Volkswagen launches its diesel hot hatch... as an estate

VOLKSWAGEN’S Golf GTD – essentially a diesel-powered version of the GTI hot hatchback – is being sold as an estate for the first time.

Yes, on the face of it it's not exactly the raciest of prospects - a diesel estate car - but it does combine two ideas I've already expressed an admiration for; the idea of a diesel-hauled Golf GTI, and the performance load-lugger. It looks great too, so hopefully it'll be as much fun to drive as its eco-mentalist moniker suggests.

Prices have yet to be announced, but expect it to be slightly more than the £25,285 the smaller Golf GTD hatchback costs.

It’ll be available to order from April, with the first cars arriving here in June.

Alpina D3 - the diesel saloon to outrun a sports car with

A car claimed to be the world’s fastest production diesel has just been launched in the UK.

The Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo, to give it its full name, might look to casual observers like a BMW 3-Series but this tuned and turbocharged saloon and estate – which has been BMW’s full official backing – pumps out 350bhp. Despite being powered by a turbodiesel engine it can get from 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds before reaching a top speed of 173mph, meaning it can outrun most of today’s hot hatches and sports cars.

The D3 Bi-Turbo is available as either a saloon for £46,950 or as the Touring estate version for three grand extra. Despite being classed as a car manufacturer in its own right, the Alpina is available through BMW’s dealer network, with a full BMW warranty.

Find out more at the Alpina BMW website.

VW Golf GTD - a Genuinely Tantalising Diesel?

IF you’re the sort of driver who wants hot hatch thrills without the annoyingly frequent stops to fill up then this new Golf could be a great contender for your cash.

VW are wryly saying the GTD badge on this latest version stands for Genuinely Tantalising Diesel and it’s easy to see where they’re coming from, because this £25,285 model offers up the same sort of punch and poise as its petrol-fuelled GTI cousin, but with an extra helping of economy thanks to it using a 2.0 litre turbodiesel engine.

Admittedly it’s not as fast as a Golf GTI – the dash from 0 to 60mph takes a second longer and the top speed is 142mph to the GTI’s 153mph – but you get more torque for when you’re overtaking, and more miles for your gallon when you’re not. Go-faster family hatches which fill up at the black pumps aren't exactly a new idea either - VW's sister brand Skoda, in particular, has carved itself a bit of niche when its Fabia vRS intially came along as an exclusively diesel-propelled pocket rocket.

With petrol prices forever threatening to surge past £1.40 a litre the torquey thump you get with diesels is becoming ever more tempting. Sure, you won't get the soundtrack or the rev-happy playfulness of the GTI, but you get mid-range wallop and the smugness of knowing you're winning on the economy front.

The Golf GTD, which commands a £310 premium over its predecessor, arrives in the UK later this year but is available to order now. Go to VW’s website at www.volkswagen.co.uk if you’re a grown-up boy racer frustrated by spiralling fuel prices.

Tell everyone not to panic buy and that's exactly what they'll do

LAST week's panic over petrol was like something out of a film. Specifically, a scene out of Patriot Games, one of my favourite films of all time.

If you haven't seen it, and - like me - you prefer your films with car chases and explosions aplenty, then I urge you to go out, get a copy on DVD and enjoy Harrison Ford shooting at Sean Bean. Because, amid all the IRA-themed action, there is a message which serves as a bit of a bizarre metaphor for panic buying petrol.

In one particular scene Ford's character, the jaded ex intelligence agent Jack Ryan, gets paid a visit by a CIA boss, who's popped round to his house to let him know that a gang of Irish paramilitaries are a bit peeved off with him. The boss says it's nothing to worry about but Jack Ryan, being the quintessentially American action hero, works out that being told there's nothing to worry about is the something to be worried about. It's pyschology. Tell people there's nothing wrong and almost always they'll assume the opposite.

Which is why all you Jack Ryans out there, having been told not to panic buy petrol, immediately went out and bought loads of petrol. You were told to top your tanks up. You were told not to panic buy. Do NOT panic, they said. Yet the more you mention the word panic - even when it's preceded by the word “don't” - the more ingrained it becomes in your mentality. Cue the queues spilling out of every petrol station for miles around, and all this because of a strike that hadn't even been confirmed. People were brimming their tanks en masse at £1.45 a litre, a scenario made even worse because the Twitterati - a shadowy group connected with events going back as far as last summer's riots - were turning the panic volume up to 11. As soon as you even mention panic buying, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

With the local elections coming up I'm not allowed to get political and blame the Government. In the run up to polling day I'm not allowed to point out that David Cameron told you not to panic buy. Or that he did suggest everyone went out and topped their tanks up, just to be sure. Or that Francis Maude admitted telling everyone to bring their jerrycans and stock up on fuel was a mistake. This is a Champion blog and, naturally, we couldn't comment. Other than to observe that lots of you have been out panic buying at petrol stations.

Panic buying petrol. Panicking about people panic buying petrol. Just panicking in general. Don't do it. Please?