What on earth has happened to the price of fuel? I don’t mean to the actual price level - we’ve all read more than enough about that, thank you very much - but to the price differential between diesel and unleaded, writes Sharon Walters.
Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, diesel used to be the cheaper of the two. Then, when diesel became the front-runner, unleaded typically came in a penny - maybe two pence - cheaper.
But as demand has taken off with no corresponding increase in supply, diesel prices have rocketed off into the stratosphere leaving unleaded looking positively cheap by comparison.
At my nearest filling station, the difference is 17p per litre. That’s 77p a gallon. Nearly £8 more to fill up a modest tank for diesel drivers. Strewth!
If this carries on much longer, perhaps we’ll see a change in car drivers’ buying habits. In recent years, the market for smaller, diesel hatchbacks has become a massive industry battleground.
Perhaps price pressure at the pumps will see the petrol engine get a look-in again - with cars such as Vauxhall’s natty little Corsa sure to be fighting its corner with gusto.
I say ‘little’ Corsa, since it’s always been the baby of the Vauxhall family, having started out as the Nova before being renamed in the spirit of European unity to match its continental Opel counterpart.
But in fact it’s not so little any more. In much the same way that the latest Polo, Golf and Passat dwarf Volkswagen’s original incarnations, GM’s Corsa is following the growth trend with every new generation - with the result that people are ‘downsizing’ to bigger cars…
Whatever, there’s no denying that the Corsa is a looker. Very much in the corporate GM style, its lines swoop and curve to give a car that looks like it’s going pretty fast even when its parked.
That effect was helped on the car I borrowed - the Corsa SRi 1.6 Turbo - by sills and body skirts that lower the overall stance of the car.
And it’s not just on the outside that you’ll enjoy the view. Inside, the sporting theme continues with black-and-red cloth seats, two-tone leather- trimmed steering wheel, alloy pedals, brushed aluminium dash panel and red seatbelts.
Steering column switchgear feels particularly well put together. And a mention here too for the lovely, chunky knob on the gearstick!
So much for looks; cars are bought to be driven, and the SRi promised much. The 1.6-litre turbocharged unit produces around 150 bhp, channelled to the road surface through a six-speed manual gearbox - enough, says Vauxhall, to propel you to 60mph in 7.6 seconds and on to 130mph (but not on the M54, of course).
Performance is keen, then. And, indeed, once I got it past third gear I found it an enjoyable and flexible little beastie.
The steering felt beautifully direct, overtaking became a joy, and all was sweetness and light. The power steering has ‘variable progressive feedback’ meaning that it feels lighter at low speeds and beefs up when you really need to know which way the wheels are pointing.
Getting it past third gear was another matter. As a long-time diesel driver I found it hard to adjust to an engine that revs as freely as this one - and it really does rev free. I can’t help but think that the gearing isn’t quite right.
I found myself tempted to pull away from standing in second gear, and was selecting sixth way before I would be in my own Skoda Fabia vRS.
So, would I buy one? No, is the short answer. But that isn’t because of the gearing - I’m sure I could get used to that, and the SRi is a highly attractive package in all other respects. Except one.
Vauxhall claims that the 1.6 SRi Turbo will transport you 26.9 miles around town for every expensive gallon of unleaded that you shell out for; on the A-road and the motorway you should cover 44.1 miles; 35.8 miles in all driving. In a week’s mixed motoring (and I promise I didn’t thrash it) I got 28mpg.
I’m accustomed to getting 55mpg out of my own car. And that’s where we came in. The cost of diesel may be leaving the cost of unleaded behind on the forecourt, but until the former costs twice the latter I’ll be better off, with little performance difference.
So, it’s all doom and gloom for the Corsa then? Not at all.
There’s another version of this smart little hatchback that should be well worth a look: the 1.7 diesel. Power’s down (125 bhp against 150) but torque’s well up (280Nm against 210), so overtaking shouldn’t be a problem. And fuel economy’s way better - if Vauxhall’s official figures are to be trusted (see above).
Factor in an insurance group rating of 13 for the petrol model and 7 for the diesel, and there’s food for thought.
I have to say, I’d quite like to put the diesel to the test…
By Sharon Walters
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