Automotive Simplicity

I've always valued simplicity in a car. Give me just what I need and no more. More equals weight and weight is bad. You have to put more effort into going forwards with more weight. You have to build bigger brakes and suffer stiffer suspension with more weight. This adds more expense, more complexity and yet more weight.

Yet complexity for the sake of complexity seems to be the way we are heading. As well as valuing simplicity I also value space, comfort and speed. I like a car to carry me emotionally as well as physically. I once drove a Toyota Yaris to Sussex and arrived at my destination brain dead. It was a hollow experience.

Balancing all these values brought me to buying a Mk7 Golf GTI. I've owned it a year and love its combination of speed, comfort and relative light weight. At 1400kg it's not too porky.

However I have recently discovered it is complex. Far too complex. We had packed the Golf for a long needed week in Cornwall. 250 miles and four hours. It would be a breeze. Adaptive cruise control set to 79 and a couple of editions of the Talking Sopranos podcast and we'd be in Perranporth in the blink of an eye.

Only it didn't turn out that way. Within half a mile of leaving home the coolant warning light came on. I got out, observed the trail of fluid we'd left behind and turned back for home.  I opened the bonnet and found that whatever fluid I put in the header tank was escaping at speed through an unspecified location amidst a mess of wires, pipes and something called camshaft adjustment actuators at the back of the engine. We unpacked everything from the Golf and repacked it in my son's Seat Mii - a sibling to the VW Up! - and set off for Cornwall.

I had previously ignored the Mii for anything other than local journeys. It is a fabulous little car. Small outside, spacious inside, comfortable and simple. The driver's seat has far less support than the Golf's, there is no cruise control, no arm rests, no cubby spaces for storage.

Yet the seat was comfortable, there was enough space, we crammed everything in the Mii that had been in the Golf. It cruised along at motorway speeds with nary a complaint from any occupant. My phone provided satnav and the Talking Sopranos podcasts through the car's stereo. It has electric windows, which I consider an essential, and it has heating and A/C, also an essential. What it lacks is cruise control. That's the only thing I really missed.

Despite only having a 1 litre engine with 60 bhp the Mii delivered us to Cornwall in a relaxed and happy state. The Golf would not have been any faster over the entire journey.

And when in Cornwall the Mii continued to delight. Its low weight means the suspension is soft and this was perfect for trekking round awfully paved roads and gravel tracks to find beach car parks. The car's small dimensions, neutral steering and light clutch made Cornish lanes easy to navigate and the tiny brakes were plenty enough to stop us quickly when faced with oncoming SUVs at mighty speed around blind Cornish bends.

And finally when we drove home I was quite tired after three hours driving so we pulled into Leigh Delamere services and my son was able to drive the rest of the way home. He isn't insured on the Golf because it would cost about a million pounds.

When we arrived home my mechanic friend came round and showed me his investigations into the Golf's coolant loss. It could be anything from a blown head gasket to a simple pipe failing. But because it is in a location surrounded by technological gubbins he would rather a specialist look at it. So I've booked a mobile Volkswagen specialist to come and investigate. The bill will potentially be ruinous.

I have learned over the course of the past week that despite the Mii producing around 170bhp less than the Golf it is far more its equal than I had imagined. You really have to drive the little car. You use the gears to overcome the lack of power and you hustle it round corners to keep the speed up. It is a fun car to drive and it engages you more than many a faster, more expensive, more luxurious, heavier and more complex car.

The Golf is still a better all round car than the Mii but not by the margin I expected. Once the Golf is fixed I am seriously considering swapping it in for a simpler, lighter machine. But it must have cruise control and electric windows.

By Matt Hubbard

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A Tale of Golf, LSD and Chinese Rubber

A couple of years ago I owned a Golf R with the DSG gearbox. I sold that and bought a BMW for a few months as an interim measure, and then in spring this year bought a 2013 Mk7 Golf GTI with manual gearbox. The GTI is a Performance Pack model and comes with a limited slip differential and a few extra hp over the standard GTI.

It has 230bhp and 258lb ft of torque which is more than enough for a front wheel drive car. I've done several thousand miles in the GTI, and did Land's End to John O'Groats in one day in it. 852 miles in 15 hours. It proved itself fast and comfortable.

Despite being less powerful than the Golf R, and only being front wheel drive rather than four wheel drive I've enjoyed driving the GTI far more than the R.

The cars are almost identical inside, though the GTI has leather seats where the R had cloth. The ride is very similar - well damped if a little harsh on bumpy surfaces. Driving at pedestrian speeds you'd struggle to find any difference in the cars aside from the gearbox.

But put your foot down and the differences between the cars show themselves. The R was insanely fast and gripped like a limpet. It was fitted with Pirelli P Zeros and would corner well with little slip. It would understeer under power but this was controllable. I toured all round Europe in it and it was never less than fast and fun.

But when I first drove the GTI I realised what the R was missing. Soul.

The GTI has more power than grip available. This means you have to work with the car to apply the power so it's not lost through slip and spin. In the dry you can be quite rough with the throttle. It would wheelspin in first and second gears. In corners you could feel a tiny slip of the inside wheel before the LSD locked the axle and both wheels would pull at the same speed.

Combined with the precise manual gearbox it was an absolutely involving joy to work with.

Until it rained. In the rain it was a menace. And this was because when I bought the car it was fitted four brand new Chinese tyres, or ditch finders. And when the roads were wet their ability to clear water and find grip was found rather lacking.

In the wet you could spin the front wheels in third gear. I've had wheelspin, and sideways slip, on an open Scottish B-road at speeds in excess of 70mph. Exhilarating and scary at the same time.

It got to the point when it just wasn't funny. On a motorway roundabout I poked the throttle on a wet day and, because the locking diff did its stuff, both front wheels just span and caused the car to understeer halfway into the next lane.

So I finally got round to fitting some decent tyres and what a difference they made!

Last weekend the GTI was treated to a fresh set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s and, by heck, they're an improvement. It's rained almost constantly since and I've driven around 100 miles largely on the country lanes between home and the office.

In the wet the Golf is now an absolute joy to drive. You can feel and control sideways slip. It still spins and first and second gear but in third it holds on to the road. You have to ease the power on, be careful changing from first to second and concentrate hard as you reach the red line - a small crest or patch of shiny surface can cause wheelspin.

But it's predictable now whereas with the ditch finders it would just be hopeless. In a corner when you push on the power you feel the LSD engage and you use it's action to pull the car round the corner. It'll still understeer if you're brutal with the throttle but that's the point. It is involving and you have to use your skill and ability as a driver to get the best from it.

