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Genetically Modified

Sotiris Vassiliou takes a sample of GM's brands...

It is a sign of the times that Vauxhall’s parent company, General Motors has suspended press car loans to Inside Motoring. Fortunately, a day of testing within GM’s clan of Chevrolet, Vauxhall and recently sold Saab was arranged. Bit of background in a world in flux: Rick Wagoner, former Chief Executive of GM was ousted by Barack Obama and bankruptcy reorganisation plans will be submitted for a leaner GM. Saab is owned by Koenigsegg and Hummer has been offloaded to the Chinese so times are a changing.

What better way to distract yourself than to reach for the keys to the Corsa VXR, a 1.6 turbo transmits its torque through the front wheels as well as the steering one! On an empty driveway leading up to Crewe Hall hotel, I floored the throttle to see the steering wheel twitch to the right which is undiluted torque steer. It is detectable on roads under heavy acceleration, is subtle but in no way unruly. That is left to the exhaust burble and pop when the turbo stops spinning that can alarm the public as I witnessed on an industrial estate, when workers downed tools to discover the melee that was the VXR’s cry. This sub-brand will be tagged to the back of the new Insignia, such is its credibility. Inside Motoring tested a range of Insignia 'Sports Tourers', from a 1.6 Turbo that felt sprightly and lively to a serious 2.8 V6. The design emulates the Mazda 6’s with tapered glass and a low-down sporty driving position that impedes vision, together with the obligatory A-posts. The clamshell-shaped tailgate opens to reveal, what at first glance looks like a recently-swallowed Fiat 500 as there are also fixed lights on the body when the tailgate is open. A tunnel-like entrance widens out, yet I question whether it will fit any dimension of white goods, after heaving it over a high bumper. Despite this, it beats its predecessor volume-wise. I eavesdropped on a conversation involving one Vauxhall Press Officer who stated that the Insignia outsold the Mondeo in March this year, no bold claim bearing in mind that sales are relatively flat. ‘Sports Tourer’ supercedes the hardy label of ‘estate’ with fewer of the practicalities. Despite this, it should keep the Griffin’s head above the waterline. A tweak to freshen up the brown dashboard vinyl is in order, reminding me of the roof of the gawky Viva, and the mechanical handbrake (an electromagnetic one is fitted to the most expensive model) is too close to your body to use comfortably if you have long arms, like me.

I echo what I wrote at the end of my 9-3 review; Saab has been treated unfairly and needs encouragement. Biofuel engines with every model should ensure that it is at the forefront of environmentally-responsible motoring, if more people knew about it. Combine this with agile chassis’ that create a sporting drive should be successful ingredients. The 9-3 XWD has all-wheel drive and proved its worth on wet roads towards Shavington. It felt sure and supple and was, in my opinion, the second-best drive of the day after the Corsa VXR. I hope its new guardian treats it responsibly.

Chevrolet was my last drive, not that I have much experience of driving them. I took a Captiva SUV for a spin. It was crude, from the sliding pigeon-hole shutter to conceal the Sat Nav to the wallowy ride and loose gearchange. I aborted the ride in the other Chevy, a conservative-looking saloon whose name evades me.

An interesting day that highlighted, to me, at least, that Chevy has work to do on engineering and styling their larger cars for the UK market. I would chop that dead wood to increase fresh shoots of growth, that of the VXR brand and Insignia.

Identity crisis

Niche. I like the sound of that word although the meaning and marketing of it constantly changes in today's fickle economy. Get it wrong and you are stained with a blotch that always remains, as depreciation testifies. Take the gargantuan Volkswagen Phaeton. Well-engineered and innovative although with the arrogance and presumption to step on the toes of the Audi A8, despite being within the same group. PSA Peugeot Citroen have collaborated, as manufacturers increasingly do, with Mitsubishi's Outlander to produce its first Sports Utility Vehicle called the 4007, or the Citroen C-Crosser sibling.

How anyone can style a car based on their pussy is beyond me as Peugeot continue to justify their appearances based on an "elegant, feline style." The toothy, gaping grille is plainly out of proportion as is the badge slapped on the edge of the bonnet. How can a cat compete with a lion? Enough said.

I am assuming the 4007 is more of an SUV than the stated "off-road capability", however our £25,945 top-spec GT came with 20 inch gangster alloys and fake chrome sports exhaust that projects the wrong image. Despite this, a shroud of snow over Manchester allowed me to test that 'capability'. Turning a dial from 2WD to 4WD enabled me to accelerate away from traffic lights with no wheel slip or spin as turning force (torque) is shared between both axles. Another click engages 'lock' which transfers 1.5 times more torque to the rear for acute inclines and there is a cross member across the engine bay to stiffen the body to reduce flex, thus supporting its off-roading pretensions.

