Vauxhall VECTRA 1.8 DUALFUEL RANGE
With Fuel Prices Spiralling Ever Upwards, Its Nice To Know That A Convenient Vectra-Sized Loophole Exists. Andy Enright Looks At Vauxhalls Vectra 1.8 Dualfuel Models
Modern motoring holds great potential for causing huge disappointment. As a nine year old, my bedroom walls were covered with posters of the
Lamborghini Countach. As a fledgling journalist, I got to drive one and emerged stunned at the fact that it was, in actual fact, an appallingly finished crock of the proverbial. Another heart sinker comes every time we get into our cars after having squeezed our plastic to straining point at the pumps, only to see the fuel gauge needle run out of steam just beyond advanced base camp.
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The
Vauxhall Vectra Dualfuel can assuage this disappointment. Its also far better built than a
Lamborghini Countach.
So what of the Dualfuel concept? Well, youll have probably noticed that an increasing number of UK garages are now stocking the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) the Vectra uses to sidestep crippling fuel bills, making it a genuinely viable proposition. With two fuel tanks, one for normal unleaded petrol and another for LPG, you neednt worry about being stranded in the middle of nowhere with no LPG equipped pumps for miles. You simply fill up with unleaded. Easy.
The whole ethos of dual fuel cars is cost saving. To this end, here come the figures. Those not of a mathematical persuasion should skip this bit. The hit in Vectra Dualfuel ownership comes up front, with a £1,920 premium asked over a conventionally fuelled Vectra 1.
8. The governments Powershift scheme allows for a rebate of around £1,400 on this outlay which will mean that the actual cost to you will be around £500.
"The whole ethos of dual fuel cars is cost saving this one delivers"
If we work on the basis that the car will cover 15,000 miles per year for the first three years of its life, then the figures produced are illuminating. If you ran your Vectra solely on petrol, youd face a fuel bill of around £1,666 per year, but if you ran solely on LPG youd be looking at £952. Bingo. Youd have recouped your outlay in one year, and over three years youd see a profit of over £2,000.
Most people do run most of the time on LPG if they go this route but even if you didnt say running two-thirds of the time on unleaded and maybe the other third on LPG there are still decent savings. Your annual fuel bill would be £1,380 which, when you factor in the increased upfront cost, works out at a net profit of around £350 over those same three years. Should you drop much below this ratio of 67%/33% petrol/LPG, the three year running figures start going against you. Whats an inescapable fact is that £10 of LPG in a Vectra will take you 167 miles, £10 of diesel goes 128 miles and £10 of unleaded 94 miles.
That cuts to the chase. In the case of the 1.8 litre Vectra, engineers have taken a comparatively clean petrol version (CO2 exhaust emissions of 184 g/km) and produced an LPG version that is even cleaner (156 g/km as opposed to 161g/km for the old-shape version), taking the car into the sought-after 14% bracket for company car drivers. This latest car is 3% more frugal too, returning 29mpg on the Combined cycle.
One of the snagging points about LPG take up has long been the issue of safety. Many drivers have felt less than secure driving about with a tank of highly combustible liquid gas in their car but modern crash testing regulations are draconian in the extreme with pressure, strength and impact testing all in compliance with EC regulations. A system of valves automatically isolates the gas tank in the event of an accident or the ignition being switched off. You do get two fuel filler nozzles but the possibility of filling the wrong tank with the wrong fuel is diminished erased by the fact that the nozzles are a different shape.
As with all current-shape Vectras, customers choose between two bodystyles (saloon or hatch) and a huge range of trim variations. If you really want value, the £17,355 1.8 Club makes sense and acts as an excellent basis for Dualfuel conversion. As well as the Club, the LPG conversion can be yours with the 1,8 16v versions of the Life, SXi, SRi, Design and Elite models all manual transmission, mind.
Otherwise, the recipe is pure Vectra. Take a
seat behind the wheel and those familiar with the larger Omega will feel at home immediately, since most of the switchgear has been handed straight down. Talking of switchgear, youll either love or hate the one-touch indicator stalk which automatically returns to the neutral position and gives three flashes if you push it to the first click. Otherwise, its all good news.
The steering wheel can at last be adjusted for reach as well as rake, the seats are comfortable and supportive and there are twin cupholders both front and back. The lack of an estate model will limit sales until one arrives late in 2003. Still, at least the hatch and saloon boast decent luggage capacity, the saloon fielding a 500-litre boot with split-folding rear seats. Cleverly, the front passenger seat also tips right forward, creating a long loading length for surf board-type items.
Does life get any better? Well, if the Vectra only had doors which swung upwards and a mid-mounted V12, you could guarantee my name on the waiting list
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 Dualfuel range
PRICES: £17,355-£21,565 on the road (not including Powershift rebate)
INSURANCE GROUPS: 7-8
CO2 EMISSIONS: [LPG] 156-160g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 126mph / 0-60mph 10.7s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [petrol] 29mpg (combined)
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 4596/1798/1460mm [4dr]
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