The R is sold as a more prestigious model than the GTI but the R is digital whereas the GTI is analogue, and I prefer analogue.

By Matt Hubbard

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Land's End to John O'Groats In One Day In Three Epic Cars

I had been driving for three days non-stop and had covered 1500 miles. On that third day I had left the northern coast of Scotland at 9.30am. I only crossed back in to England at Gretna at 5.30pm. I was completely worn out but still had three hours driving that day, and four more hours the next day...

Scotland is huge. Far larger than you imagine. I've visited it many times and you can get really lost in the place. You do see other people but not very often. Unlike most of England northern Scotland is not flat. In fact it undulates quite a lot.

The result of this is that the roads are half empty and twist and turn with the scenery. And because Scotland is an exposed, windswept place and wasn't part of the UK when the Inclosure Acts were in place farmers weren't forced to create small fields with high hedges around the outside.

And this means you can see where you're going. Which means that driving round Scotland for fun is a really enjoyable experience. If that's your kind of thing.

I don't need much of an excuse to head to Scotland for a drive. And neither does Hannah, a friend who would visit regularly in her Porsche, and then decided she would actually move there earlier this year. So she sold her house in the Home Counties and bought a converted church in Moray.

We had both previously driven from John O'Groats to Land's End in one day and thought it would be a good idea to do the trip again, but the 'proper' way round and in the summer. And this time we would do it in convoy.

So we set a date - the last weekend in June - and asked if anyone else would like to do the trip with us. One person answered the call. A chap called Pete, from Hull.

Hannah organised the accommodation and I organised the route (it wasn't hard, there really only is one way to do it) and we drove down to Cornwall. We met Pete and headed to the excellent Old Success Inn in Sennen Cove for dinner and a pint. We all gelled and discussed the day ahead.

I suggested we start at exactly sunrise - 5.16am - and attempt to get to John O'Groats before sunset at 10.24pm. We all agreed. With an early start ahead of us we headed for an early night.

Land's End

Through thick fog the three of us met at the Land's End visitor centre. We took a photo at the famous sign post and drove the cars around to the front of the centre, under the big sign, for photos and the start.

All three of us are petrolheads and our cars reflected this. Hannah drives a Porsche Cayman GT4, Pete a BMW M2 and me a Golf GTI. My GTI is a 2013 model with 230hp and a limited slip differential. The other two have a lot more power and are rear wheel drive!

I've owned the Golf since March and have really grown to like it. The LSD makes a huge difference and the power feels plenty for a front wheel drive car. The dealer who sold it me fitted it with brand new tyres which is great but they are a cheap Chinese brand which are not great. They're fine in the dry but in the wet are about as effective as Diane Abbot in a maths exam.

At 5.16am precisely we started. We were all absolutely buzzing. Despite the fog visibility was reasonable and we enjoyed careening round the Cornish lanes. Within a couple of hundred yards you are on the A30 but at this point it is a single lane and very twisty. I led and drove as fast as felt safe.

After the rush of the lanes we arrived in Penzance. At this early time the roads were almost deserted and we made good progress. I was in the lead and was taking the racing line where possible - white line to white line, cross the middle line where visibility allowed - to keep efficiency up.

We passed urban areas of Cambourne and Redruth where the A30 is more dual carriageway than motorway with roundabout after roundabout. 

That this trip was a convoy meant I had others to keep an eye on but it was apparent after a very short amount of time that Pete and Hannah were expert drivers. We were flowing well. We all indicated when necessary, kept appropriate distance without lagging too far behind and had good lane discipline. 

I had created a 22 hour, 291 song playlist and as we hit the open countryside - hardly visible in the fog - Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones was playing at max volume. My eyes were on stalks, checking for any hazard. 

Hannah was running in the middle of the pack and her GT4 looked epic in the mirror.

We had been messaging each other before the trip on WhatsApp and I thought I'd see if we could use the app to make a three way call. It worked and we chatted away about the roads, how happy we were to be finally underway after talking about the trip for months and about when we'd need to stop. 

None of us had set off with a full tank of fuel. From full my Golf will has a range of 400 miles on a good run but the Porsche and BMW would only manage 300 miles, and probably less at a decent pace.

As we passed through Cornwall and into Devon the fog lifted and we were greeted by fantastic views and open roads. We decided to by pass Exeter services, which are bloody awful and very expensive, and stop at the next.

Which turned out to be Cullompton. We fuelled up, bought food and drinks and left again at 7.20am.

I have never in my life travelled the length of the M5 and M6 without being stuck in traffic at least once but the next few hours were a dream. We saw other cars but the roads weren't busy. Amazingly the other driver's lane discipline wasn't too bad either.

We continued driving in tight formation, taking it in turns to lead, to be in the middle and to hang at the rear. Both the M2 and GT4 looked great in my mirrors and through the windscreen.

I was still on a high. Energy levels right up there. The road beneath my wheels was rendered smooth by the Golf's chassis. Music pumping. Big smile. Moving high and moving fast. Machines clean, so sweet and mean.

The sun was out and parts of Europe were enjoying the hottest day on record. England was warm but not scorching. I sat low in the seat, enjoying the buzz. Sunglasses. In the zone. Keep us on the road.

We chatted some more. Hannah and I knew each other only through social media before the trip. We'd spoken and messaged but only met once, at the Sunday Scramble at Bicester. Neither of us had met Pete in real life before the trip.

So we talked and talked. About our jobs and cars and life. Pleasant and enjoyable. Good company and good cars.

Charnock Richard

It was 11.15am and we had travelled 371 miles. The cars needed fuelling and we all needed a stretch and a refresh. We parked up and rolled out of our cars - Pete and I almost literally. Hannah, who's car was the most extreme of the three with bucket seats and harness seat belts was much more limber.

We swapped stories of what we'd seen and how we were doing and how we were all amazed at how little traffic we'd encountered.

It was good to walk around awhile. I bought a sandwich and we were robbed blind at the petrol station (£1.49 a litre!)

And then after just a short stop we were off again.

And after a few minutes we stopped. There was a crash on the M6. Arse. Hannah and I were using a satnav app called Waze which didn't suggest any alternative but to sit in the traffic but Pete was using his BMW's satnav and it reckoned we could save twenty minutes by turning off, so we did.

We followed a few local roads and then were stuck in urban dual carriageway hell. It took fifteen minutes to get out of a particularly busy junction, along with half the M6.

