the most important thing about this car, is
how little money it should cost me in fuel today.
It’s 8:30AM in Liverpool, we’ve brimmed the tank and we’re going to head under the
Mersey, down through Cheshire, past Ellesmere Port where they build one of this car’s
rivals and into Wales.
There we’ll head to the lovely town of Llangollen, refill the tank, and see how much it cost.
It’s about 50 miles, the roads are really varied, which is the main reason we chose
this route, and I’ll be driving normally, no turning the engine off or over-inflated
tyres here.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will already have spotted this is not a normal Golf BlueMotion,
well it is, but it’s the first one with a petrol as an option instead of a diesel.
And you know what?
It’s a remarkable little engine, and I’m not being condescending, it is just 999cc
and has just three cylinders.
Yet, thanks to the magic of turbocharging, there’s 113bhp, it can get to 62mph in under
ten seconds and hit 126mph.
Of course, you don’t actually do that.
You need to drive this car sedately, and my top tip is to keep this BlueMotion training
screen on at all times, because it makes saving fuel into a bit of a game, to see what your
high score is.
And so far, we’ve drive 30miles and it’s reading 56mpg.
So the nitty gritty: VW claims 99g of CO2 and 65.7mpg for this car, so the diesels 83mpg
is better.
But, I think this car is more refined and more fun to drive, so even if we have got
close to 60mpg when we arrive, I think I’d take this over the diesel.
There’s a bit of a rubbery feel to some of the controls and suspension, which is probably
down to those eco tyres, but push past that and the Golf handles well enough to give you
plenty of confidence, even on roads with drop offs at the side like this Horseshoe Pass.
But you aren’t just buying an engine, gearbox and some low friction tyres, what about the
interior.
Well, it’s a Golf, which is to say it’s really nice in here.
This is the Match Edition, which gets sat-nav, heated front seats and some nicer cloth trim.
Ok, so there are more interesting interiors, the Mazda 3 feels sportier and the A3 is cleaner
cut, but for an all-rounder there’s just about everything you need.
There’s a deceptive amount of space in here too.
I’m not really tall, and the seat can slide so far back I can’t even demonstrate while
driving, because I wouldn’t be able to reach the pedals.
Of course, anyone sat behind me might not like that, but if you’re around six foot,
someone can sit behind you no problem The boot is pretty decent too, but check out
our main Golf review for a better look.
There’s no spare wheel though, so get a puncture and there’s a repair kit to save
precious weight, for economy of course.
So, we’ve arrived in Wales, I’ve refilled the tank, and it cost…£5.54, which got
us exactly xx miles and that equates to 57.6mpg.
Not bad considering there’s two of us in the car, quite a bit of kit and the roads
were pretty tough too.
We already know the Golf is a good car, it’s one of the best-selling hatchback’s in the
UK.
But is it still good with a 1.0-litre petrol engine?
Amazingly yes.
In fact, personally, I’d choose it over the 1.6-litre diesel, because it’s quieter,
has more character and feels plenty economical enough to cut down your monthly bills.
If you’re not afraid of trying something a bit different, let us know in the comments
section and for more videos don’t forget to subscribe.
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