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No wonder it’s so popular with taxi drivers

Saturday, 12 December 2009

WHILE driving on the almost completed motorway from Cork to Dublin I almost ran out of petrol. So a detour was needed at Cashel for a refill. I don’t think I would have needed to stop if I had been driving the new Passat Blue Motion 2.O TDi. This diesel motor, which I drove last week, absolutely hates stopping at garages. It was a bit like the ‘Duracell Bunny’ ad as it just kept going on and on and on. Thanks to new technology developed by Volkswagen you can get on average 60 miles per gallon in the Blue Motion Passat. Now that’s value for money. No wonder the car is so popular with taxi drivers. After testing a few very expensive motors in recent weeks initially I was a little disappointed in the interior of the Passat where the only sign of luxury is a walnut trim on the dash. But I grew to like it. There is ample room for five well-built adults, the boot is massive and you get a full size spare wheel. With VW everything is well laid out and easy to use. Like the radio - you get two knobs, one to turn the radio/CD on and off and the other to scroll up and down the wavebands. I wish other manufacturers would take a leaf out of VW’s book in this regard instead of giving us fiddly buttons to scroll up and down. In the console located between the two front passengers there is room to hold four drinks and behind it a deep unit for storing CDs, phones etc. One of the ways VW gets better fuel economy is the Stop/Start system whereby the engine cuts out if you at stopped at traffic lights. The engine starts again just by touching the clutch. It’s a bit annoying at first, but you get used to it. In the old days you would never dream of turning off the engine when stopped at traffic lights. BMW also use this technology and apparently it’s the way to go. It was a bit cold the week I had the Passat and all my passengers really appreciated the heated seats. It’s a long motor and I suppose it could have done with parking sensors, but that’s a small crib. Prices start at e27,390, while the extras on the Highline model I drove brought the price up to e31,897. Road tax is only e156.