Volkswagen XL1 2014 Review - International

Dropping down into the XL1's ultra-low cockpit, my backside just inches from the road, the gull wing doors feel unnervingly light. It's understandable really. They're covered with 1.2mm-thick carbon-fibre reinforced plastic panels as opposed to the steel of most car doors.

I'm nervous about manhandling them, but the chirpy Volkswagen rep riding shotgun insists "Don't be like my grandma -- slam it hard!"

Shutting the door hard it slams with a reassuring thud and I'm instantly comfortable in the thin, form-fitting driver's seat, which together with the door inserts are covered in a tan carpet-like material that gives the cabin a weird 1970s sci-fi feel.

The car looks and feels like something born of the aviation world and, make no mistake, the lightweight and peculiar-looking Volkswagen XL1 is a conversation starter.

Billed as the world's most fuel-efficient car, Volkswagen claims it has a range of around 500km from its tiny 10-litre diesel fuel tank.

It's powered by an 800cc two-cylinder diesel engine married to an electric motor for a total output of 51kW/140Nm.

Sliding the driver's seat back as far as it goes, my 182cm frame finds ample leg room and after slotting the seven-speed DSG automatic transmission into 'D', I gingerly apply throttle and the plug-in hybrid moves away smoothly and silently.

Official figures claim the XL1 accelerates to 100km/h in 12.7 seconds but it feels quicker than that, its compact hybrid engine hustling the car along at an impressive clip. Particularly impressive was the car’s roll-on acceleration, moving from 80km/h to higher speeds with ease.

Top speed is rated at 160km/h and the car can drive for up to 50km in electric mode, using energy stored in its 5.5kWh lithium-ion battery. But floor the throttle and the diesel engine joins in, improving acceleration while making a fair racket. Because the cars body panels are so thin, you get a lot of ambient (road and wind) noise entering the cabin too -- even when the diesel engine turns off.

All-round vision is decent from the canopy-like cockpit, with the view through the front windscreen and polycarbonate side windows more than adequate. However, there are no mirrors whatsoever, and it takes time getting used to the side 'cameras' that beam rear vision into the cabin via small monitors in the doors.

The lack of a rear window also makes reversing is a bit daunting, even if the rear parking sensors help a bit.

The XL1 does have cruise control which is handy, but VW deemed power steering too heavy, so it was left out. Surprisingly, this last omission gives the car character, its mechanical steering providing the driver an unprocessed, almost raw connection with the front wheels. It's quite edifying to feel what the front wheels are doing so clearly.

Despite its light 795kg weight, the VW XL1 is not the most agile car. It rides on bicycle-thin Michelin tyres fitted to special magnesium wheels and though it turns corners promptly at slow speeds, at above 80km/h it begins to feel ponderous when navigating sweeping corners.

The all-aluminium suspension delivers good ride comfort and the ceramic brakes have no trouble slowing the car's miniscule mass and, generally speaking, it's an easy car to drive.

The steering wheel doesn't have any controls on its face, the central control panel has half a dozen buttons and a trio of dials to control temperature, and apart from a small LCD screen pinned to the centre of the dash, there's not much else to fiddle with.

And it all looks, well, a bit peculiar.

Appearing as a pastiche of cars old and new, the XL1 looks like a mid-'90s concept car from some angles, and an exotic sports car from others. But aesthetics are secondary to aerodynamics in this instance.

The XL1 has the lowest coefficient of drag of any production car at just 0.189Cd, which plays a big part in its claimed 0.9L/100km fuel consumption rating. By comparison, VW’s new Golf TDI BlueMotion has a drag coefficient of 0.27Cd and uses 3.2L/100km.

Stepping out of the XL1 for the first and probably last time, it strikes me that the cabin is about as uncluttered and minimalistic as you can get: there's no power windows, no power steering, no mirrors, and a tiny amount of luggage space behind the mid-mounted engine. And the whole shebang is tipped to cost around 111,000 Euros ($A159,000).

Nevertheless, Volkswagen is certain all of the cars it is building will find homes, because the XL1 is at the cutting edge of passenger vehicle fuel-efficiency. Just 200 of the aerospace-inspired vehicles will be built and only in left-hand drive, which means the green machine is unlikely to come to Australia to spruik the company's eco credentials.

Clearly the XL1 was designed to make a statement, and is a key part of Volkswagen's long-term strategy to become one of world's most environmentally friendly car-makers, given many of the car’s technologies will filter into mass-market VW models.

Although it's not the most practical car ever made -- nor the most handsome -- I had a lot of fun driving the XL1. Volkswagen’s efficiency and weight goals have seen the XL1 return to simpler mechanical solutions in some respects and if this is the sort of thing we'll be driving to reduce our emissions in the future then sign me up.

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