According to Chris MacGowan, chief executive of the Retail Motor Industry Federation: “The Internet is a serious business opportunity for manufacturers and dealers. It will provide an excellent way to increase sales for dealers and manufacturers.”But it is the buying public who need to be convinced, and there are signs that more of us are using the Web, as a Steve Holder in Norwich told me “I saw the Saab I was after on Autotrader’s site one night. I rang next morning, drove 200 miles to Country Durham and bought it on the spot. Without the Internet, I would never have known that the car existed.” www.autobytel.co.uk www.virtual-showroom.co.uk www.motortrak www.exchangeandmart.co.uk www.autotrader.co.uk. If history repeats itself, VW’s new Bora will not be a showroom hit. Neither of its Golf-based predecessors, the Jetta and Vento, had much impact on the UK market. They were seen for what they were – booted versions of the Golf, rump-heavy mutations that lost out aesthetically in the metamorphosis from hatchback to saloon.

If history is bunk, the Bora should shrug aside these past failures. The new car is much more attractive and cohesively one-piece than its frumpy forebears. To describe it as a three-box Golf would be to sell it short. Apart from a new nose-job and flared wheelarches, it is nine inches longer and that much sleeker than the hatchback that spawned it.
According to VW, the Bora is a cut above the Golf and a rung below the foot-longer Passat. In effect, it is a mini Passat, costing something in between the bracketing siblings that share much of its running gear.Unlike Ford, which sells the rival Mondeo saloon and hatchback at one price (ditto Vauxhall with its Vectra twins), VW charges a premium for the Bora over the Golf.

On balance, it is justified even though the saloon is innately less versatile than the tailgated hatch, and nothing like so roomy in the back as the spacious Passat saloon. If you need ample knee room in the rear, say for lanky teenagers, the Bora is not your car. If you don’t, the big-booted newcomer will satisfy most peoples’ carrying needs, especially as the luggage deck can be extended by folding the (lockable) rear seats.As eye-catching as it is substantial in appearance, the Bora comes across as a quality product that, even by Wolfsburg’s high standards, seems exceptionally well finished. With justification, VW makes much of the car’s durability (the body is fully galvanised and guaranteed for 12 years) and safety (front and side airbags are standard on all models).But VW is on dodgier ground when promoting “sportiness”. Oh yes, the Bora handles neatly, steers precisely and takes corners securely.

The manual model also has an exceptionally crisp and idiot-proof gear change, which encourages indulgent shifting. Switches click precisely, and the classy instruments glow blue and red in the dark. Pay a little extra, and you can have all sorts of toys, satellite navigation included.Dynamically, the Bora is a tidy, smooth-riding mover and a confidence booster Ergonomically, it is hardly flawed For comfort, it is in the four-star bracket. But sporty? Not as I understand the word’s meaning in a smile-inducing context. The VW Bora is certainly a very good car, but it is no more uplifting than most of its rivals in the medium-saloon sector.The 1.9TDi 110 diesel on test has virtually the same all-out performance as the sweeter 2.0 petrol, if not the flagship 2.3 V5.