petrol vs diesel 4x4s

[ME]

I am still in the market for a 4x4.

 

I thought I was doing the cheap thing by looking at a diesel.

 

Looking at the MPG of most petrol vs diesel 4x4s there isnt much in it.

 

With Diesel being more expensive than petrol and the fact I normally have a 6 month turnaround on a car (I get bored) I am thinking that

I would be better buying a petrol...although petrol 4x4s are really plummeting in value...

 

What do we all reckon ?

[bignoel]

i honestly think if you decide petrol get a 1600cc and there isnt a lot in it because of the price of diesel. ? just my thought my little suzuki 1600 does the job for me.

[ME]

I forgot to add I am looking at a big 4x4 and an auto. at least 2.5 or 3 litre.

[deeksofdoom]

What ever you get its going to be a fuel guzzler, apart from those little Suzukis which probably aren't that bad. If the petrol ones are plummeting in value stay away from them. A 2 litre TD Vitara might be an idea.

 

A friend of mine has an automatic 2.5 L Discovery, which is a total disaster when it comes to fuel economy. Has to get the revs up really high before it changes gear, 24mpg.

Edited April 19, 2008 by deeksofdoom

[Yonic]

the other option is to go for a petrol but budget for an LPG conversion, you then drop your fuel cost but a lot. The conversion will cost a fair bit though.

 

Cheers Jon

[Harnser]

I think that you could be wrong in thinking that thers not much difference in the mpg of a diesel 4x4 and a petrol 4 x 4 .If you take the example of the td5 disco that i run at 30 mpg average and my pals v8 at about 16 mpg that almost double the mpg . I think that some of the smaller 4x4 petrol like the suzuki and the subaru forrester will proberbly return mid 30s to the gallon .But you did say that you wanted one of the bigger type 4x4s . If you want the bigger 4x4 then the diesel is the way to go for economy . Harnser .

[ME]

OK, so I meant that there isnt a lot of difference between some different brands i.e.

 

SWB Shogun 3.2 DiD Diesel Auto - 26 MPG

 

Lexus RX300 Petrol Auto - 23 MPG

[flash]

land rover defender 90.

with a 3.9 V8 from a range rover classic, and the auto box to go with it.

get it converted to LPG and ur soughted

[bignoel]

as ya man says on the bank advert on tv glug glug glug

[Traztaz]

If you want a large 4X4 for off road use go Diesle as they produce far more tourqe, and so are far more effective and fuel efficient off road , if its to cruise the motorway, at Britains 70 MPH it makes no difference , however here in Germany my Diesle L200 Warrior eats fuel if I exceed 90 MPH.

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Landcruiser amazon

 

4.2 DT

 

or

 

4.7 petrol

 

LV these are mens cars ! With enough power and room to haul the gay mafia around , and there bigger more manly Yorkshire counterparts !

 

all the best yis yp

[tbeagley]

Have had 2.5, 2.8 deisel & 3.0 petrol LWB Shoguns ( all manuals) + a 2.8 SWB auto Pajero. Only a few mpg diference between them all, approx 20-24 mpg.

3.0 petrol very smooth & quiet but the 2.8 deisel is a real tank off road & will pull anything, & theres always veggie oil you can mix with your diesel to reduce costs.

[henry d]

I just changed from a 2.0 TD Vitara to a 1.3 Jimny VVT , both return about 38mpg when driven sensibly. However as you rightly state petrol is now 7-10p/litre cheaper so petrol is cheaper in the long run, however the Jimny doesn`t have near the torque the Vitara had, but the Jimny with road tyres will go anywhere the other did in muds and I suspect when I get some steel rims and off-road tyres it will go places the Vitara would have grounded/stuck.

 

Sadly the Jimny hasn`t enough room in the boot and most of the time the back seats are down, so it all depends on what you want the motor for ?

 

Posing at the clay ground......diesel with all the chrome bars you can get for it and remember to rev the nuts off it at all occaisions, a truck for shooting from/carrying gear..........petrol as it`s quieter creeping across fields.

 

Just a quick aside, if you get an ASDA credit card and pay for your fuel at ASDA with it you get 2p off a litre !!

[flash]

lol, hendry u have the same problem i had with my jimny. my main reason for getting a defender with more space.

but ur certainly correct, they do go everywhere on road tyres.

