Volkswagen XL1: London Ground-breaking hybrid commuter points the way to a much more efficient future

摘要

ONCE YOU'VE SETTLED into the Volkswagen XL1's perfectly shaped bucket seat (a space-saving carbonfibre moulding) and pulled down its large gullwing door, what strikes you about this revolutionary car's instruments and controls is how normal they seem. The instruments, info screen and gearchange are as classy and familiar from production VWs as my view of London's streets through the steeply raked windscreen, bounded each side by surprisingly thin, bare metal A-pillars. When I remark on them, my passenger, a Belgian engineer called Steven, tells me VW resisted trimming the pillars because it would have added 3mm to their thickness, when thinness is the target.