| New Diesel Hot Hatch | Citroen C2 VTS HDi |
Citroen has announced it will be using the 110bhp variant of its 1.6-litre diesel engine for the 'hot' C2 HDi VTS. This may not necessarily be the most thrilling news you might have heard recently, but when you consider the exceptional torque this baby hatch is endowed with - 192lb.ft versus the petrol VTS's 105lb.ft) - things begin to get somewhat more interesting.
Combine the modestly sized HDi engine's useful shove, smooth, quiet operation (we were impressed with this unit in the
C4 Picasso) and excellent fuel economy and we have a package most definitely worthy of note.
Citroen claims on the combined cycle the VTS diesel will achieve 64mpg; optimistic, yes, but we wouldn't bet against it achieving at least the high 50s - vital if the youngsters are to afford to 'cruise' all night. Better still, it emits only 119g/km of CO
2, which puts it in band B for tax, which will cost only £35 for 12 months, and as of next year it'll get free entry into London.
Purchase one of these before the end of this month and you'll pay the French manufacturer only £10,995 by way of the tempting introductory offer. The VTS comes pretty well equipped too, with air conditioning, traction control, sports seats and 16'-inch alloy wheels as standard. When the introductory offer expires, the price of the C2 HDi VTS will climb to over £13,000; nearly £1k more than the 125bhp petrol VTS.
The all important zero to 60 scurry will take only 9.4 seconds (0.8 slower than the petrol), and in-gear performance should better that of the petrol version. The oil burner has the petrol beaten again in the insurance stakes - it is in group 6E.
We reckon the latest addition to the C2 range is potentially a real cracker and won't be short of takers.
Richard Tanner - 3 Oct 2007