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Love is a slow needle
FILLING a car with fuel has never been the high point in my motoring.
The novelty of having my first car, putting £5 of petrol in the Mini and heading to the beach in Bournemouth for the day and with enough fuel for the rest of the week was quick to wear off.
But how I'd love those days to return when putting a fiver in the tank took the needle well over halfway! Now of course modern cars can easily handle £70 of fuel at a fill-up - more than some old cars are probably worth.
And while a fill-up can take only a few minutes out of my day it's still an achievement to get just another journey out of a tank or avoid the filling station for another day.
I'm not quite taking it to the extremes of coasting down hills and removing shoes to ensure a lighter touch on the accelerator but I have been known to run the car until the onboard computer goes way past the zero miles to empty.
That was never a good move and something which always seems to make me a little hot and uncomfortable - a feeling which should of course be avoided with regular fill-ups - but I never learn.
But my face certainly does light up at the moment when something nicely fuel efficient arrives to test and this week that honour has been courtesy of the Volksagen Jetta. It's almost a forgotten model in the Volkswagen stable despite massive worldwide sales. We often consider the Golf as king but the Jetta with the relatively new 1.4 litre TSI engine is both good to drive - and great at keeping me out of those fuel stations.
Launched at the end of last year to replace the 1.6 litre FSI the Jetta SE 1.4 litre with the six-speed manual gearbox costs just under the £16,000 mark.
It produces more power and torque than its predecessor yet has reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions.
And it's all down to a hard- working but sophisticated turbocharger - and driving this car on long motorway journeys or on country roads its impressive power and performance belies its small engine.
But it's not just the fuel economy which is well over 44mpg that I liked - in true female style I loved the vibrant red colour but overall the practicality of the car won me over.
There's comfortable seating for up to five and a huge boot which is great for those looking for a spacious saloon car.
It also looks good with stylish but not dramatic lines and inside I love the dashboard layout and the usual Volkswagen feeling of a good solid, well-designed car, built for a driver but just as comfortable for passengers.
But most of all I love to see how slowly the fuel needle drops!
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