It’ll be fleet managers’ scepticism of the brand and the preference of the dealer network for private sales that keeps the GS off UK company car lists, not the 24% benefit-in-kind tax liability of its petrol engine – and probably not the car’s residual values.
Real-world economy was respectable but not good enough to give up a good diesel rival for it and not notice a penalty.
We returned a 38.4mpg average, which needed to be a bit closer to the official claim of 46.3mpg in order to make the ownership sums add up for a private buyer giving up diesel.
Plenty of buyers will plump for a £14,995 entry-level car. If they do, they’ll get manual air-con, cruise control, electric windows, automatic headlights, 60/40 split-folding rear seats, a radio with USB input, 17in alloys and a five-year warranty.
There’s no Bluetooth at this level, but most of the basics are covered.
If we were buying one we would opt for the mid-spec Excite trim, which if you have Mirrorlink on your phone will make it worthwhile, otherwise go for the basic Explore - be warned it only comes in non-metallic black or white.
