The streets today are full of diesel-powered hatchbacks, at least around these parts. But all that torque and economy cannot really be taken for granted, without taking a look at the earlier equivalents from 30-odd years ago. What was it like to pootle around in a clattering hatch in the early ’80s?
Funny thing is, for some cars the diesel option was the best engine in the range, one that injected some life into an otherwise lacklustre old model. Such a car was the Talbot Horizon, a weird amalgam of Chrysler Europe and Peugeot development history, and made here in Finland using some Saab partsbin components and painting processes. The new-for-1982 XUD9 diesel made it viable again.


The other engines in the Horizon range were 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5-litre OHV petrol motors from older Simca products. They weren’t the smoothest running units even when new, so it’s perhaps not exaggerating to say the diesel was the most pleasant sounding engine you could find in the Talbot.

This Dutch-language brochure scan mentions the 65-horsepower 1905cc diesel as achieving 4,5l/100km at a steady 90km/h, which translates nicely to 52 mpg. It could reach a 156 km/h top speed, and it was available as a 5-speed. The 1.3-litre engine had the same horsepower, but it drank more – and the 83-horse 1.5-litre one was mentioned to gulp down almost 10 litres per 100km at 120km/h and town driving.

Of course, the ageing Horizon didn’t have long to live at that point. Manufacturing in Finland ceased in 1985, and the Peugeot parent company shelved the Talbot marque, replacing the Horizon with the somewhat comparable 309 model that had been conceived as the Talbot Arizona. It used a number of 205 parts, including doors, and the XUD went on to live in both models as well as plenty of other cars until 2001.

 

What brought the Horizon GLD to my attention? Well, there’s a very cheap example for sale locally, for only 400 euros. It’s patinated, but also inspected and road legal. Wouldn’t it just be the perfect tin can for long summer holiday drives?