VW Passat Bluemotion

The VW Passat Bluemotion has miserly thirst for such a spacious car. Photo / Supplied

I don't think I've ever had a car as bossy as this VW Passat Bluemotion. It knows you've bought it to be frugal. It knows you appreciate the low-friction tyres, the aerodynamic aids, the specially tuned 2-litre common rail diesel engine and specially calibrated transmission, all applied to the standard handsome Passat frame.

But it still insists on telling you when to change gear. The dash display shows the gear selected - while an arrow appears when an up or down change is appropriate.

Then it kicks in with the stop-start technology. As you pull up at the lights, you change to neutral and depress the brake pedal. Mostly the car then switches off. Depress the clutch and it starts, the engine firing and idling faster than you can select first.

It was just possible to inadvertently confuse the system when pausing for a fractional moment between gears and on the brake pedal; she dies, and the dash tells you to start manually.

Don't panic, is my advice. Continue the gear change and she'll fire and off you go.

As for the rest; despite its alleged sports suspension the Passat Bluemotion isn't the cleverest-handling car I've driven. Those fancy tyres deliver a smidgen less grip, and I saw the stability-control light a fraction more often than I'd like.

But other than that, this car delivers the smart cabin, capacious boot and handsome design you expect; the decent pull from rest and relaxed cruising performance of any diesel; plus the sort of thirst expected from a smaller car.

VW claims 4.9l/100km; I averaged 5.3 on my hilly, demanding commute, which included a reasonable amount of rush-hour driving.

Pretty impressive for a car this size.

VW PASSAT BLUEMOTION

We like
Miserly thirst from a spacious car.
We don't like
Reduced grip from eco-tyres.
Powertrain
2-litre four-cylinder TDI, 81kW at 4200rpm, 250Nm at 1500rpm, five-speed manual drives front wheels.
Performance
0-100km/h in 11.7 seconds, 4.9l/100km.
Safety
ABS, stability control, six airbags.
What it's got
Climate control air, cruise control, electric adjust driver seat, cooled glovebox, 16-inch alloy wheels.
Vital stats
4765mm long, 565-litre boot, 70-litre tank.