The highly-successful BlueMotion line-up, representing the most efficient model in each of Volkswagen’s passenger car ranges, is set to expand with imminent unveiling of the new Sharan BlueMotion at the Geneva Motor Show next week.

The virtues that have made the Sharan such a success on the UK market – seven seats, a high level of standard safety equipment and an interior adept at handling the demands of family life – all remain.  The BlueMotion adds to the vehicle’s strengths by lowering its CO₂ output while increasing efficiency at the same time. 

Volkswagen Individual, established in Wolfsburg in 2003 to handle special engineering and design projects, worked to reduce loading on the vehicle’s highly-efficient 2.0-litre 140 PS TDI engine.  This was achieved by fitting longer gear ratios to reduce the rate at which the engine is turning, as well as adjusting the boost pressure on the turbocharger and the exhaust gas recirculation system.  In addition the location of the cooling ducts mounted on the nose of the vehicle has been revised and the ride height reduced by 25 mm, resulting in the coefficient of drag falling from 0.31 to 0.29.

The result of these modifications is a drop in CO₂ from 177 g/km to 159 g/km while economy rises to a combined 45.6 mpg.  By virtue of the Sharan BlueMotion’s 70-litre fuel tank capacity this allows the vehicle a theoretical range in excess of 680 miles.

The vehicle is fitted as standard with a comprehensive range of comfort and safety equipment including air conditioning, seven individual seats, six airbags and ABS.

The Sharan BlueMotion is set to arrive in the UK later this year and will join the existing Polo, Golf, Golf Estate, Golf Plus, Jetta, Passat and Passat Estate BlueMotion variants.  Prices and specifications will be announced closer to launch.

Golf TDI Hybrid
Volkswagen engineers rose to the challenge of creating a viable, highly-efficient family vehicle capable of emitting less than 90 g/km of CO₂ by creating the Golf TDI Hybrid concept, a car which combines an advanced 1.2-litre 75 PS diesel engine with an electric motor and the very latest generation of seven-speed DSG gearbox.  It is capable of achieving 83 mpg on the combined cycle and emits just 89 g/km of CO₂ – while around town the vehicle reverts to purely electric mode to be emission-free. 

The Passat Estate TSI EcoFuel
Marking a new era for natural gas-fuelled cars, the Passat is both a ‘mean machine’ as well as a ‘green machine’.  It features a 150 PS TSI engine which has been specifically designed to run on natural gas, and consumes no more than 5.2 kilogrammes of gas per 100 kilometres.