But then we found a quieter route and trundled through a place called Bamber Bridge which had some fairly interesting shop names. We all giggled at the Exotic Sunbed Lounge, guffawed at the Pump and Truncheon pub and laughed at the Blonde on Top - a hairdressers.

After a queue to get back on the M6 we were finally back on our route and up to speed.

Lancashire turned to Cumbria turned to the beautiful Lake District. And then we were in Scotland. The scenery didn't change dramatically. The motorway is a thin ribbon of tarmac cutting through massive, open, rolling scenery. Green from plenty of rain and just enough sunshine.

Happily the sun was out for us. The weather had been kind. After the fog burned off in the early morning we had only seen sunshine. But as we stopped again in Hamilton there were warnings of rain ahead.

It was 2.30pm and again the cars needed fuel and the drivers needed a break. We had covered 551 miles and were all beginning to feel a little weary.

We had continued to talk during the trip and all of us felt like it was the evening, even though it was early afternoon. It was almost a surprise that it wasn't. It was a kind of jet lag caused by a very early morning and nine hours on the road.

We got going again. Almost 300 miles to go but miles covered on Scottish roads. Our blistering pace would be slowed a great deal. Our sat navs said we would be at John O'Groats by 8.10pm - almost six hours away.

It is around Stirling that the motorway finally ends. It peters out from three to two lanes and the blue signs stop and the green ones start.

And then you are on the A9 and in average speed camera hell. The scenery is great and the road quite lovely but the average cameras castrate what could be a good drive. Drivers on the A9 don't think. They just comply. Cruise control set to 60 or 70 depending on whether it's single or dual carriageway and drone on and on and on.

Finally after two hours of this rubbish we were free. We passed through Inverness and our pace picked up.

Our energy levels picked up too. I had listened to an audiobook through the speed cameras but that was turned off and huge slabs of Metallica pumped through my speakers as Pete took the lead and I gamely followed, Hannah's Cayman in my mirrors.

The weariness and aching bones were gone and we developed a second wind, invigorated by the scenery, the roads and the Scottish air. We passed through a town and saw several people wearing kilts and tam o'shanters. Hannah and I argued on the phone whether a chap we had seen was a full ginger or a strawberry blonde.

The M2 and Cayman GT4 sounded awesome. I could hear both of them under acceleration. Throaty, growling roars. They also handled better than my Golf. They cornered flat and true whilst I had to be creative with the width of the road and aware of my grip levels.

The road became more winding and challenging. These were the drivers roads we had been seeking, We stopped for a break and photo op on the Dornoch Firth Bridge and that would be the last time we would stop. It was 6.30pm and we still had almost two hours to go.

The rain which had been threatening decided to set in. Sometimes drizzle, sometimes heavy. It affected our visibility and our grip levels. Hannah's rear slid a little and my front end slid a lot as I powered out of a corner and the tyres lost grip.

Teeth were gritted and eyes were on stalks. The drive was good and the cars looked, felt and sounded amazing. I don't think we could have picked three better cars for the job.

As the miles counted down so did the anticipation. We drove fast and we drove well. Everyone within their comfort zones. Everyone enjoying themselves.

John O'Groats

After a particularly intense final half hour we were finally there. John O'Groats. We parked up right next to the sign and hugged and high fived and jumped around. We took photos and savoured the moment.

And then it was over. We had driven 842 miles and we had arrived at 8.08pm, more than two hours before sunset.

We three had essentially been strangers before we started but we had bonded during our trip and after we dumped our stuff and met in the local pub for pints (and wine) and dinner we felt a mutual sense of satisfaction. That we had done something adventurous and extraordinary.

The next day we set off to our various homes. We met for coffee in Perth, hugged again and went our separate ways.

I decided to add an hour or so to my journey and avoided the dreadful A9 and took the incredible Old Military Road through Braemar where my car received a damn good thrashing and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I drove the entire day and arrived at my brother's house in Cheshire at 8pm.

As I said at the start Scotland is huge.

When I finally arrived home on the Monday I had covered 1655 miles, been in the driving seat for 30 hours 17 minutes and averaged 34mpg. And made two good friends.

By Matt Hubbard

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Why I Hated My BMW 320d And Wanted To Sell It - And Then Fell In Love With It Again

I'd bought the 320d. I'd justified it to myself. I was going to keep it. I owned it outright and I didn't want to make any monthly payments. I liked it. So what if it had 200,000 miles on the clock. It ran well and it was comfy and fast and drove well. I'd made my peace with it.

But it had started getting slower. It had started to feel a bit clogged up. All was not well. But I put it out of my mind. I continued using it day to day, short trips and long trips.

Until...

Until a light came on the dashboard, between the speedo and the rev counter. And it was accompanied by a bong. Or maybe a chime. Whatever it was it was not good.

I could have Googled it but I took a photo and put it on Twitter.  The answers came back straight away. All the same.

DPF. Diesel Particulate Filter. Uh? What the hell was a DPF? So I Googled that. It was not good. To cut a long story short a DPF is a filter somewhere in the exhaust system that filters out all the diesel particulates (that as a motorcyclist I can feel in my eyes when following an older bus or taxi in London).

This terrified me. What had I done by buying a diesel? Maybe I should sell the car and buy a petrol. This was a sorry state of affairs.

I went online. Halfords promised to clear out your DPF for a mere £85. Phew! I booked an appointment and a mechanic friend took it there to see if he could learn anything. Sadly not, they said it would take 4 hours so he went for a very long and boring coffee. 4 hours later it was done. £85 poorer but the DPF light had gone out. Job done, scare over.

The next day the DPF light came on again.

I did some more investigation. I consulted many forums where many ill-informed people gave many opinions on what to do, or not. Sell it they said. It's knackered they said. Don't buy a diesel they said. A new one would be £1500 they said.

Not helpful. I did my own investigations. I could buy a new one off eBay for £800. Or alternatively there was a company in Maidenhead who would clear it through for £250. This looked a good and sensible solution, but would it work?

I asked my mechanic friend to call them and book an appointment. We agreed that he would remove the DPF - even though we had no idea where it was or what it looked like - and take it there, get it cleaned and then reinstall it. Great theory but would it work out?

Meantime I had started to hate the car. It let me down and I don't like being let down by mechanical machinery. I like reliability. I talked myself into buying a Mk5 Golf GTI. I spent every waking hour searching Autotrader and eBay.

The BMW started driving terribly. It went into limp mode a few times and would only drive at 25% power.

I discounted 95% of GTIs on sale. Wrong colour, too many miles, not enough history, no cruise control, no heated seats, the dealer sounded like a cowboy (80% of them), too far away, weird stains on seats, not clean enough, mods I didn't like.

