So what’s new on Volkswagen’s Geneva Motor Show stand?
By far the most exciting offering from VW was the production version of the new Scirocco. The good news is the firm has managed to combine the aggressive deep front air dams and skinny grille first shown on the car’s concept with a healthy dose of the original Giugiaro penned model. Expect prices to start at around GBP20,000.
Other new cars, predictably considering the current preoccupation with the environment, all had an eco-friendly twist. There’s the Golf TDI Hybrid which combines a three-cylinder common-rail turbo diesel with a 25bhp electric motor. It runs on electricity round town, the diesel at higher speeds. The result is 83mpg and 89g/km of CO2.
The Sharan MPV’s long in the tooth but VW has eked another couple of years out of it with the BlueMotion version. Longer gear ratios and minor bodywork tweaks yield a reduction in the seven-seater’s consumption to 45.6mpg.
Finally there’s the Passat Estate EcoFuel, a car with a 150bhp TSI engine that runs on natural gas.
CAR highlight
The Scirocco is back and how. Despite sharing a wheelbase with the Golf GTI it’s longer, lower and wider than the hatch. As with most VW products it’ll come with a wide range of engines including two-litre T FSI at launch this June and later on two-litre turbo diesels with varying outputs.
What were they thinking?
The Caddy Maxi’s ugly and prices for passenger versions start at GBP15,995. Why would you when the Touran’s a similar price?
In a nutshell
Something for performance fans and environmentally aware drivers alike on the VW stand.
4/5