Our view on new Polo

Increasingly the decision on which car to buy is driven by cost: not just the initial outlay but how much you spend on fuel and taxes of one sort and another.

So a car which can achieve, according to official figures, up to 90mpg is bound to make headlines.

Step forward the latest, sixth generation Volkswagen Polo with a choice of five petrol and two diesel engines which are up to 26 per cent more efficient than those they replace. All meet the latest, most stringent European exhaust regulations.

To hammer home the point, even the most powerful version to date, with 150Ps of power and a 0 to 62mph sprint time of under eight seconds, can still average almost 60mpg and costs just £20 a year to tax.

The headline-grabbing 91.1mpg is the 'extra-urban', or country run, figure for both the new 1.4 turbo diesels rated at either 75 or 90Ps of power. Both can AVERAGE 83.1mpg, and do over 70mpg around town.

In fact all the new engines are so frugal they're in vehicle excise duty band A (you pay no road tax), or B (the cheapest rate) thanks to CO2 emissions as low as 88g/km, which will also bring a smile to the faces of those paying company car tax. And there are still two even more economy-orientated Bluemotion models to come, on top of the current range which starts at £11,100.

The new Polos are only fractionally bigger than the fifth generation cars, but they have grown in stature. They have additional safety, comfort and entertainment equipment which has filtered down from VW's bigger, and, even on the cheapest version, an interior which exudes quality.

The new front end, with new lights and larger, lower air intake, seem to have been inspired by the eye-catching looks of the sporty Scirocco. Inside there are big, comfortable seats and high gloss black trim around the cabin.

At the centre of the dash is a colour touch screen controlling the trip functions, sound system with digital radio and CD, and hands-free phone connection. All but the basic models get air conditioning as standard.

The £11,100 entry-level S model is a three-door (five doors cost £630 more) comes with a one litre, 60PS petrol engine. It's not built for drag-racing from the lights with a 0 to 62mph time of 15.5 seconds, but it holds its own well in open road traffic without becoming noisy or harsh.

It feels relaxed and competent, and thanks to positive steering and a stiff chassis (primarily a safety feature) its handling is sharp and precise. The steering is nicely weighted and there's a slick five-speed gearbox.

Its official economy figure is a little over 60mpg. Step up to the 1.2 litre turbocharged petrol and you have more power (90Ps) and cut nearly five seconds off the 0 to 62mph sprint, for only a marginal sacrifice in fuel.

VW, and other manufacturers who followed the example, uses these small capacity, turbo charged petrol engines (called TSI in this case) to give power when you need it, better economy when you don't.

In spite of the power, torque and performance increases, the 90PS 1.2 TSI returns virtually identical fuel economy and CO2 emissions figures as its one litre stablemate.

Maximum pulling power is available from (for a petrol engine) a very low 1,400rpm, so in normal driving you're mostly in the 1,400 to 2,000rpm band. That mean's it's even quieter, is ready to pull away more swiftly when you need to, needs less gear changes and, of course, you're not using so much precious fuel. There's a 110PS version of the same engine, obviously with more torque as well as power.

It makes the decision on whether to go for diesel or petrol more difficult. The 1.4 litre diesel versions are more expensive (the cheapest is only available in SE trim and above, from £14,645) and you pay a few pence premium on every litre of fuel you buy. But you do get more miles per gallon (83.1 average with either the 75 or 90PS versions) and a tax saving as the CO2 rating for both is an exceptionally low 88g/km and there are few cars which can beat that.

The 0 to 62mph sprint times are 12.9 and 10.9 respectively, with plenty of low speed pulling power whichever you choose.

The top of the range model (pending the launch of the GTi) is the 150PS BlueGT which uses a 1.4 litre version of the petrol-powered TSi engine. Its vital statistics are impressive: 0 to 62 in 7.8 seconds, 58.9mpg and 109g/km of CO2: and these latter two are even better if you opt for the seven-speed DSG automatic instead of the six-speed manual. The BlueGT prices start from £17,710.

The designers of the new Polo placed a great deal of emphasis on safety starting with the car's structural rigidity, particularly around the passenger cell, to significantly reduce the risk of intrusion in the event of a crash. It is also packed with the sort of hi-tech safety systems once only seen in much bigger, more expensive cars.

The new Polo's looks have been sharpened up without chasing trends, which means it won't go out of fashion as quickly as some. That's important for customers thinking about VW's legendary second-hand values. But it's what's happened under the skin which is the real news: even safer, better equipped and with some of the most efficient engines available today helping to keep costs down. With power outputs from 60 to 150PS, and insurance rates from a low 7E up to 24E VW has guaranteed its second best-selling car will have wide appeal from the youngest to the oldest drivers.

Drivers can also choose from the ultimate economy runner to a hot hatch. And there's more to come, with Bluemotion and GTi versions on the cards by the end of the year.

By John Griffiths