But I found one. It was 80 miles from home. The seller sold it really hard. I wanted a discount but he wouldn't give one. I pushed, he pushed back. OK I agreed, I'll come see it and will probably buy it. It looked amazing. So one evening after work my mechanic friend and I travelled 2 hours and met the seller and his car.

Rewind...

Earlier that day my friend had jacked the BMW up and removed the DPF in under 2 hours. It was much easier than expected. He drove it to Maidenhead and it was thoroughly cleaned. It had been blocked almost solid. No amount of recharging by Halfords would have fixed it. Only a deep bath and jet clean with detergents could fix it, and fix it they did. It cost £180 (trade rates) and my friend reinstalled it in an hour.

The Diesel Particulate Filter

The Golf looked fabulous. But a little too shiny. A little too clean. I drove it. It was nice but not as spectacular as I'd been led to believe. The timing belt hadn't been changed for 50,000 miles. This was a concern. I actually preferred the BMW's driving experience. I asked that if I bought it would he consider not cancelling the tax until the next day. He refused.

I thought this was mean spirited but I did agree to buy the car. Some part of my mind was saying no but another part said yes. We agreed the price - the price he had asked - he was so confident he could sell it for the full price. I used my banking app and it didn't work. Hmmm? I phoned my bank. The funds wouldn't clear until the next day.

Snap. That was it. There and then I realised I had done the wrong thing. Fate showed me what I should have seen already. I walked away.

We drove home and only then did I start to realise quite what a difference there was in the BMW. It pulled stronger than it had ever done. The DPF had obviously been quite blocked when I bought it and this had only got worse until it got to the point it started to produce warnings.

By the time we were home I decided I would keep the BMW. I actually loved it and I should never have gone to see the Golf.

But actually I should have. It had been a cathartic experience and I learned lessons. I know I have some kind of syndrome. I call it impulsiveness and I've always had it and it's cost me a fortune in cars I've bought and sold and lost money on. Whatever it is and whatever trendy name might be applied to it matters not.

As soon as something went wrong I wanted rid of the BMW. It took the experience of realising the grass wasn't greener with the Golf to realise I preferred the BMW in the first place and that I shouldn't have gone looking for something else. I should have just fixed it and been done but I couldn't help it. It's for this reason I bought a Yamaha R1 and crashed it and it's for this reason I bought a Porsche 911 and lost £5,000 when the engine blew almost immediately. Sometimes I just cannot help myself - no matter what anyone says.

But, whatever. Lessons learned. I had the BMW and I liked it again.

But there were a few things that needed fixing if I was to keep it. It had satnav via a TomTom but it needed Bluetooth. CDs are too 2000s for me. I need to be able to play music from my phone. I had been using the aux-in cable but saw on the Honest John website a review of Bluetooth units. They recommended the Anker Roav Bluetooth Adapter. They gave it 9/10 so I ordered one.

It arrived the next day and was a plug and play affair. It just needed a USB connection for power and an aux-in port and both are under the armrest. Once plugged in I connected my phone and, honestly, I was amazed. The sound quality is fantastic. I get in, start the engine and press the button on the unit and music plays from my phone. Perfect.

The Bluetooth Adapter

The next job was to fix the headlights. They were pathetic. I had replaced the bulbs with upgraded xenon bulbs but they were still pathetic. The lights only lit a short amount of road ahead of the car. I investigated the mechanical adjustment but it seemed to do nothing. It was obviously broken.

Mechanic friend was booked to take the front end of the car apart so he could remove the headlight units and hopefully bodge a repair. This he did earlier today. It took two hours to get the headlights out. Once off the car we could see the adjuster on both lights had been sheered off the actual light unit at some point in the past so that the light's default setting was to point at the floor.

He fixed them by using Q-Bond adhesive. An amazing engineering bodge that has worked. It took an hour to put it all back together and once it had gone dark I took it for a test drive.

Instantly I knew things were better. The road ahead was lit - a little too much. I was headed for a quiet country lane but had to follow a Citroen Xsara Picasso doing 25mph and weaving around the place. He beeped me a few times as my lights were illuminating the inside of his car.

I stopped and adjusted the lights and drove on. A few cars flashed their lights at me so I stopped and adjusted some more. I repeated this a few times and finally was happy I had a setup that worked and no other drivers flashed their lights at me.

Fixing the headlights

And that was it. I finally had a car that did everything I wanted. The DPF had been fixed and thereafter it was reliable. It had a sound system that worked to my liking and headlights that would light the road ahead.

And so we are. I like my car. It may not have cost much and it had a few faults and they have been fixed. It has been made good and how I like it.

So now I love it and I don't want another car.

I hope it stays this way. I cannot say my impulsive nature won't cause me to want to sell it and buy something newer and faster and perhaps not as good but I will do my best not to do so.

By Matt Hubbard

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How The Hell Can A 10 Year Old BMW 320d Be Better Than A New VW Golf R?

My recent car history has been quite interesting. For a few years I spent and lost far too much money on a succession of box ticking cars starting with a V6 Audi TT, a Lotus Elise and a Porsche 996 911. They all cost me money, the 911 especially so when the engine exploded in a cloud of steam - literally. 22 litres of coolant being dumped out of a hole in the engine tends to do that.

So then I decided to be sensible and bought a 2007 BMW 330i and it was good and I thoroughly enjoyed driving it. I even drove 857 miles in one day in it.

But then the engine developed an intermittent fault where it would briefly drop power at low revs which was annoying. So I thought I'd buy a new car because they don't go wrong. I reckoned that I could just afford the payments for a new VW Golf R, so I ordered one.

God it was good. 306bhp from a 2-litre turbocharged engine it would do 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds and it did it in a clinical, precise manner. No histrionics just blam blam blam through its ultra-slick 7 speed dual clutch automated manual gearbox. Passengers new to the car would let out a little shriek as I put my foot down and let the car catapult us forward.

And it was great to drive too. 1505kg and four wheel drive, you could chuck it round corners and put your foot down immediately post apex and it would pick up the pace without a hint of understeer, oversteer or wheelspin. I once drove it all round Europe over the course of a week and it was brilliant on the motorway, on the amazing roads to be found in the Alps and Pyrenees and cruising the Riviera.

Driving the Golf R down the Stelvio pass is something I'll always remember.

But then after a year's ownership and 15,000 miles for reasons beyond my control (a tax bill) I had to sell the Golf. I logged into the VW finance website and got a settlement figure immediately. It was a reasonable sum so I cleaned the car thoroughly, wrote an advert and posted it on Autotrader at 10pm one Saturday.

