Let’s buy a green car…

…then ruin it.

I’ve just been reading a review of an environmentally friendly VW Touran Bluemotion SE 1.9TDi MPV.

No particular reason except the fuel consumption of the 1.9 TDi engine is posted in the margin as 52.3 mpg on the combined cycle. I can imagine a few of the industry people lobbying government on biking issues and repeating the increasingly inaccurate “bikes are greener than cars” claim will be reading that and wincing!

Interestingly, VW have squeezed the extra 4.5 mpg out of this 1.5 tonne vehicle over the standard Touran. They’ve done this with a combination of modifications to the engine management system and gear ratios, making it slightly lighter, and aerodynamic improvements involving radically smoothing the undertray, lowering the whole vehicle slightly to reduce frontal area and filling in some of the “cooling” vents in the front grill which are clearly only there for styling purposes.

Anyway, what amused me about this review what that the author, having banged on at length about the green credentials of this vehicle, then points out that if you have the rear two seats down to make it a full seven seater then there’s virtually no luggage space.

So what does he suggest? Fit roof bars and a roof box.

That’ll do for the aerodynamics and the improvements in fuel consumption, then!