Originally Posted by
TB
To clear out a DPF the exhaust temps need to rise above 600°C for a sustained period of time. This is hard to do in city driving, which is why the general recommendation is to jump on a highway and drive an hour before turning around and heading home, at least every fortnight or so. Ideally make that trip worthwhile for some reason other than maintaining your exhaust system :)
City driving is also the kind of driving that creates more soot to clog the DPF in the first place.
High exhaust temps are one side-effect of very efficient combustion – extracting maximum thermal energy from the fuel. Engines would run like that all the time if it weren't for the fact that those same high temperatures cause nitrogen gas to also burn and create nitrous oxides that are enemies of human health and atmospheric stability. So while clearing the DPF you'll also be chewing through the AdBlue that gets sprayed into the exhaust post-DPF to neutralise those NOx's.
So it's up to you: if you can't see yourself routinely cruising down a fast-moving highway at least a few hours a fortnight, that would be a point in favour of the P400.