henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
Nothing wrong with diesel, better than namby pamby petrol!
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Nothing wrong with diesel, better than namby pamby petrol!
proactive
Enjoying a drop of red.
shoes
Well-Known Forumite
Having owned a dozen or so petrol cars and this being my fifth diesel I have to disagree. Diesel is slow, noisy, smelly, boring to drive, requires changing gear way too much in towns, too heavy, and the 1.6 TCDi Econetic engine is not what it's cracked up to be - 50mpg average is pretty poor considering my colleague who has the 1 lire 3 cylinder engine is achieving over 60mpg in the same car, with less noise, better power delivery, more power and generally just better.
As we're trialing the 1 litre I can't have one at the moment, although I have been led to believe that they will soon be furnishing me with something even more boring and even more diesely
Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt
Well-Known Forumite
Having owned a dozen or so petrol cars and this being my fifth diesel I have to disagree. Diesel is slow, noisy, smelly, boring to drive, requires changing gear way too much in towns, too heavy, and the 1.6 TCDi Econetic engine is not what it's cracked up to be - 50mpg average is pretty poor considering my colleague who has the 1 lire 3 cylinder engine is achieving over 60mpg in the same car, with less noise, better power delivery, more power and generally just better.
As we're trialing the 1 litre I can't have one at the moment, although I have been led to believe that they will soon be furnishing me with something even more boring and even more diesely
We seem to have gone off track a bit!
For my two penneth I would say look at your usage.
Petrol is best for: Shorter journeys (where public transport is not appropraite just to keep Henry and his cat happy) and an annual mileage of say less than 20K a year. Modern petrol cars are pretty much as efficient as diesel equivalents in these circumstances and of course petrol is cheaper to buy at the pump in the first instance. Also purchase price of petrol cars tends to be lower and servicing/maintenance cheaper
Diesel is best for: Longer journeys and an annual mileage in excess of 20K a year. I certainly wouldn't entertain a diesel for an annual mileage anything less than 15K a year. Diesels have a longer overall lifespan and can go longer between service intervals. They also pull better if you have a shed you drag about in the summer or have other towing needs.
Resale values are often better, perhaps linked to the greater lifespan
shoes
Well-Known Forumite
Apart from towing (which petrols do fine really) the rest of your arguments for diesel don't really ring true, particularly when comparing modern engines. Diesels have much much more to go wrong, dual mass flywheels, particulate filters, thrust bearings, highly strung turbos, fuel pumps and common rail injection.... for reliability and working on it at home I'd take a petrol any day of the week.
I imagine it's pretty tense for most putting their diesel car through it's first MOT, the DPF filters can give in easily within three years of use giving all sorts of hilarious readings at the fast idle test.
Resale values reflect the higher purchase cost of the diesel version of a car from the dealer.
Even the accountant at work has chopped in his diesel for a petrol car, which speaks volumes in my opinion.
I imagine it's pretty tense for most putting their diesel car through it's first MOT, the DPF filters can give in easily within three years of use giving all sorts of hilarious readings at the fast idle test.
Resale values reflect the higher purchase cost of the diesel version of a car from the dealer.
Even the accountant at work has chopped in his diesel for a petrol car, which speaks volumes in my opinion.
Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt
Well-Known Forumite
Again I wouldn't disagree. I think the main test comes down to mileage. If you do a lot of mileage then go diesel. If you do mainly short trips and less than 20K a year then its petrol everytime.
Every other test shows that there is actually very little between the two on things like consumption etc.
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
monkey bidness
Well-Known Forumite
Oh dear,my innocent quest for enlightenment seems to have opened the proverbial can of worms. Until recently all of my private/personal vehicles have been petrol powered. I have also owned 6 diesel-powered commercial vehicles (vans, actually) which their drivers strove mightily to break. Almost everything on these vehicles did buckle, bend and even break under their onslaught EXCEPT the diesel engines. These splendid donkeys soldiered on and the 4 Mercedes engines each passed 250,000 miles with only routine ( but REGULAR) service.
Now, in the twilight of my motoring years, my personal transport is a relatively small vehicle powered by a 2 litre diesel. I don't want to become embroiled in an argument about who can piss higher up the wall (apologies to any female readers ), but apart from agreeing that you you have to make frequent recourse to the gears in town traffic I find the power more than adequate in open road and Motorway driving and don't break put into a sweat when overtaking on back roads.
This thread does seem to have strayed from Topic...
Now, in the twilight of my motoring years, my personal transport is a relatively small vehicle powered by a 2 litre diesel. I don't want to become embroiled in an argument about who can piss higher up the wall (apologies to any female readers ), but apart from agreeing that you you have to make frequent recourse to the gears in town traffic I find the power more than adequate in open road and Motorway driving and don't break put into a sweat when overtaking on back roads.
This thread does seem to have strayed from Topic...
henryscat
Well-Known Forumite
Currently have a two litre diseasal Golf which does astounding mpg. My record is 83mpg on a trip to Minehead. Achieving 60mpg on shorter distances and 70mpg on longer is pretty easy. When required it has a great deal of welly. Previously had a 1.6 diesel Volvo C30 (ie a Ford) and before that a 1.6 diesel Fiesta. Both were really good motors and could get 60mpg+ out of both. Can't say the Golf needs a lot of gear changing in town, the gears have fairly insane ranges on them.Having owned a dozen or so petrol cars and this being my fifth diesel I have to disagree. Diesel is slow, noisy, smelly, boring to drive, requires changing gear way too much in towns, too heavy, and the 1.6 TCDi Econetic engine is not what it's cracked up to be - 50mpg average is pretty poor considering my colleague who has the 1 lire 3 cylinder engine is achieving over 60mpg in the same car, with less noise, better power delivery, more power and generally just better.
As we're trialing the 1 litre I can't have one at the moment, although I have been led to believe that they will soon be furnishing me with something even more boring and even more diesely
My other diesel is an 8 cylinder English Electric...
The previous point about air quality is a difficult one as far as urban air quality goes, but if the majority of your journeys are longer and mostly out of town it's one to take on balance I guess.
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
A man in the queue for spuds said that he was expecting 1,200 homes to be built in Great Bridgeford.
So that's a deffo
So that's a deffo
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
Just a few fields, sure it's more lucrative than selling everything to tesco for almost no profit. Farmers are laughing now, they own all the land. Just need the council to agree to let them build on it.
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
"About 23 hectares " said Kiki
..or the land the runs alongside the B5405 to Ladfordfield
..or the land the runs alongside the B5405 to Ladfordfield
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Glue Lorry Avenue