Citroen C2 1.6 HDi VTS
New warm hatch diesel C2 launched
Designed for economy and low emissions
C2 1.6 HDi VTS priced from £13,495
Any boy racer worth his salt will know that the letters VTS mark out Citroen's hot hatches from their more sedate counterparts. Or at least they did.
Citroen has ripped the revvy 1.6-litre petrol out of its C2 and slotted in a grumbling 1.6-litre diesel in its place.
That means the VTS drinks a lot less fuel and carbon dioxide output plummets, but, unsurprisingly, so does performance.
Warm, not hot
In truth, the new diesel VTS isn't really a hot hatch at all. It's still nippy, but the steering is lifeless and there's a lot of body roll. Without the petrol's pace, the C2 is a warm hatch at best.
Citroen is aiming the diesel version at younger drivers. So, the drop in performance will be made up by lower insurance costs, and owners will pay just £35 a year for a tax disc.
What's the diesel VTS up against? On performance and economy, the Fiat Grande Punto 1.9 Multijet Sporting and Vauxhall Corsa 1.7 CDTi SXi are probably its closest rivals, but they're bigger and better cars.
Priced itself out of the market?
So, it's not great, but at least it's cheaper than its rivals, right? Far from it.
Citroen has priced the new VTS at £13,495 - you could buy a diesel Volkswagen Golf for that. More to the point, it's only £700 less than a Mini Cooper D.
Not only is the Mini Cooper D a better car in almost every respect, it's also the cheaper option in the long run.
The C2's rock-bottom resale values mean it will be worth around £4700 after three years, whereas the Mini will be worth close to £8400.
Even taking into account the bigger discount you can expect from your Citroen dealer, the Mini should save you around £500 over three years when all bills are accounted for.
There's better out there...
If you do enough miles to require a diesel, and want something sporty, there are plenty of better cars out around - and they'll cost you a lot less to buy and own.
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