Volkswagen Polo news - BlueMotion makes the taxman sweat - 2008

The fiscally prudent among you will be pleased to hear that the Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion will avoid road tax thanks to emissions of just 99g/km of carbon dioxide when it goes on sale this October.

That should leave you at least £30 better off, and the savings just keep on coming as this Polo manages an average fuel consumption of 74.3mpg.

This is achieved thanks to the Polo's slippery aerodynamics and efficient 1.4-litre three-cylinder engine, complete with turbocharger.

All very enticing, but the only problem is that if you want such heady luxuries as aircon and remote central locking, you'll need to get the higher-specced BlueMotion 2.

Not only does that add an extra £850 to the BlueMotion's none-too-budget £11,995 base price, it'll also bump emissions up to 104g/km. That means you'll have to pay road tax and, to add insult to injury, VW reckons you'll get 4mpg less economy.

So the big question is: can you cope without aircon to reap the financial (and environmental) benefits? It's a decision you'll have to sweat over...