The first call came in at 7.30am Sunday. The second at 8am. I ignored both. I answered the third at 8.15am. He was from Birmingham and wanted to come and buy the car that day. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I thought. He said he would call back. Another call at 8.30am. He was from Cardiff and he wanted to buy the car that day. Oh, I thought.

Long story short I received 20 emails and 30 phone calls that morning. I had several offers and at 2pm two young chaps arrived and smoked half a packet of cigarettes in my driveway whilst they inspected the car. They wouldn't go in the house because they were scared of my incredibly friendly border collie.

One of them test drove the car (after showing me his trader's insurance certificate) absolutely terribly and then turned to me and said, "Most people get scared when I drive them cos I drive fast, but it's OK I'm a great driver." He had been doing 15mph around the village then put his foot down on the dead straight A-road which leads out of the village and went up to 88mph. We didn't travel in time but I did know he was going to buy the car so I kept shtum.

At one point he let go of the wheel and it turned slightly left. He told me the steering was broken and that he would have to knock some money off the price. I explained to him that roads have something called camber so that the rain can drain away...

After all sorts of daft tactics they bought the car from me for the price I had asked and drove it away. I settled the finance with VW and that was that.

16 hours after placing the ad, and expecting it to take several weeks to sell, I was carless.

I hadn't even thought about how I was going to pay for a new car. I had no budget, no finance.  Hmmm.

So I surfed the adverts on eBay and Autotrader. After a lot of research I decided that I wanted either a Mk5 Golf GTI or a BMW 3-series. My budget would be up to £3k but I'd rather pay less.

After scouring dozens of ads for each I realised that I could only really get a scruffy GTI for the money. Some had been modified, some had missing histories, some had dents and dings, some had rust.

There was a real variety of 3-series. There were a lot of E46s in varying specs and conditions, but an E46 feels quite old nowadays. I preferred an E90, and a 330i if possible. But 330s in both i and d form were few and far between, and generally a bit too tatty.

On the Monday morning I saw an ad for an E90 320d for sale from a dealer just two miles from home. It was incredibly cheap for a 2008. It had only two owners, a clean MOT history, full service history and new tyres all round but had racked up an incredible 198,400 miles in its ten years.

I went to see it at lunch and saw it had a few minor car park dings and the wheels had been kerbed and some lacquer on the bonnet was peeling but the interior was great and it was generally solid. The dealer had taken it as a trade in for a much newer 525d and just wanted rid so I made him a daft offer. We negotiated a little but not much and I bought it for £2300.

From one year old Golf R to a leggy 10 year old 320d in just one day. But needs must.

The 320d produces 174bhp and 258lb/ft of torque, does 0-60mph in 7.6 seconds and weighs 1430kg.

It is rear wheel drive as opposed to the Golf's four wheel drive and it is a manual rather than DSG.

I've owned the BMW for two weeks and driven it 300 miles and have been taken aback at how good it is. In some areas it is better than the Golf - a car that is worth ten times as much.

The BMW's driving position is better than the Golf's. You sit low in the BM and stretch your legs out. The E90's seats adjust almost too much. It takes forever to find the right position but when you do it feels perfect. In the Golf you're always comprised by a hatchback's shallower pedal box. In the 320d everything feels exactly where it should be but in the Golf you understand the car is designed to fit anyone of any size which suits most people most of the time but no-one all of the time.

Mind you the tech in the Golf is far superior. It has a touch screen with a satnav and digital radio and bluetooth and trip computers and all sorts of gubbins - half of which you don't use or need. It also has adaptive cruise control. The BMW doesn't have a screen at all so you need to plug in a satnav, and then you realise that a £150 TomTom is far superior to the factory VW satnav and that Google Maps on your phone is far superior to both of those.

The BMW also has the ability to play music from your phone, you just need to plug in an aux cable. And it does have cruise control, just not adaptive. And I love adaptive cruise and will miss it.

The 320's interior is ten years old but it is nicer than the Golf's. The materials used are better and the design and execution is superior, as it would be - the 3-series has always been pitched as a premium car. But it's surprising that even a ten year old car, given a thorough clean, can have a better interior than a current model.

In a straight line the R beats the 320d in every way but one. It is faster in every metric. The BM simply does not have the wow factor. It is merely quick as opposed to insanely fast. But the Golf has a much firmer suspension and a more brittle ride. Where the Golf crashes into speed bumps and hits pot holes with such a bang you are amazed the alloys don't crack the BMW soaks these things up without breaking sweat.

At nearly 200,000 miles you'd imagine the BMW would be soggy but it has new shocks at the rear and feels better than I imagined it would.

On a motorway cruise both cars are equal. Where the Golf has adaptive cruise the BMW uses 50% less fuel. Both have similar levels of noise, both have a comfortable ride and both have enough power  to cruise at decent speed.

But turn off the motorway and drive on good roads and the BMW edges ahead. Where the Golf is fast and precise like an F1 car the BMW makes you feel like Peter Brock, moving and sliding over the mountain section of the Bathurst circuit in his touring car.

The Golf feels digital where the BMW feels analogue. The 3-series' fat steering wheel and low slung seat deliver feedback the Golf can only dream of. You can feel it slip and slide just millimetres and fractions of degrees and adjust accordingly. This arguably creates a greater serotonin rush than the Golf's pure speed.

The Golf's DSG gearbox is an awesome piece of automotive engineering but the BMW's fairly average, short throw, manual gearbox delivers a better and more involved experience.

You can throw both cars around. The Golf feels precise and unflustered. It is like Ivan Drago in Rocky IV - it is unyielding in the way it always delivers and never flinches. Meanwhile the 320d, lighter by almost 100kg, with a better front to rear weight distribution, rear wheel drive and hydraulic power steering uses its advantages to greater effect. The rear feels mobile and adjustable - though I do think it would feel too light when pushed hard on track - and the front goes where you ask and when it does slip you adjust accordingly with tangible reward.

The Golf just delivers, expertly. I enjoyed it without reservation. It was great looking and felt great to be in and to drive. The tech was interesting and mostly useful and the doors made a lovely noise when you shut them.

If you avoid speed bumps, potholes and poorly surfaced roads and want to drive at 15mph around town and 90mph on A-roads then the Golf is easily the better car but for most other conditions the BMW is actually the more involving car to drive.

I loved the Golf but in the BMW I have rediscovered the soul of driving, and I hadn't even realised it had gone.

If I could have another Golf R I would but for now I am not at all unhappy with my old, high mileage, diesel BMW.

