What Car? Green Awards 2010 - Overall winner

Overall winner
Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI 105 Bluemotion 5dr
Price £18,685
Target Price £17,507
CO2 emissions 99g/km
NOx 0.00129g/km
Particulate emissions 0.10g/km
Av economy 74.3mpg

The overall winner of our Green Car Awards demonstrates exactly what can be achieved by improving established technology. We acknowledge the contribution made by hybrids and battery-powered cars, and we’re very excited at the prospect of range extenders and hydrogen-powered vehicles, but at this point the diesel-powered Golf Bluemotion is the best green car you can buy.

Read our review of the VW Golf 1.6 TDI 105 Bluemotion

With its lowered suspension and aerodynamic bodykit, plus stop-start technology, the Bluemotion is capable of an astonishing 74.3mpg. It produces just 99g/km of CO2, and there’s also a particulate filter helping to minimise other emissions.

The upshot of that low CO2 figure is that you don’t have to pay a penny in road tax, and if you’re a business user your company car tax is based on just 13% of the £18,685 list price.

Keeps up with the big boys
That 1.6 TDI engine hasn’t just been engineered to suck every last mile out of a gallon of the black stuff, either. It generates 103bhp and 180lb ft of torque, so you’ll have more than enough oomph at your disposal to keep pace with the big boys.

Perhaps best of all, the Bluemotion offers the same virtues as the rest of the Golf range. It’s refined, comfortable and fun to drive, and there are few cars more adept at coping with the worst of the UK’s twisting lanes, patched-up streets and corrugated-concrete motorways.

Classy as it is practical
Inside, the cabin is as classy as it is practical, with plush trim, supportive seats, and fit and finish to shame many a luxury car. There’s also space for two adults and a trio of kids. Standard climate control will stop everyone getting hot and bothered, while the 350-litre boot provides loads of space for a fold-up pushchair and a couple of packs of Pampers.

Passengers will also be well protected, thanks to full electronic stability control and six airbags. The three-year, 60,000-mile warranty may not be the most comprehensive around, but a three-year fixed-price servicing plan costing just £250 is all the encouragement you need to keep your Bluemotion in fine fettle – and if you look after it, it’ll help you look after the future.


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