Our long-term Passat has been with Fleet News since March this year and has so far covered 8,285 miles.

A look back through our previous reviews shows it has already established its position as a reassuringly sophisticated and solid fleet performer, which ticks all the boxes for a family company car.

Something I noticed from my first trip in it was its fuel consumption.

The 10-minute journey up the A1 from the office to drop a work colleague home saw an indicated average of 64mpg. This was higher than I had managed to achieve in the Audi A3 Sportback I had been driving.

A recent trip to Millbrook to photograph the new Vauxhall Insignia gave me the chance to give the Passat a longer fuel economy test.

The journey from the Fleet News office to the Bedfordshire centre is 45 miles of mainly dual carriageway. The roads were relatively clear and the cruise control set to 65mph.

When I reached my destination, the readout was showing an average fuel economy of 69mpg; an amazing figure for a regular diesel-engined car.

Of course, that wouldn’t be achieved day to day but on my regular stop-start, part-town part-dual carriageway route to the office, the Passat is still returning a very respectable 54mpg.