By Matt Hubbard

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The Curious Case Of The Exceedingly Hot Hatchbacks

Today's cars are not only driven by market forces but by legislation. European emissions rules have meant that our cars are lighter, cleaner, more efficient and produce more power per cc than ever before. The advance of technology, and some very clever engineering, has meant some niche cars are becoming ever more powerful. Enter the super hatch.

2015 Audi RS3

Not that long ago a hot hatch struggled to produce 100bhp from a 1.8 litre naturally aspirated engine. Turbocharging added a few more bhp but the hatchbacks on which the hot versions were based got heavier and relative performance hardly advanced.

In 2002 the Focus RS was launched - it produced 212bhp from a 2.0 turbocharged engine. In 2004 the Mk5 Golf GTi turned the clock back for VW, it was lighter and more powerful than the Mk4. The Mk2 Focus RS was launched in 2009 and produced 301bhp from a 2.5 turbocharged engine. The Golf GTi Mk7 has 198bhp from a 2.0 turbocharged engine - no more than its Mk5 predecessor.

The Golf GTi has never produced the most power of any hot hatch of its era but it's always had the most balanced chassis. The Focus RS was a torque steering monster, the Mk5 Golf GTi a beautifully supple performance car that could cock an inside rear wheel.

What's really moved things along has been the advent of four wheel drive and advanced turbocharging. Whereas 100bhp per litre used to be the peak of performance we're now on the verge of a production 2.0 engine that produces 400bhp.

A 2-litre engine, albeit one festooned with turbos and superchargers, will fit in a family hatchback replete with comfortable seating for five and a decent boot for the dog. And because the car on which it is based is a mass produced model the price is reasonable.

This is great news.

Right now about the most outrageous hot hatch on the market is the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG, in which AMG extracts a humungous 355bhp from a 2-litre engine. It'll do 0-60 in 4.3 seconds yet sips fuel at a rate of 40.9mpg. The price for all this hot hatchery is £38k so you do pay through the nose for it.

The A45 AMG behaves just like a sports car and handles better than a 20 year old supercar, although its engine displays signs of being stretched right to the limit - turbo lag is particularly noticeable from the off - and the brakes are grabby.

Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG

However five years ago those stats, including the price, would have been thought impossible by the man in the street who was looking to buy his next car. Whilst the world moves on, the car world is moving at a faster rate.

The Golf R produces a more reasonable 296bhp but is packaged such that it's an everyday useable hot hatch that happens to accelerate to 62mph in 4.9 seconds. In my review of the Golf R I said, "The Golf R is the most sensible, competent, grown up, fast, hot hatch that anyone would want. You could buy one and keep it forever, never wanting another car again. It's that good."

The difference between the Merc and the VW is that the A45 AMG sells itself as a performance car whereas the Golf takes everything in its stride. It's a calm, relaxing car that very nearly outperforms a Ferrari 360 but costs only £31k.

It's such a hit, and such a car of the people, that the waiting list is 8 months long. I would have bought one myself but am too impatient.

In 2016 Volkswagen will launch the Golf R400. Using the same 2-litre engine in the R it'll produce an astonishing 396bhp and put that power down with the latest Haldex four wheel drive system. 0-60 will be under 4 seconds, which means it really will outperform a Ferrari 360.

Volkswagen Golf R400

The newest entrant in the super hatch market is the latest Audi RS3. Available to order in March 2015 and in dealers in the summer the RS3 produces 362bhp from a 2.5-litre engine. It'll do 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds and has a top speed of 174mph.

174mph in a fancy Audi A3, which in itself is a fancy Golf, is so outrageous its a wonder some bureaucrat in Brussels isn't working out how to outlaw it.

You see, the best thing about these modern super hatches is that they are socially acceptable. The 80s hot hatches were frowned upon by 'decent' society, and stolen by so many proto-chavs that insurance premiums rose to such levels no-one could afford to run one. And because their power units have been developed at least partially as a result of increased efficiency they sip fuel.

In the not too distant future Mercedes is planning to hike the A45 AMG's power to 400bhp.

Take away four wheel drive and the competition in the front wheel drive hot hatch market is even more frenzied. The next Honda Civic Type R has 300bhp and has generated Hollywood levels of hype. The Peugeot 308 R will use the 1.6 litre 270bhp engine from the RCZ R. The next Focus RS will get 330bhp. Vauxhall, who's current Astra VXR produces 270bhp, will have a new, more powerful version out in 2016.

We live in an age where power is easier to access than at any time before. A normal family can have a 300bhp, 1400kg, sensible and sensibly priced hatchback in the drive and they won't be outed as scum by society. And it won't cost a great deal to tax, fuel and insure.

Supercars are for the rich, hot hatches and super hatches are for us ordinary folk who earn ordinary salaries. These are good times. Enjoy them. The internal combustion engine is nearing the end of its useful life.

One day we will look back on this era and think, wow they made amazing cars back in the mid-2010s.

Volkswagen Golf R

By Matt Hubbard

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Fleet - I'm Going To Sell The TT And Buy A...

I recently wrote a blog entitled 'Why Can't I Ever Make My Bloody Mind Up About Cars' in which I spoke about the car enthusiast's curse of never being able to make a decision and stick to it. Well, this time I think I have.

I've owned my Audi TT 3.2 V6 for 8 months. I said it was a keeper and, all things being equal, it should be.

But all things aren't equal.  When I bought it I was freshly single and wanted to buy a coupe that looked good - a result of which was tiny rear seats but I didn't care back then. I only needed to transport my son and the dog.

But times change and now I increasingly have a need for four seats, which is difficult in the TT.  My 12 year old son and his best friend, who I ferry about from time to time, will fit in the car but one has to squash in the back and the other has to pull the passenger seat as far forward as it'll go.

Were someone else to travel in the TT then I'd have to push my seat all the way forwards and that's just not possible for a journey longer than a few minutes. If you've sat in the back of a TT you'll know it's pretty claustrophobic.

Four of us recently drove to Germany and back in a Range Rover Sport but I can't rely on having a press car all the time. When we next need to travel four up I might have to use my own car and that won't be much fun in a 2+2 coupe.

I'm going to have to buy something more sensible.

But what?  God I've been over and over this question in my mind for ever. Not an estate - too big, too sensible, too fuddy duddy. Not a saloon - I might need to put the dog in the boot. Not a convertible for the same reason. Not an MPV - I have a soul. Not an SUV - I don't want one if it isn't a Range Rover or Volvo and I can't afford either.

It'll have to be a hatchback. Damn.

