Thread: Diesel Vs Petrol

Originally Posted by ghoti

I came accross this ad
in carsales.com.au that basically disses the diesels.

"For anyone who is worried about V8's V's Diesel, i have done in depth
research on this and found the following. As a general rule diesels are only
about 20% on average more efficient than Petrol's. The Diesel 3.0ltr Prado is
only 12% (most inefficient), it is cheaper to run the 4.2ltr Land Cruiser in this
case. Diesel fuel is currently 15% dearer than Petrol. Diesels are more
expensive to service. (Check with the dealer), Dearer to Purchase. There
isnt any real gain by having a Diesel, it is a knee jerk reaction to the cost of
fuel today. There slow, do not tow well, particularly at any decent speed,
there noisey and feel very agricultural."

Now, my TDV6 towed a 2 tonne boat with ease up to 110Kmh, certainly
seemed nimble around town, averaged 10l/100km (or 12l/100Km towing),
and was ceratinly comfortable.

Are the V8's really that much better, or is my suspicion of an overly
desparate seller more likely to be correct?


Cheers,
Scott

Look at the diesels he is comparing. They are antiquated Jap diesels. No wonder he says they are noisey and agricultural. Fairly tpical attidude of Oz motoring press towards deisels, and ignorance of modern euro engines though.
The TDV6 is a much smoother and quieter. I have not chosen a diesel due to economy alone. It would have made more financial sense to get a V8 when I got mine (could have got the HSE for the less than the SE TDV6) I like how a diesel behaves, the torque is better particulary off road. TDV8 would be better but that is a want not a need.

Originally Posted by DirtyDawg

Replacement for a one year old car what sort of w.....*self edited*

Is it anybody else's business? Still a free world.

I don't think it's as simple as petrol vs diesel. Some diesels are better than others and the same goes for petrol engines. You need to look at the particular make and model that you're interested in and see what's on offer. For example, the Disco3 petrol V6 is a fairly old-tech engine and (even according to official LR figures) has worse consumption than the larger V8 but many just assume that because it's smaller and less powerful it will be better on petrol.

You need to look specifically at the engines available for the car you want and go from there.

Durability wise, I'm with ozscott - the modern turbo diesels have very fine tolerances when it comes to fuel quality etc, and when something does go wrong, it's pretty expensive to put right.

Anyone who says a modern turbo diesel is slow and noisey hasn't driven one.

Thanks for the discussion folks.

I think my suspicion of an overly eager vendor may be correct. My TDV6
certainly towed well, crusied effortlessly, and sipped the fuel. I didn't have
the TDV6 long enough to comment on durability but suspect that with any
modern engine the (Fine_Tolerance + Light_Weight) x Ring_every_Kw_out =
less_durability.

Living in the hills and towing a heavy boat I was impressed how effortlessly
the diesel towed the boat (contrary to the advertisers claim that they
"do not tow well").

I think I'll stick with the oil burner!

I've got a V8 D3 and I'm happy with the purchase. Economy is acceptable. Welly is very acceptable, servicing is acceptable, etc.

I don't do enough miles for it ever to be cheaper to have a diseasel. If I was in the UK with the costs of fuel it may well be different, but given the economics of Australia today there isn't much in it.

Buy the one you want and be happy with it.

Steve

Originally Posted by jmkoffice

Why don't trucks, diesel electric trains, buses, big generators etc use petrol engines?

Is it true the Renault, Peugeot and VW diesel cars have a comsumption of around 5L/100 km? Do the petrol models have similar mileage?

Stick a modern turbo diesel car on a flat road at 100km/h and watch the fuel computer reading 3.X litres per 100km.
Thrash it and average 5.X litres per 100km.

I only own one vehicle which is petrol powered, it'll be traded for a diesel in a year or so.

Originally Posted by DirtyDawg

Replacement for a one year old car what sort of w.....*self edited*

Originally Posted by ghoti

My son put the Disco into a couple of trees, assorted shrubs and a couple of
fence posts. Fell asleep at the wheel with crusie control set at 100kmh.

Hence the need for a replacement. . .

Man, even I think that calls for an apology Dirtydawg

I have a Golf 2.0 Tdi. City use 7l/100. Highway 5L/100.
Very quiet, 6 speed DSG auto.
Great car.
Disco V8 on gas is also in my shed and looking to get a D3 or L322 V8 later.
I just love the V8. Love the sound and power.

Call me a rev head.


If we all had the same opinion on cars we would all be driving Golfs because they are as good as the magazines make them out to be.

We` are not all the same thank God and have our own opinions.

So lets all live happily ever after and as long as we have a Landy, the rest just doesn't matter.

Originally Posted by big guy

I have a Golf 2.0 Tdi. City use 7l/100. Highway 5L/100.
Very quiet, 6 speed DSG auto.
Great car.

Got the same Golf great car, really flies. First one I got was a lemon and they had to replace though.

Have two diesels Golf 2.0 TDI and the D3. Modern diesels give you tractable power very easy to drive.