Economy petrol v diesel, is there much difference anymore?

[955i]

Given the higher price of diesel compared to petrol, is there really a reason to choose diesel cars from an economy point of view anymore?

 

And given the improvement in petrol engine reliability, is there even a valid argument that diesel engines should last longer?

 

Looking at a new car and was choosing diesels for the above reasons, but thinking about it not sure it makes much odds.

 

What are your views?

[maxus77]

unless you do 30k a year I think the figure is now then prob not worth it

 

 

diesel cars more expensive to buy, fuel obviously and servicing usually higher cost

check the depreciation rates on both, insurance also

Edited April 6, 2013 by maxus77

[maxus77]

sure I read in next few years diesel v petrol price gap is predicted to increase

Edited April 6, 2013 by maxus77

[washerboy]

my altea 1.6 tdi eco does roughly 50 mpg on a good day, but start doing motorway speeds 70 + and im lucky to get 40 mpg.

im tempted to try a petrol car next feb when i trade mine in, cheaper to fill up and 45 mpg should be do able

[neil82]

biggest problem with diesel`s that I see in work are the cars with a DPF that are bought by people who want mpg`s over anything else and drive them like farts on a sunday outing trying to get 99mpg out of it, not realising that driving it that way will lead to the filter blocking up big style, unless you do big miles buy a petrol car, initial purchase price is lower, fuel cheaper and less to go wrong, not much difference in mpg as well

[fergie]

i have just changed from petrol to diesel I had a 1.8 16v zafira it was doing 30mpg £80 to fill it every week , I now have a 1.6 hdi 206 sw its doing £55 mpg and costs me £60 every two weeks doing the same journey

[HDAV]

 

i have just changed from petrol to diesel I had a 1.8 16v zafira it was doing 30mpg £80 to fill it every week , I now have a 1.6 hdi 206 sw its doing £55 mpg and costs me £60 every two weeks doing the same journey

Big car to small car.....

[Livefast123]

I'm stuck in the same delemma, what do I replace my ageing Golf GTi with...........a VAG group TSi petrol or a VAG group diesel.........I do around 15000 miles a year.

 

The Golf petrol has managed 200,000 miles with ease and I wouldn't change it but with another little one on the way i'm afraid that i'm going to have to get a people carrier or a softroader.

 

Get rid of DPF's and the choice would be easy!!

[fergie]

Big car to small car.....

yes the car is a little smaller granted but it still saving me £150+ a month

[HDAV]

Good saving one thing is the newer stop start engines make a huge difference to mpg in real terms. If you are driving in traffic petrol with stop start would be my choice.

[Lord Geordie]

I had a 1.2 Vauxhall Agila returning 39 - 43 mpg

 

After costing a fortune in engine repairs and still under 50.000 miles I got rid and bought a 1995 old school 1.8 vauxhall Cavalier. That returns 50 mpg so 7 mpg improvement over a MODERN fuel efficient engine? Yeah right

 

It is scarey to see just how many NEW cars pass me rattling away because the valve guides have worn out.

 

Introducing and then increasing the level of Ethanol isn't helping matters either as Ethanol eats through the old rubber fuel lines.

 

Supermarket petrol is either LOW in lubricant and additives and in a lot of cases devoid of it. This causes excess fuel consumption and premature wear to engine components. I found a Shell garage local to me that is as cheap as the supermarkets.

 

Around the 2000 mark the EU interfered in car manufacturing and insisted that the manufacturers made more efficient engines. They did this by changing the metals used for Pistons etc. Reading between the lines the new pistons are a lighter alloy and designed to expand when they warm and as such are a looser fit than old school pistons. The pistons in my Agila ended up wearing the cylinder walls oval because they were cut away to leave the crown of the piston but no walls.

 

I don't think Modern engines will last as long as the old ones, but perhaps thats the plan?

[bobt]

dont be fooled by the mpg figures the manufacturers give out, look at the mpg figures the magazines get on roadtests, diesels will probably do 80% of the claimed, most petrols will do more like 65%.

 

dont forget a bigger engine can be more economical, my company A3 2 litre tdi returns mid 60s mpg, one of the lads at work identical car but 1.6 litre turns in 50 mpg on a good day, its underpowered so needs thrashing.

I had a 1.6 petrol A3 as a courtesy car recently, (mine in for a service) it was gutless and did 30mpg over the day, 120 miles total, had to fill it up at lunchtime when I assumed half a tank in the morning would be enough,

[washerboy]

one thing is the newer stop start engines make a huge difference to mpg in real terms....

 

dont think it does in my view, my car has it fitted and unless town drying makes no difference .also if heaters blowing or aircons on it doesnt work.

totally pointless in my eyes.

[Albert 888]

looked into this see below

 

30mpg petrol car doing 10000 a year cost £2100 at £1.40 a L-1 gallon is £6.30

 

50 mpg diesel car doing 10000 a year cost £1350 at £1.50 a L-1 gallon is £6.75

 

On this basis you would save £750 in fuel buying a 50 mpg diesel over the 30 mpg petrol

 

every 10mpg better a diesel is on 10000 a year you save £375 a year.

 

Diesel turbo's have more bhp and torque also easier to tune for power and fuel economy on a rolling road.

[maxus77]

looked into this see below

 

30mpg petrol car doing 10000 a year cost £2100 at £1.40 a L-1 gallon is £6.30

 

50 mpg diesel car doing 10000 a year cost £1350 at £1.50 a L-1 gallon is £6.75

 

On this basis you would save £750 in fuel buying a 50 mpg diesel over the 30 mpg petrol

 

every 10mpg better a diesel is on 10000 a year you save £375 a year.

