This is the latest Volkswagen Golf Bluemotion – a true hybrid-challenger which sticks with tried and tested diesel technology but has numerous tweaks to improve its green credentials.

The results are staggering. Average fuel consumption of 74.3mpg and CO2 emissions of 99g/km were figures achieved with crazy concepts a few years ago – now they’re possible in a family car.

For those who don’t like to wear their green on their sleeve, the Golf Bluemotion is the perfect antidote to the look-at-me-saving-the-world Honda Insight and Toyota Prius.

In fact the Golf looks quite sporty thanks to its lowered suspension, aerodynamic bumpers and side skirts for lower drag.

The subtle nature of the Golf Bluemotion’s approach is exactly the same on the road. You won’t find any Eco buttons or pictures of flowers growing on the instrument display, and you can’t download your driving habits onto a USB stick.

What you do is just get in the car and drive it like you would any other model. The only tiny difference is a small arrow and suggested gear displayed in the trip meter.

Get in the right gear

Choose the gear the car tells you and Volkswagen claims your economy could improve by as much as 20 per cent – a more significant increase than any of the mechanical tweaks.

Fitted with the latest 1.6-litre diesel engine, the Golf Bluemotion has 104bhp and 185lb/ft of pulling power and accelerates from 0-62mph in 11.3 seconds.

Power builds smoothly and consistently, with less of the all-or-nothing turbo-shove of many earlier diesel engines.

There’s no performance penalty with this green model, and we easily overtook some slower-moving trucks and cars on our German test route.

More refined

Refinement is impressive too. The previous 1.9-litre Pump Duse Golf Bluemotion suffered from diesel-clatter at idle and low speeds, especially when it was cold.

In comparison the new engine is silky smooth, only becoming more vocal at high revs.

So what are the miracle tweaks which make it possible to drive almost 900 miles on a single 55-litre tank of diesel?

As well as the obvious aerodynamic tweaks you can see, flat panels under the car make it even more slippery and low rolling resistance tyres get you down the road as efficiently as possible.

The gears have been selected for the best economy, and you’ll find even a motorway cruise requires low rpm.

Stop at a set of traffic lights or in bad traffic and the engine will turn off momentarily until you need to pull away again.

Regenerative braking technology uses kinetic energy produced by deceleration to charge the battery, and then disengages to reduce load on the engine for maximum efficiency.

The trim level of the Bluemotion is equivalent to the Golf S model, but also includes hill hold, 15-inch alloy wheels, ‘cherry red’ rear lights and chrome grille louvres.

Diesel or hybrid?

While the latest Toyota Prius is a tour de force of hybrid technology, with low fuel consumption and emissions worth shouting about, the Golf Bluemotion is the consummate all-rounder.

It will be a great fit for drivers who want all the cost-cutting benefits of a green car, with the normal driving experience and ownership experience a Golf brings.

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