There are some good hot hatches out there but I cannot see past a Golf.  BMW 1-series - great dynamics, looks like a pig.  Audi A3 - bit too dull. Seat - if I buy VAG I'll buy German rather than Spanish. Renault - hahahaha. Alfa - LOL.

Nope, a Golf it must be. My budget will be £6k and for that I can afford a 2006 Golf GTI. This is the Mk5 and has the 2.0 turbocharged engine. It'll sit four in comfort and five at a pinch, the boot is pretty  big and at the time Jeremy Clarkson said of it, "As a driver’s car the new GTI is just fantastic."

The big man isn't always right but in this case I'm pretty sure he is.  Paul Eldred's 'Living With VW Golf GTI MK5' article for Speedmonkey is a must read for anyone interested in the Mk5 GTI. In it he says, "...the car has pretty good handling and lived up to the hype that was around when the car was launched."

The big problem I have with the Golf is that it's front wheel drive. My last few cars have been Audi TT (4WD), Porsche 924S (RWD), BMW 323i (RWD), Audi S4 (4WD), Golf V6 4Motion (4WD), Mercedes 300TE (RWD), Subaru Outback (4WD).

See a pattern emerging?

However, I think I'll be able to cope with a Golf GTI because it has such a good reputation as a driver's car. Also, I've driven an Astra VXR, Renaultsport 265 Megane and enough others to know that when the ingredients are right the car can be a great one, never mind the driven wheels.

It's a terrible time of year to sell a car so I'll wait until February, and then put the TT on the market.

Wish me luck.

If you've experience of a Golf GTI Mk5 please let me know what you thought of it.

NB - The photo is of Paul Eldred driving his Golf.

By Matt Hubbard

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Battle Of The Hot Hatches

Hot hatches are back with a vengeance. After years in the doldrums we're now awash with them.  Here are my fave five.

If you're in the market for a hot hatch here are my thoughts on my favourites. The links take you to the written reviews and the video reviews are below. They are the Volkswagen Golf R, Vauxhall Astra VXR, Audi S1, Renaultsport Clio 200 Turbo and Volvo V40 T5.

Volkswagen Golf R - Crushingly capable

Audi S1 - By god it's quick

Vauxhall Astra VXR - Manically insane

Renaultsport Clio 200 Turbo - Frantic and fun, deserves a better press than it has

Volvo V40 T5 - Proof that you can have speed as well as comfort

By Matt Hubbard

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Five Alternatives To A VW Transporter

The Volkswagen Transporter is massively popular, but what alternatives are there? Mike Armstrong investigates

Petrol heads and ordinary civilians alike cannot deny their admiration and love for the Volkswagen Camper. Particularly the T2, which has seemingly managed to cross genres and win the hearts of everyone on the planet. Even later T25 and T4 models are appreciating in value at a rate which will exclude the majority of those seeking a budget camper.

Many specialists exist across Britain who will convert just about any form of commercial-ish vehicle into a dayvan or fully blown camper conversion. Let's set ourselves a budget of £10,000 and see which vehicles would be a better alternative for the average lover of the great outdoors. Hopefully we can encourage a few readers to begin projects for next spring/summer!

1 - Mitsubishi Delica

A rather overlooked potential conversion in the UK. The Delica is a robust Japanese van/people carrier with attitude. Firstly, it will go just about anywhere thanks to the world renowned four-wheel drive system, which will be equally as effective in sub-Saharan Africa as a muddy field in Cornwall. £3,000 will buy a MK3 Japanese import with around 100,000 miles and a diesel engine. Sources suggest that a firm in Wigan provides the basic conversion starting from £4,000. In total, this reliable and indestructible Delica will cost as little as £7,000.

2 - Mazda Bongo Friendee/Ford Freda

Another dayvan/camper from Japan joins the list. The Bongo has been a grey import hit in many countries, including: the UK, New Zealand and Russia. Not many vans of the late 90's offered electric sliding doors and air conditioning as standard. Some were even specified with cooking units as an option from the factory, making one of these earlier examples preferable for a budget conversion. Furthermore, they came available in either rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive formats, with the engine situated in the middle. A mid-engine sports car it is not, however with prices around the £4,000 mark, you would be foolish not to consider a Bongo.

3 - Vauxhall Vivaro/Renault Trafic

Surprisingly overlooked amongst the camper scene. Rather unfortunate that is as these vans drive very well, are plentiful and are fairly modern for the price you pay. Conversion specialists are plentiful too, offering various different types of flatpack and custom designs. Due to their modern credentials, spare parts are cheap and specialists common. Furthermore, the diesel engines will return better MPG on a long run than the Delica or Bongo. Not bad for a van which can be obtained from around £3,000 plus conversion costs.

4 - Chrysler Grand Voyager

No, we haven't gone crazy! The Grand Voyager would make a superb camper, and this is why. Unlike most other conversions, the roofline is lower, meaning that campers can park their Voyager in regular sized car parks or travel with regular vehicles on the Eurotunnel. Also, the width and length of the interior is nigh on identical to a T4 VW Transporter, only costing a fraction of the price. Early examples can be had for under £1,000. We'd obviously recommend spending around £2,000 for peace of mind. Conversion costs may be less too, as the Grand Voyager already has windows, therefore the law does not require any extras fitted for re-classification. Similar projects could feasibly be done with the Renault Grand Espace and Kia Sedona to the same effect.

5 - Ford Transit

Britain's best loved work horse certainly makes the list. Price conscious members of the camper conversion society forever rant about how much better the Transit is than the Transporter. Indeed, with a lower starting price, the argument appears to have weight to it. Not to mention, Transits are far more common, cost less to repair and drive pretty well. With prices starting from £1,000 and rising as to your requirements, the Transit will offer a lot of camper space for your money.

So if building your own camper this winter is the ideal project for you. Take these five vehicles into account, and sleep on it to decide which you'd prefer to sleep in. Also feel free to suggest any other vehicles or feedback on your experiences via Twitter or in the comments section below.

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After Eight Attempts Volkswagen Finally Nails The Passat

VW is one of the world's biggest car companies yet its models mostly have a huge cult following.  Well, except the Passat.

The Golf has a deserved following amongst aficionados. It gave us cheap, stylish motoring and thrills aplenty, even spearheading a whole new category - the hot hatch. Similarly the Beetle, the Transporter and even the humble Polo each have a big fan base.  Oh, and I almost forgot the Scirocco which, in new and old form, has its own following.

But the Passat?  Not really. Bit dull. Bit beige. Bit errrrrrmmmmmmm.