On tarmac, the big Pug does not lumber in corners although steering and road holding do feel distant. It may be the fault of those inappropriate low profile tyres which were scuffed, I admit, on a concealed kerb to swipe one rear alloy. Those wide tyres do generate roadnoise, together with a new 2.2 HDI engine that is designed to operate on a 30% concentration of biodiesel fuel and evolved from the successful and continuing partnership, between Peugeot Citroen and Ford. This engine is the only option offered by Peugeot (Citroen offers an identically-priced diesel although with petrol variants) and offers a worthy compromise between 156bhp of power for accelerating and 285 lb/ft of torque for towing. Fuel consumption of above 30 is respectable but would reduce to the twenties when seven bottoms are seated.

Toggles are pulled to retract the child seats at the back and a lower tailgate that can support 200kgs, drops flat for easier loading, or an area to sit on when you change into your boots. A massive volume that managed to swallow a VW front door from my brother's abused 3-door Polo, is created with all seats folded, but the rear wheel arches protrude significantly to narrow the width. The middle row of seats can also be slid back to increase legroom provided those child seats are unoccupied. Despite being a relatively tall vehicle of 171 centimetres, the tailgate opens at an acute angle thereby risking a clash with your head as you load. £1620 will install a multi-tasking screen that will show what is behind as reverse is engaged, with border lines to demarcate the size of the 4007, making it is easier to judge whether you can fit into that parking space. Of course, this novelty can also direct you, as it changes into Sat. Nav. mode which refused my input of postcodes. An information button to monitor mpg readings is hidden, misplaced behind the wiper stalk and door mirror adjustment and window buttons are not lit up, something I also noted on the Mazda CX-7. Also, I could not initially understand why the 4007 continued playing the maudlin music of the late Jeff Buckley even though I had ejected the CD earlier. Spooky.

This is a credible first attempt by Peugeot even if Citroen's Crosser has a cleaner nose job although the hardy Pug should be chosen without that fake sports exhaust and those pointless sports wheels of the GT. It would then be more of an off-roader and not a bling mobile which is so passe', don't you think?

Are you a smart driver?

Sotiris Vassiliou dons sandals and realises how environmentally-friendly he is...

I am a bit sceptical about all this global warming malarky. I mean, I do not dispute that it exists as the hole in the ozone over Antarctica proves. It is just this hell-bent obsession with carbon dioxide emissions is just that; an unproven model that MAY enable the world’s temperatures to be altered by a reduction in carbon output. Recently, I was listening to a discussion about the 'greenhouse effect' on BBC radio and one caller ridiculed the assumption that we could alter the climate by reducing carbon emissions. He added that the biggest 'greenhouse' gas in the atmosphere was water vapour, understandable because there are clouds. I thought it was a coherent explanation, abruptly cut short by the presenter.

Anyway, this was in the back of my mind as I parked my sixteen year-old Audi by a fleet of Ford Focus Econetics as I am about to embark on the Smart Driving Challenge. "115g/km" displays the stickers down the sides of the cars, or £35 in car tax per year which is band B for the layman. Fair comment, but what about the energy used in their production and that involved in the possible scrapping of the previous car? Driveline, with the backing of the Energy Saving Trust have their instructors ready to advise motorists on how to get more miles out of their gallons. Now, I think that I am au fait with this as I recently had training with the Institute of Advanced Motorists and passed, first time.

We move off and the instructor observes my usual driving on a set route and offers me tips such as changing into a higher gear as soon as road conditions are suitable. This Econetic is a 1.6 diesel that will increase speed in fifth gear on a level road with no throttle, such is the high torque availability. Of course, in traffic and built-up areas, this could prove dangerous if a pedestrian suddenly walked into the road as that forward momentum would make it more difficult to react to any possible danger. Efficient driving seems to be about planning ahead to see whether you need to brake or change gear and to regulate or 'feather' the accelerator. I was accustomed to this but switching off the engine at temporary traffic lights seemed over-zealous, to say the least. The Focus Econetic costs £17,495, £250 more than the 'normal' 1.6 diesel and has a fuel consumption (according to Ford) of 65.6 mpg on the combined cycle compared to 62.7 respectively. Other tips that I gained from my training were to coast in gear, well before a red traffic light, so as to 'catch' them when they changed to green by watching the other traffic lights at the adjoining junction. On my second Econetic drive, I achieved an overall mpg figure of 52mpg, an improvement of 8 on my previous run but nothing compared to a rumoured high of 70mpg! Did he propel himself via methane emissions, a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2, gained through a hearty helping of beans? I digress. The 'smart driving' boffins calculated that I achieved an annual saving of £620 or 668 litres of fuel and 1549 kgs of CO2 HAD I driven efficiently in the Focus Econetic, as on my second run, compared to my archaic Audi.

So, was I swayed into exchanging my Audi keys and a substantial wad of dosh for the Green Econetic machine? In a word, no. Apart from depreciation of a new motor which could cancel any savings on fuel compared to my Audi, 'smart' driving is dependent on driving style, as we have just proven. You may have a swanky new 'clean' motor but you may still drive it like little Lewis and that is assuming that this whole global warming debate hinges on carbon emissions.