[Baldrick]

I use diesels, like almost every farmer or countryman does. The torque from a diesel is much higher, as Traz pointed out. I don't find the noise from my Td5 a problem when out lamping. I looked at buying a 4.0-litre V8 Discovery, and whilst it made the most sublime noise and was relatively quick off the mark, the MPG would have crippled me. I got about 32mpg in my Td5 Disco at 65-70mph, and replacing the Goodyear Wrangler tyres (absolute rubbish) with AT2s didn't affect the MPG too much.

[magdie]

I have a Volvo XC90 Petrol Auto cannot fault it

[shaggy]

new model nissan x-trail is out (ive got one ) so its pushed the mark 2 model down in price

2.2 diesel will return up to 40 mpg and there are a lot of 12-18 mth old bargains to be had with the remainder of the 3 yr warrenty

if you want to go bigger then the navara is no slouch but im not sure of the mpg on that

[Browning GTS]

I used to be a petrol head but now have a diesel jeep auto would never go back so much torque 70 mph = 1900 rpm go up hill it just does not want to change down

[njc110381]

Lets be honest here, no large 4x4 is going to be cheap to run! For road use the petrols are nice, but for off road use a diesel is hard to beat. They have more low down torque than a petrol engine, and can cope with being splashed with water a lot better (as long as it doesn't take in water through the air intake) because there's no electrical bits to get messed up.

 

I run an L200 2.5 turbo diesel. It's not fast or economical, but for its size and capability it's as good as it gets

[CEREALTHRILLER]

I used to have a 2.4 td Toyota Hilux but got really fed up with it as it just had no ooomph

 

I had to time my overtaking and really work the manual box.

 

Changed to a 4.0 petrol Jeep Grand Cherokee auto.

 

Fantastic motor, heavier on the fuel but plenty of ooomph

 

Don't waste your time getting a diesel you'll just be disappointed and change to a petrol with some real power

[Rascal]

Can't beat a good old 4.7 V8 petrol Jeep. Great auto box, quick of the mark, lots of low down torque cruise at 70 at just over 2000 revs ... Great

 

Fuel economy averages about 18mpg (no so great)

Edited April 21, 2008 by Rascal

[Mungler]

Most large diesel 4x4's will return high 20's to a gallon whereas most large petrol 4x4's return high teens.

 

Diesel costs more at the pump, needs servicing more often and cost more to buy.

 

Say a petrol 4x4 gives 10 miles per gallon less than a 4x4 in round numbers.

 

Say you do 10,000 miles a year (LV you don't) - with a large petrol 4x4 returning 20 to a gallon (as above) that's £2405 a year in petrol or with a large diesel 4x4 returning 30 to a gallon (which you won't get ) that's £1740.

 

From petrolprices.com the cheapest unleaded round here is 105.9p a litre (£4.81 a gallon) and the cheapest diesel 114.9p (£5.22 a gallon).

 

So the price per year with an annual mileage of 10,000 miles (working locally you will do less) then the cost difference each year (petrol vs diesel) is £2405 minus £1740 being £665.

 

I have not factored in the following:

 

1. the additional cost of servicing a diesel.

2. the fact that your true annual mileage will be nearer 5000

3. and the star point being that diesels cost more

 

Take the Jeep Grand Cherokee for example:

 

2006 petrol 4.7 http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/...11&plate=81

2006 diesel 3.0 CRD http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/...14&plate=81

 

Exactly the same car (bar the engine) but the diesel is £2k more. That £2k buys a lot of petrol.

 

Here endeth the lesson.

[Mungler]

The above example Jeep running costs here:

 

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/Summar...1380&page=3

 

The CRD is quite quick for a diesel but returns 27 mpg and the 4.7 petrol 19 mpg (a whole 8 mpg in it).

 

Also consider factoring in the good thrashing you would have to give most diesels to keep up with the traffic / over take and the economy soon evaporates.

[al4x]

what might screw the mungle maths up is the pick up varieties pay road tax at commercial rates so £180 which won't go up too fast whereas the non commercials post 2001 will all get hit for the top band

[Mungler]

Who on this planet has bought a vehicle because of road tax banding or rather future anticipated road tax banding?

 

Ah ha, besides, in my calculations there is even margin for an LPG conversion if we are going down the road tax route.

 

Thwarted!