Yet it's been around since 1973. That first incarnation was probably the most interesting looking but since then it's stuck to the tried and tested Volkswagen formula of refinement and glacial evolution in design terms.

The formula never pushed the boat out, never dazzled, never had a spark, never sung.  So over eight evolutions it altered ever so slightly as a saloon and estate with the occasional foray into boring coupe.

I owned a 4th gen Passat. It was a 110 Tdi SE estate and it was the most capable, spacious, economical and boring car I've ever owned. It was five years old when I bought it and the red paint had faded to a dull salmon pink which was representative of the character of the thing. I hated it for its sheer boringness.

Then, at the end of September, VW revealed the eighth generation Passat.  And it was a real looker.

Seriously, it looks great. VW's designers must have added a little something to their coffee the morning they came up with it. For the first time in 41 years the world has a good looking, smart, stylish Volkswagen Passat.

Well done VW.  It took eight tries but you got there in the end.

By Matt Hubbard

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Volkswagen XL Sport - It's The XL1 With A Ducati Engine

VW's XL1 costs a fortune and is slow but returns over 300mpg.  Of more interest to petrolheads will be the XL Sport which is much, much faster

Volkswagen XL Sport

VW is lucky to have a boss of the calibre of Ferdinand Piech. As an engineer he worked on the Porsche 906 and Audi Quattro and as boss of VW he bought Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche and Ducati and revived the Bugatti marque with the Veyron.

Volkswagen's XL1 is a carbon bodied, ultra-light, ultra-economical hybrid car with a 2-cylinder diesel engine.  To spice it up a bit Piech has been talking for some time about sticking a Ducati motorcycle engine in the XL1 because, well, because at his heart he's a petrol head.

The XL Sport is that realisation, and the engine isn't any old Ducati lump, it's the 1199cc wide angle V-Twin from the 1199 Superleggera superbike and it has 195bhp.  The gearbox is a 7-speed DSG automatic.

The XL1 weighs 795kg which will increase a little with the Ducati engine in the XL Sport but its power is enough to transform the car's performance. Top speed is 168mph and 0-60mph takes 5.2 seconds.

250 units will be built and the price has yet to be released. You can bet it'll sell out as soon as it goes on sale.

Volkswagen XL Sport

Volkswagen XL Sport

Volkswagen XL Sport

Volkswagen XL Sport

Volkswagen XL Sport

Volkswagen XL Sport

By Matt Hubbard

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2014 Volkswagen Polo Review

Matt Hubbard drives the new VW Polo in 1.2 TSI (108bhp) and 1.4 TDI (74bhp) guises

2014 Volkswagen Polo

The new Volkswagen Polo isn't all new as such, instead it gets a refresh with new engines, some exterior touches, new tech and electric steering.

It's as crisp and sharp to look at as it ever has been. VW's styling department has the corporate look down to a T and the Polo is modern, fresh and rather tidy looking.

The Polo has grown over the years and now looks well proportioned for the first time since the Mk2 of the 80s. More recent Polos were a bit tall and narrow looking but this has a good stance and sits well on its wheels.

The interior is similarly sensible and practical and free from design touches for the sake of it. If you've not been in a Polo for a few years you'll be surprised how big it is inside.  The rear seats can sit three adults and the boot is pretty big.

Something I found quite funny was that the armrest is exactly the same as that in the Mk4 Golf, I suppose the theorem being if it ain't broke don't fix it.  It gets in the way, as it did in the Golf, unless you adjust it so it sits at 20 degrees from horizontal, which looks odd.

2014 Volkswagen Polo

The driving position is more suited to a smaller person than I (5'10"). The seat is adjustable to accommodate very tall people but the steering wheel doesn't come out quite as far as I'd have liked, but then again neither does it in my own car.

The interior seems hardwearing and practical and it does have some nice touches, with a chrome strip on the doors and all the dials and switches look classy.

The climate controls are manually adjustable dials, which is just fine.  The 5 inch touchscreen works all the media functions, Bluetooth and digital radio etc and is easy to use. Satnav is a £700 option which, to me, is inexcusable for a car in this sector.  The sound system is loud and clear and the DAB radio reception is good.

Now onto the trim levels and engines.

I drove a 1.2 TSI petrol in SEL trim and 1.4 TDI in SE trim.  The TSI SEL is £1000 more expensive than the TDI SE but it is the one I'd go for.

2014 Volkswagen Polo

The TDI engine is thoroughly competent and is quick enough for most people who'll buy a Polo.  It is a 3-cylinder but you wouldn't know it. It has plenty of torque and the five speed gearbox is light.  Talking of light the steering in both models is amongst the lightest I've experienced. VW knows its market. The Polo is super-easy to drive.

The TSI engine has as much power as a Mk4 Golf GTI 2.0 and is just as quick.  The engine feels lively and amongst the best small capacity/big power engines on the market. It doesn't feel like a small engine, the power and torque are plenty for the 1,100kg Polo.

Neither engine is poor but the petrol TSI has more power (although less torque) and a wider spread of power.  It's also more silky smooth when it comes to low speed manoeuvres, the TDI's sharp clutch caught me out and I stalled a car for the first time in years.  The test car only had 400 miles on the clock - maybe it'll bed in over time.

Neither car returned anywhere near the claimed fuel consumption - expect 35mpg from the TSI and 45mpg from the TDI.

The steering and handling is fine, in that it's adequate without being very sporty.

The TSI came in SEL trim.  This adds cruise control, parking sensors, 16-inch wheels, aircon and a load of small upgrades. Most Polos sold will be in SE trim but the SEL is a worthwhile investment for the extra cash.

The new Volkswagen Polo is a great little car that does what's asked of it at a decent price. It may be an efficient German car but it comes with a touch of class that make it feel quite special when you're in it.

Recommended.

Stats:

Polo 1.2 TSI (108bhp) SEL

Price - £15,610

Engine - 4-cylinder, 1.2-litre, petrol

Transmission - 5-speed manual

0-62mph - 10.9 seconds 

Top Speed - 114mph 

Power - 108bhp 

Torque - 129lb ft 

Economy - 58.9mpg 

CO2 - 109g/km 

Kerb Weight - 1,135kg

Polo 1.4 TDI (74bhp) SE

Price - £14,645

Engine - 3-cylinder, 1.4-litre, diesel

Transmission - 5-speed manual

0-62mph - 12.9 seconds 

Top Speed - 107mph 

Power - 74bhp 

Torque - 154lb ft 

Economy - 83.1mpg 

CO2 - 88g/km 

Kerb Weight - 1,152kg

By Matt Hubbard

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