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Those that drive the very staid, sedate and most of the time dull Volkswagen Passat can now pretend their car can race, with the Volkswagen Passat R-Line. This is Volkswagen's answer to those that want a Passat that looks slightly sportier than usual. It also gives current Passat owners and the people who produce those knock-off and cheap body kits how to style their dull family sedan. It gives them hope. A hope that they can look cooler even though they are driving a Passat. Of course, a Passat is still cooler to drive than a MPV. Anyway, the Volkswagen Passat R-Line is a styling exercise that gives that extra Oomph to the Passat. It features new bumpers, side skirts, a bootlid spoiler and a rear diffuser. The R-Line package also includes sports tuned suspension which lowers the Passat by 15mm and 17 inch wheel and tyre combo. The interior gets some extra embellishments - two-tone sport seats, titanium silver trim, stainless steel pedals, sill plates and a flat-bottomed steering wheel. The Passat R-Line tuning package was recently launched in Europe and will make its way to our shores soon enough. Over there, Volkswagen will offer the R-Line package on its Comfortline and Highline variants. It will cost an extra

[extract] Alright folks. More news on affordable cars for you esteemed readers to digest. Volkswagen has just launched the 140ps Polo BlueGT over at the Geneva Motor Show. The Volkswagen Polo BlueGT is the Polo that sits in between the Volkswagen Polo 1.2TSI (105ps) and the Polo GTI (180ps). It therefore is the middle child in terms of power but one that actually more economical than both its siblings. Volkswagen has basically combined its BlueMotion Technology (Stop/Start & battery regeneration systems) onto the 1.4liter TSI petrol engine found in the Polo GTI albeit with a slightly lower state of tune (140ps instead of 180ps) and the addition of cylinder deactivation system (Active Cylinder Management

Here's one Volkswagen which we may not be able to see over here in this region due to high taxes and the COE. The 5 door Volkwagen Up is actually a pretty neat 'People's Car' (which is what Volkswagen stands for) in that it provides a decent set of wheels for the general urban populace. It is set to be sold in Europe by the fourth quarter of 2012. This little UPstart follows hot on the heels of the recently launched 3 door hatchback variant. It has clever packaging and frugal fuel sipping engines that actually make it a very good city car. It has a 1.0liter petrol engine equipped with BlueMotion Technology. This means all the usual VW economy gaining tricks and stop-start function too. But as I stated, this is one Up and coming city car that we most probably will not be able to buy. It is down to economics presumably, and basically the dreaded Certificate Of Entitlement. The COE lumps eco-friendly 1.0liter cars together with cars (and sadly, taxis) 1.6liters and below. So if VW were to bring in the Up, it would have to actually be Up (pun intended) against the Polo and the Golf. And as Singapore is a small market, in-house competition isn't good especially when external competition is already pretty ridiculous as even Mercedes Benz is technically a competitor with the C-class sedans. Note that the same 1600cc and below COE is required to buy the Mercedes C class and if the COE costs SG$50,000. That would be the COE you need to pay for a truly tiny car like the Up and it isn't logical to the eyes of potential car owners. They'd rather buy a bigger car for better value of money. But I suppose most of you are already aware of this, aren't you? And therefore, there is presumably no chance of a Volkswagen Up in whatever form for people over here.