American motor companies are reluctant to become involved in passenger car diesel engines. In that land of cheap fuel, diesels are still regarded as being powerplants best suited to trucks, engines that really don’t have a place in passenger cars. 

The Australian arms of the American companies tend to take the same point of view, though there are some turbo-diesel engines as options in their product range. Generally these are imported from the European branches of the American marques. 

One of the exceptions to the diesel rule is the recently introduced Holden Epica CDXi. It joins the European Astra diesel in the Holden range. That car has been selling reasonably well, though most buyers are still choosing petrol powerplants. 

Until now one of the biggest features of Holden Epica has been its six-cylinder engines. That gave the car a lift with many buyers. The six-cylinder advantage has gone as the new turbo-diesel engine is a four-cylinder powerplant. With a capacity of 2.0 litres it produces 110 kilowatts, and 320 Newton metres at 2000 rpm and is typical of powerplants in its class.  

The engine’s characteristics are further enhanced by the Epica having a modern six-speed automatic transmission sitting alongside it.

 Torque is there for the asking, but you have to wait for what at times seems like an eternity for the engine to get beyond its turbo-lag stage. Put your foot down to try and dart into a just-big-enough space when turning onto a busy road and you are likely to be embarrassed, and even abused, until the Epica's engine finally makes its mind up to get up and go. 

Fuel economy and lower emissions are the two main reasons for choosing a turbo-diesel engine. Epica will usually use about eight to nine litres per hundred kilometres around town and that can easily be dropped to six to seven litres per hundred on the open road. Try hard and you can get down to the mid fives. 

There's a price premium of $2000 for the diesel engine. Take into account also that diesel fuel is significantly more expensive than petrol when making your decision between petrol and diesel. 

As is the way with all modern four-cylinder diesels, Epica's powerplant is relatively noisy while idling, but quiet when on the move. When asked to work it has a purposeful note that keen drivers will like. 

Holden's Epica has a reasonably good feel on the road, though stepping out of a Commodore Sportwagon immediately beforehand somewhat spoiled the Epica for us. The Aussie-built Commodore has such an excellent sporty feeling on the road that just about anything else in the affordable car range feels on the ordinary side.

Having said that, the Epica, which received some Australian engineering input into its chassis setup, has good stability and handling dynamics that will suit most owners. Road grip is high but we found the steering to be on the light side. That is until you push the car hard, when the steering loads up in a somewhat ungainly manner. A more gradual change from light to heavy would have been appreciated. 

Epica is a large car, indeed it’s almost as big as the VE Commodore. Interior space is slightly disappointing given that it’s a front-wheel-drive car and we feel there should be more rear legroom. Unless those in the front are willing to give up a bit of seat travel the back seat is probably best left to children up to their early teenage years. 

Ride comfort is generally good, though some rough surfaces can knock the car about a bit at times. Noise levels are generally good, particularly on smooth surfaces such as motorways. There's not a huge increase in interior sound levels when the car is running on coarse-chip surfaces.

 Primary safety is excellent as Holden has specified ESP in all models. Secondary safety is also high as Holden has opted to provide six airbags in every car. The upmarket CDXi also gets rear parking sensors to keep track of things left behind the car by kids, as well as to make slotting into tight parking spots simpler. 

Holden's Epica is a well-specified car at a modest price and deserves to be towards the top of its class in the new-car sales race. Yet buyers haven’t taken to it with any real enthusiasm. The introduction of this new turbo-diesel model may go some way towards lifting the car in popularity, let's wait and see what happens. 

AT A GLANCE

MODEL RANGE
CDX 2.5-litre petrol four-door sedan - $27,990
CDX 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-door sedan - $29,990
CDXi 2.5-litre petrol four-door sedan - $30,990
CDXi 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-door sedan - $32,990

FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: Standard in all models
Automatic Transmission: Standard in all models
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Standard in all models
Dual Front Airbags: Standard in all models
Front Side Airbags: Standard in all models
Stability Control: Standard in all models
Traction Control: Standard in all models

SPECIFICATIONS (Holden Epica CDX 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-door sedan)

ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.991 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Head Design: SOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 17.5:1
Bore/Stroke: 83.0 x 92.0 mm
Maximum Power: 110 kW @ 4000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 320 Nm @ 2000 rpm

DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Not offered
Automatic Transmission: Six-speed
Final Drive Ratio: NA

DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4805 mm
Wheelbase: 2700 mm
Width: 1810 mm
Height: 1450 mm
Turning Circle: 10.8 metres
Kerb Mass: 1452 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 65 litres
Towing Ability: 700 kg (1200 kg with braked trailer)

SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Independent, multi-link, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc

PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: NA
Standing 400 Metres: NA

FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Type: Diesel
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 7.6 L/100km

GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 6/10
Air Pollution Rating: 5/10

STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km