Road test: Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion

Thanks to the three-cylinder diesel 1.4-litre engine, mated to some clever variable geometry with the turbo unit, plus low bodyweight, tall gearing and slipperier aerodynamics, this Kyoto-spec Polo emerges cleaner than any other petrol, diesel or petrol-electric hybrid ecological money can buy, including the Toyota Prius. And for real-world fans, that means a fuel consumption of 74.3mpg and 70.6mpg on the official and combined cycle - which is well ahead of the pack.

Speaking of the real world though, a week's road test of this vehicle throws in some surprising facts...

# Fact one: it's fun to drive. You don't experience that notion in a Prius, as you're too busy watching all the power-flow diagrams and bar charts. Every five minutes in a Prius you get a new eco-rating on screen; it's like managing the nation's housing market while you're driving to work. Very offputting. No, the Polo just wants to go, with all the zest of a pepperpot diesel. Ok, the tall gearing means that if you so much as think of changing up on a slight incline it'll put in all the effort of England against Croatia, but if you keep the revs high, it goes like - well, like Croatia, actually. Some have reported that this engine is noisy. It is, but it's a nice rorty noise, so they're just Jeremiahs.

# Fact two: it's a bit difficult to get comfy in. Not because it's dinky and all those smarmy planet-raping SUV drivers are looking down on you. Well, only a bit. You see, try as I did, the Bluemotion's driving seat just felt too detached from the cockpit. Then I realised the seat base needs to come up higher. Simple. Except there's no adjustment. Annoying.

# Fact three: the Bluemotion is so ingenious in its techniques for putting Esso out of business that you don't need to stop and top up for 700 miles. I don't think so... despite the lofty mpg figures claimed by the maker, true-life testing of this car returns figures closer to the high 40s. My suspicion is that, given the ultra-tall gearing, you end up revving its breakfast off to obtain some measure of performance. So it's a bit like drinking low-alcohol beer, but consuming ten times more bottles and getting just as drunk as ever, just with extra bloating.

That said, this is still a lovely car - and with practise and the right go-slow attitude, it's capable of obtaining halo-worthy results with far less of the look-at-me green neon many rivals are now offering. And it's a VW, so even if you don't sit perfectly comfortably you know it'll stay with you long after all the oil's drunk dry. Fit a cushion and face the future with confidence.