Verte Tempest

March 2002

As any avid soap watcher will be able to verify, saloon-derived pick-ups are big news Down Under, but since the demise of the Sierra-based Ford P100 they've been virtually extinct here.

Newly founded company Verte, a subsidiary of AC Cars, is hoping to change all that. The Tempest XLS is Australia's best-selling motor, where it's known as the Ford Falcon. However, to pacify the US car giant's European lawyers, Verte has peeled off the blue oval badges and put on its own. It has also converted the car to run solely on LPG - a first in Britain. The company is giving the same treatment to the Falcon XR8 saloon before the end of the year. It'll be powered by a 5.0-litre V8, feeding 268bhp through the rear wheels - which sounds like a real gas.

There's certainly no questioning the benefits of LPG in a vehicle such as the Tempest. We averaged 17mpg, but at 38p a litre that's the equivalent of 31mpg using petrol. Filling up is fiddly, but out on the road the car feels little different, because the newcomer was designed to be able to use gas.

Its 4.0-litre straight-six develops 192bhp and has an impressive torque figure of 369Nm at only 3,000rpm. But that doesn't mean the XLS is a sporting drive. Rear leaf springs and wallowy front suspension make handling ponderous, while overlight steering and a dead brake pedal do little to inspire confidence. The four-speed auto box displays lazy, clunky gearchanges and indecision when cruising. This car is for blasting across the outback with a full load of sheep, not country lanes.

That said, it's reasonably pleasant inside. The cabin is neatly trimmed and well laid-out. Some of the minor controls feel plasticky and the heater takes a while to warm up, but supportive seats, excellent standard equipment and a thumping stereo make up for it.

The Tempest's biggest bugbear is its impracticality. Two seats and little cabin storage mean it's not ideal as a car, while poor ground clearance, no load bay security and a shallow flatbed limit its commercial use. It's best on a sunny beach with surfboards in the back - a very rare sight in Britain, as we expect the Tempest will be, too.

It's difficult to see the point of the Verte Tempest, although It proves LPG fuel can make gas-guzzlers a practical option. But the car is too big and impractical for the UK, and there are better alternatives for the price. A novel idea, but it's not convincing.

At a glance

*Verte Tempest XLS is on sale now, priced

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