 

Diesel turbo's have more bhp and torque also easier to tune for power and fuel economy on a rolling road.

 

 

now add the purchase price, servicing costs and job done

 

agree with HDav alot of 2.5l cars can be better than cars with too small engines when it comes to larger carss

[OddJob]

looked into this see below

 

30mpg petrol car doing 10000 a year cost £2100 at £1.40 a L-1 gallon is £6.30

 

50 mpg diesel car doing 10000 a year cost £1350 at £1.50 a L-1 gallon is £6.75

 

On this basis you would save £750 in fuel buying a 50 mpg diesel over the 30 mpg petrol

 

every 10mpg better a diesel is on 10000 a year you save £375 a year.

 

Diesel turbo's have more bhp and torque also easier to tune for power and fuel economy on a rolling road.

That's very useful thank you.

[Albert 888]

now add the purchase price, servicing costs and job done

 

agree with HDav alot of 2.5l cars can be better than cars with too small engines when it comes to larger carss

Not sure on service charges between diesel and petrol but it will be minimal if you do it yourself,granted a petrol will be cheaper than a diesel to buy. if you get an old diesel you can use veg oil ,heating oil,old engine oil,red and probably a lot of other cheaper fuels than diesel.

 

That's very useful thank you.

It could be a bit out,but not much,worked it out on nights at brew time.

[Will Poon]

My opinion is it depends upon the make and model of the car, I have a diesel car but the equiviant petrol version is dearer and has slightly less power off the mark.

[pimpkiller]

first thing to do is look on parkers.co.uk to find the manufacturers claimed mpg figures for each model that will start you off as a rough guide as to what to compare, then when you find some contenders look up owner reviews on the internet to get a better idea.

 

the actual difference in diesel price isnt much when its a few pence and a litre is near £1.50 you just have to make sure the diesel will do a couple more mpg to compensate. A diesel car will generally have a much lower road tax and last longer IF you keep it. If you are going to buy new then sell it after a few years and dont do mega millage dont bother, you will lose all that money not even taking fuel into account.

 

Whenever ive had a petrol car ive exceeded the manufacturers mpg figure but the diesel ones seem to be pure fiction to me especially small capacity ones under 2 litre, yeah they can do 60mpg in a lab but on the road you need to rag the turbo all the time.

 

What sort of car are you thinking of?

[HDAV]

one thing is the newer stop start engines make a huge difference to mpg in real terms....

 

dont think it does in my view, my car has it fitted and unless town drying makes no difference .also if heaters blowing or aircons on it doesnt work.

totally pointless in my eyes.

 

Town driving is of course where it makes the most difference for commuting in traffic is where the tech wins, on steady driving long distance it makes things worse (heavier, additional resistance etc) depends on where your driving and with what.

[Will Poon]

I have start stop on one of my cars , if does make a small difference, I compared the MPG on the car computer when switched on and off , but only small difference mind you but like the advert says every little counts

[955i]

What sort of car are you thinking of?

After an estate to replace my Volvo V40.

 

Think the shortlist at the moment is Passat, Toyota Avensis, Skoda Octavia and Honda Accord, but open to any other ideas people might have.

 

Looked at Lancer estates and Mazda 6, but don't really know anything about these two.

[Albert 888]

After an estate to replace my Volvo V40.

 

Think the shortlist at the moment is Passat, Toyota Avensis, Skoda Octavia and Honda Accord, but open to any other ideas people might have.

 

Looked at Lancer estates and Mazda 6, but don't really know anything about these two.

how much you looking at spending. skoda,vw,audi,seat all in the vw group have very similar engines. Saab could be worth a look same group as Vauxhall also the vecra estate have a massive boot. Im looking at the skoda Octavia vrs tdi estate and the Subaru legacy diesel estate both around £7000 for a high mile 08 plates.

My brother has a 1.6 td Volvo 08 plate v50 nice car does around 55mpg combined but a little under powered for me.

Edited April 7, 2013 by Albert 888

[andypaint]

Unless you do at least 15000 a year and drive normally not like a granny, then avoid the modern diesels. There is that many problems with egr valves and dp filters. Diesel cars are also more to buy. But also I find that older petrol cars are better on fuel than modern one's.

[955i]

how much you looking at spending. skoda,vw,audi,seat all in the vw group have very similar engines. Saab could be worth a look same group as Vauxhall also the vecra estate have a massive boot. Im looking at the skoda Octavia vrs tdi estate and the Subaru legacy diesel estate both around £7000 for a high mile 08 plates.

My brother has a 1.6 td Volvo 08 plate v50 nice car does around 55mpg combined but a little under powered for me.

Only looking up to around £4000.

 

Will get used for logging and site visits from Day 1 so will look 100yrs old within a week anyhow so no point spending too much

 

Don't want anything under 1.8.

 

Seen a few 2005/6 cars with reasonable mileage in the price bracket, just wanted to figure out whether it was worth restricting looking to diesels.

 

Current car is petrol and assuming decent runs not town stuff I can get 44mpg out of it, so anything equal to or above that is a bonus.

 

EDIT: Have been told by a few people that the Legacy's are very nice, but hellish on fuel consumption. GF's brother has an Octavia diesel and reckons he can get 80mpg out of it (not sure about that though)

Edited April 8, 2013 by 955i