By
EWAN KENNEDY
12 June 2006
Holden has become the first of the local car makers to introduce a
turbo-diesel model to its range. Thus going head on with the European
marques that seem to be importing new diesel variants almost by the day.
Europe is, of course, the home of the
diesel engine as high petrol prices have been the norm over there for
decades. So it makes sense for Holden to have turned to Europe for its
turbo-diesel engines. The engines come from Holden’s Euro partner Opel
and have been installed in the latest series Astras over there since its
launch in 2004.
Note the use of the plural in the term
engines, because Holden, somewhat confusingly, uses two different
diesels in the Astra. The first is a twin-cam unit of 1.9 litres and is
used exclusively with a sporting six-speed manual gearbox. It produces
110 kilowatts, and 320 Newton metres at 2000 rpm. This is priced at
$29,990 plus on-road costs.
The other engine has the same 1.9-litre
capacity but uses a simpler single-cam design so its power peak is only
88 kW and top torque is 280 Nm, between 2000 rpm and 2750 rpm. This
engine is mated to a sophisticated six-speed automatic transmission and
has been selected by Holden in order to keep the car’s price down to
$31,490.
Thus the price premium for the auto is
only $1500. Had the more expensive engine been mated to this
transmission the chances are the auto option would have been about $2500
higher, perhaps even $3000.
Holden also reasons that a person buying
an automatic is less likely to be of a sporting nature than the owner of
a manual and therefore not chasing the extra performance the 110 kW
engine provides.
Only five-door hatch variants are being
imported at this stage, though we may see Astra turbo-diesel station
wagons later if the hatches take off in the sales race. The Astra CDTi
turbo-diesel is virtually identical to the upmarket petrol Astra CDX,
featuring automatic air conditioning, alloy wheels (to a design unique
to the diesel), front foglamps, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and
cruise control, as well as numerous little luxury touches go give it a
pleasant look and feel.
Safety items included ABS brakes, an
electronic stability program and six airbags.
The fuel efficiency of diesel engines is
well known and officially measured figures to Australian standards
indicate the manual car will use 6.0 litres per hundred kilometres and
the auto 7.4 litres per hundred when tested on the combined city/country
program.
We’ve driven both variants of the Astra
turbo-diesel and came away impressed with the minimal turbo lag and
excellent amount of torque provided. Overtaking is simple if you use a
reasonable amount of anticipation and the on-road noise and vibration
levels are almost as low as those of a petrol Astra.
Only at idle is the engine obviously a
diesel, with that distinctive clatter that betrays the
compression-ignition motor. It’s certainly not obtrusive and you will
probably learn to tune the sound out of your consciousness.
Incidentally, this isn’t the first
Holden diesel passenger car. Diesel engines were fitted to some Geminis
between 1981 and 1984 as a response to the fuel crisis of the late
1970s. They used a 1.8-litre engine and were rather crude by today’s
standards. But they were tough and long lasting and we know a couple
that are still doing sterling service today with about a zillion
kilometres on the clock
The Astra offers a huge array of choices
and is important to Holden, as it’s the company’s biggest selling
vehicle after the Commodore. The addition of turbo-diesel models to the
lineup puts it at the forefront of alternative fuels amongst local
marques and it will be interesting to see buyer attitude to these new
variants.
