Volkswagen XL1 review, test drive

The VW XL1’s sole reason to be is to go as far as possible on a litre of diesel. Hormazd Sorabjee drives this extraordinary car.

Published on May 31, 2015 04:35:00 PM

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Make : Volkswagen

Model : XL1

100 kilometres per litre. No other road-legal car can take you that distance or so cheaply on a litre of fuel; which is why Volkswagen’s super-streamlined XL1 is proudly tagged the ‘1-litre car.’ We all know about the ‘1-lakh car’ that established the Nano as a global benchmark for frugal engineering, but the XL1 – which costs many lakhs (74, to be precise, and that’s without customs duty) – has a different agenda. For a company that produces something as OTT as the Bugatti Veyron, the XL1 represents the other extreme. It’s Volkswagen’s, or more specifically, Ferdinand Piech’s way of showing the world that it can do Green better than anyone else. The XL1’s sole purpose is to burn as little fuel as possible and deliver a carbon footprint the size of an ant.

Because it’s a diesel hybrid, it’s cheaper to run than any bike, including the Hero Splendor iSmart which boasts a 100kpl-plus but sips pricier petrol. But before you get too excited about the XL1’s running costs, which are almost free in comparison to an Alto, there are a few things to consider. First, you would have to drive around 5,00,000km to recover the price difference. ◊ ∆ And, even if you can afford to get one, for an estimated Rs 1.5 crore with full customs duty paid, there’s the small matter of finding one.

VW made only 250 units, and they are all gone into the hands of some very rich and green owners. So, what’s the point then? It’s true the XL1 is old news (it was launched in 2013), but it’s still very much the future of motoring, which is why we are here at VW’s home in Wolfsburg to have a go in one.

There’s enough visual drama in the XL1’s shape to rival a supercar, and every bit’s been honed to cheat the wind.

In the sprawling parking lot used by thousands of Wolfsburg’s employees, it’s easy to miss the very tiny XL1, which is lower than a Lamborghini, narrower than a Nano (to reduce frontal area) and shorter than a Polo. But once you approach it, the space capsule-like shape has a visual drama that can rival any supercar.