By Ian Dooley

It's tough in the company car market these days. If you're not being told to downsize for the greater good of the company, you're on the receiving end of some seriously wallet-harming taxes. And whatever you do, don't mention the price of fuel.

Getting creative in order to maintain a decent standard of transport, be it on purely selfish grounds or in order to get your job done properly, has never been more important.

And car-makers are getting their collective heads around the problem, too.

Volkswagen's BlueMotion sub-brand is one such example. Instead of producing cars crammed full of super high-tech hybrid, or other such expensive, technology to deliver disproportionately modest gains, the guys with the engineering degrees have opted for a different and simpler approach - why not make the existing technology more efficient?

And that's what they have done. From the popular Polo to the fleet favourite Passat and family-friendly Golf and Golf Plus, attention has focused on reducing waste energy and streamlining - sometimes literally - a car's performance.

In the case of the Passat, the end result is a car capable of delivering solid real world performance alongside sensible economy and CO2 figures.

You can't expect the Passat BlueMotion to be able to pick a fight with a hybrid car such as a Toyota Prius, but it does turn in a thoroughly respectable 151g/km CO2 rating and an official combined economy figure of 49.6mpg.

Such figures are usually the exclusive domain of much smaller cars. But this Passat boasts a re-tuned 1.9-litre diesel motor and slick-shifting five-speed manual gearbox. The former will be familiar to many VW fans, and while the on-paper figures don't look terribly exciting, out on the road the Passat has no trouble keeping up with the traffic around town.

The same is true on the motorway - likely to be the car's natural habit in the hands of the typical company car driver.

Though the absence of a sixth gear might disappoint some, fifth offers a sensible balance of low-revs economy motoring and overtaking urgency when conditions allow.

In essence, the various gains have been made by re-tuning and recalibrating in a host of areas.

Lowering the car's ride height a fraction - 15mm front, 8mm rear, has no doubt helped, while the addition of low rolling resistance tyres is a popular choice of eco-centric engineers.

And yet, for all the various changes, this Passat drives no different from a regular, non-BlueMotion, car.

It is possible to detect a slightly firmer ride on rougher roads, but otherwise the overall experience could not be more straightforward.

That is until you look at the car's trip computer, displaying fuel economy figures you could only dreamt of a few years ago. And this is all without even trying - put your mind to it, drive sensibly and considerable savings are possible.

If that all sounds a little far-fetched, it Is not meant to be. This generation Passat might present a more upmarket image, but its modest fuel-sipping character is genuine.

Extraordinary performance aside, the rest of the Passat BlueMotion is, well, like a Passat.

The standard equipment list is long and comprehensive, including cruise control, a split-fold rear seat, climate control, a full suite of electronic safety aids and airbags plus speed sensitive power steering and a decent audio unit.

Bringing itself fully into the 21st century, options include a full colour sat-nav system, reversing camera and hard drive for music storage plus MP3 player connection.

There really isn't a catch with this car - it's smooth, refined, well-equipped and doesn't disgrace itself on the open road. A useful addition to Volkswagen's line-up, this particular Passat is an affordable mid-size family or company car for anyone needing space for people or belongings in a conventional saloon shape.

At a time when motoring is unlikely to become cheaper any time soon, such a car offers the prospect of economical motoring without the need to radically change your driving or lifestyle.