THERE is an old saying that goes: 'you don't have to be mad to work here, but it helps'.

Well, in Fleet News' case, you don't have to be a car enthusiast to work here, but it helps. And so it was that a group of us were discussing cars the other day. One member of the discussion is an ardent petrol-head who thinks the sun shines out of Alfa Romeo's proverbial bottom.

Quite right, we all agreed, some of their cars are, indeed, potent little devils which exist to be thrashed. But this aforementioned gentleman also said that German cars were, in the main, dull.

Mmmm. A bit of a sweeping generalisation there, I thought. And after considering his point, I thought some more. While I can't agree that they are dull, German cars are so reliable and do everything so dependably that it is hard to get excited about them.

It is very much the case with our long-term Volkswagen Bora - it has that desirable VW badge, rock solid build quality and residual values, is comfortable, well-equipped and is returning more than 55 miles per gallon.

It may not deliver driving excitement by the bucketload, but as a cost-effective fleet car, the Bora is hard to fault.