IF anyone out there remembers some of the diesel saloons we had on offer in the early 80s you can hardly blame them if oil power is not the natural choice for their transports of delight.
The diesels of that era were smelly, noisy, heavy and positively agricultural. They took about a fortnight to dawdle from rest to 60mph and they always cost far more than their much more acceptable, petrol powered stablemates.
Diesel power became the Cinderella of the industry and was, for a long time in the development doldrums. But over the horizon things were happening in a big way and common rail technology and turbocharging transformed the diesel engine almost overnight into an impressively accelerative, comparatively silent and supremely economical engine.
Most manufacturers now field common rail diesels in their ranges and some of the latest versions are now options in the important Vectra range from Vauxhall.
I've been driving one of the favourite Vectras, the very sporty-looking SRi which is available powered by Vauxhall's new 1.9CDTi ECOTEC diesel engine.
This engine places a whole new slant on Vauxhall performance driving. The 120bhp unit provides a 0-60mph acceleration figure of 10 seconds, give a maximum speed of 124mph and a combined fuel economy figure of 49.6 mpg.
Coupled to a six-speed gearbox this Euro4 compliant engine is a sparkler and add it to the SRi formula of lowered sports suspension, front air dam,and a massive list of creature comforts and you have a state-of-the -art sports saloon that can stand comparison with some much more expensive competitors.
The test car was a superb shop window for some of the latest advances in the Vauxhall range. The Vectra as a whole has a new driver-focused outlook with a chassis that just asks for enthusiastic driving.
It comes with a range of technical features previously found only on premium and executive class cars. Especially praiseworthy is the electronic stability programme which places this competitive saloon in the fast lane of driver appeal.
FAST FACTS
Vauxhall Vectra 1.9 CDTi SRi
Price: £18,790
Mechanical: 120bhp, 1,910cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 6-spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 124 mph
0-62mph: 10.5 secs
Combined mpg: 49.6
Insurance group: 11
CO2 emissions: 154g/km
BiK rating: 16%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles