I followed an Alfa GT in to work today, and noticed it was an oil burner. Seeing how the Fabia vRS is seen by some as an odd proposition being a diesel hot hatch (OK, warm hatch ), I thought I'd do a bit of web grazing to investigate further as a diesel coupe seems even more bizarre!

Performance-wise it seems pretty good - the 1.9l diesel engine puts out 150bhp and 305Nm, whereas the 2.0l petrol puts out a little bit more power (165bhp), but a lot less torque (206Nm). So for the most part, the diesel is probably a better driving proposition. But then I got to the biggest surprise...

Diesel owners sometimes get stick from petrolheads for being tight fisted, but before now, you could be safe in the knowledge that your diesel car cost you more in the first place, so the only way that the 'skinflint' argument would stand up was if you did mega-mileage. However, the diesel GT is the cheapest unit in the first place, so it would cost you less to start with, and keep on costing you less.

So all in all, it seems a pretty decent proposition, but it does beg the question - if the Alfa GT diesel is the cheapest of the bunch, and isn't too compromised on the performance front, why is it a) diesels are still seen as poor performers, and diesels from other manufacturers are usually more expensive. A cut-price Fabia vRS straight away please, Mr Skoda!

If they still use the 5-cylinder JTD diesel, that engine's a bit of a beast. Sounds like an Audi Quattro when you wind it up!

Phil