PoloDriver

Volkswagen’s BlueMotion technology not only helps the Polo achieve exceptional fuel economy. Victoria Stubbs from Volkswagen retailer group Vindis explains how a Passat BlueMotion recently entered the record books

A new Guinness World Record for fuel economy has been set by a journalist from The Sunday Times driving a Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion. The car was a standard production model with no adjustments or alterations, and it travelled a staggering 1526 miles on one tank of normal diesel. The record was witnessed by two AA engineers who followed the Passat in their van, and has been officially accredited by Guinness.

The 77.25 litres of fuel was enough to get the Passat, its driver (and a navigator) from Maidstone in Kent to the South of France, and nearly as far back as Calais. Where possible, travel was on French autoroutes to minimise town driving (which uses more fuel), and over the three-day journey the average speed was a little over 45mph.

The car used for the record-breaking run was fitted with a 104bhp, 1.6-litre TDI engine using Volkswagen’s new common-rail system. The Passat’s official combined cycle fuel economy is 64.2mpg, but on this journey, a figure of 89.8mpg was attained. The cost of fuel for the journey worked out at an amazing 6.17p per mile!

In common with the Polo and Golf BlueMotion models, the Passat is fitted with aerodynamic modifications to the bodywork, a lower ride height, Stop/Start, programmed battery charging, longer gearing and low rolling resistance tyres. The result is a vehicle that is completely conventional to drive, service and maintain yet among the most efficient vehicles on the road today.

Using the same technology, a Polo BlueMotion recently took part in the inaugural RAC Future Car Challenge. With a combined economy of 80.7mpg from its 74bhp 1.2 TDI engine, it was forecast that the Polo BlueMotion would complete the 57-mile run from Brighton to London using just 3.21 litres of diesel (0.70 gallons) costing a total of £3.78 based on today’s average fuel prices.

Victoria Stubbs, Vindis
Vindis are VW dealers for all models including used Volkswagen Passat

[World Record image: Media Inventions Ltd]

The latest version of the Polo BlueMotion is set to compete in the first RAC Future Car Challenge on Saturday 6 November. The RAC Future Car Challenge follows a route from Madeira Drive in Brighton to Pall Mall in London, during which the participating vehicles are measured for the energy they use. The winner is the vehicle found to have used the least energy on the 57-mile route. The first cars competing will depart from Brighton at 08:30 before making a brief stop at Central Sussex College in Crawley en route to the finish in Central London. Selected vehicles will then be on display in Regent Street from 12:45 to 16:00.

The 91g/km Polo BlueMotion will be joined by another super fuel-efficient production Volkswagen, the 99g/km Golf BlueMotion. Both use a series of aerodynamic and mechanical changes to maximise the efficiency of their refined common-rail TDI diesel engines. In the case of the Polo BlueMotion this results in combined economy of 80.7 mpg. Based on this figure, the Polo BlueMotion would complete the 57-mile run from Brighton to London using just 3.21 litres of  diesel (0.70 gallons) costing a total of £3.78 based on today’s average fuel prices.

Joining the trio and leading Volkswagen’s charge in in the event, the Golf blue-e-motion prototype will be making its debut in the UK. An electric vehicle developing 114bhp and 199lbs ft of torque through an electric motor which is powered by a series of lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 26.5 kilowatt hours, the Golf blue-e-motion can accelerate to 62mph in 11.8 seconds and also serves as an indication of the future direction of Volkswagen’s electric vehicle programme with the first production model planned to go on sale in 2013.

The Polo BlueMotion has been named runner up in the ‘best overall MPG’ category in this month’s 2010 ALD Automotive/Total ECO 10 MPG Marathon. With a combination of engineering, technology and careful driving, the Polo BlueMotion demonstrated impressive economy, and along with a Golf GTI, provided success for Volkswagen. Driven by Andrew Andersz and Alyson Marlow, the latest version of the eco-minded Polo (and the same press car we tested a couple of months back) posted a figure of 89.22mpg, a statistic 8.52% higher than its claimed economy number. The GTI meanwhile secured the ‘best percentage improvement’ title, returning over 55.63mpg (beating its manufacturer combined figure of 38.2% by 45.62%).

The Polo BlueMotion has a three-cylinder 1.2-litre 74bhp common rail diesel engine and a raft of economy measures including aerodynamic and gearing modifications, a Stop/Start system, low rolling resistance tyres and battery regeneration. The winner of the ‘best overall MPG’ category was the SMART Fortwo. Only six of the 35 vehicles which took part in this year’s event achieved more than 80mpg, of which the Polo BlueMotion was one. The ALD Automotive/Total ECO 10 MPG Marathon covers 400 miles over two days and takes in a testing combination of A and B roads, as well as the motorways of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

While the first deliveries of the new Polo GTI are imminent, there are other less obvious models in the fifth-generation Polo range that deserve a look if you’re not after the 178bhp performance version. Topping the mainstream range is the 1.2-litre 104bhp TSI. An out and out roadburner it might not be, but it is swift, comfortable and as refined as many larger cars, but with a sporty edge. At the opposite end of the market, the latest Polo BlueMotion is powered by an economical 1.2-litre 74bhp engine and fitted with an aerodynamic body kit and a whole host of other eco-minded mods, enabling it to post a claimed 80.7mpg figure on the combined cycle. We’ve just updated our test drive report from July 2010 on these two £14,500 models; click on the magazine graphic below or click here to find out what we thought.

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The latest version of the car that started the eco-car revolution, the Polo BlueMotion, has been tested along with 16 other eco-minded new cars in Auto Express’ round-up of sub-100g/km CO2 models. The UK motoring weekly has run the rule over all the road tax exempt eco contenders and spec tables include residual value forecasts, Euro NCAP crash test results and claimed economy figures. The Polo BlueMotion 1.2 TDI is compared with class rivals such as the Citroen C3 1.6 16v HDi Airdream+, Citroen DS3 DStyle 99g, Ford Fiesta Econetic 1.6 TDCi DPF, Peugeot 207 Economique 1.6 HDi, Renault Clio Extreme eco2 dCi 86 and Vauxhall Corsa S 1.3 CDTi ecoFLEX, as well as in-house sparring partner, the SEAT Ibiza SC 1.2 TDI Ecomotive. The sub-100g/km green car group test is in issue 1129 of Auto Express on sale now. Click here to read online.