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petrol or diesel???

3K views 46 replies 19 participants last post by  Brum620 
#1 ·
hi i currently have a mg zr+ 1400 but im considering changing it for a diesel zr. and possibly remapping but not 100% on that yet. i feel the petrol is abit thursty is the diesel any better and does it feel like it has much more power when driving it???

anyone who could give me any advice on the differences between the two please give some help

thanks very much lads
 
#2 ·
It is been covered loads of times before.. I've owned both and the DERV is far quicker than the 1.4 in every way. I love the way the diesel excels in the sort of driving people do day in day out, namely 30-50, 50-70.

If you're talking remaps + tuning then just a glance over at the diesel section gives you an idea the gains you can get, and how cheap it is to do.

Economy wise, i forget what i used to get in the 1.4, but i get 52mpg every time as an average at the moment. I'm biased of course, as i own a ZR TD at the moment, but i would not want to go back to a petrol now...
 
#3 ·
I'm going to do my very best to be unbiased here, ahhh sod it, i can't!!! :rofl:

If you are finding the petrol car expensive to run, then the diesel is a no brainer. Considering that petrol is either 1p cheaper, or the same as diesel, and you get much better mpg with a derv as well.

You will find the petrol guys coming in down nosing the dervs as smokey, noisy etc, but the negatives pale in comparison to the positives.
Great torque for overtaking
Easy to tune for relatively little money
Great MPG

Petrols are good for, i dunno really:p

You won't regret buying a Rover diesel :broon:

Cheers
Dave
 
#8 ·
GK, have you heard a rover diesel at full chat with a decent exhaust on?

I bet i could change your mind :dddc:

I bought my dervs around 3 years ago, and never regretted buying them. I probably don't do the mileage to financially 'justify' them, but i can justify them to myself.

With the other advantages already listed, they are worth the extra in the purchase price.

Cheers
Dave
 
#24 ·
Well mate, I've had the exact same dilemma for the past few months - whether to get a petrol or a diesel. I really wanted a diesel, just because of the mpg.

I just put a £200 deposit down for a ZR 120+ - a petrol.

I am still a massive fan of diesels, I love the torque, but there is no getting away from the fact that they are indeed slow. Yes you can modify them, but I don't want to have to pay more money for it than the equivalent petrol, plus spend more money and - probably more importantly - time tuning it.

IMO, it all depends on how much millage you do. I do about 6000 miles a year, and worked out that I would save about £350ish on fuel over the course of a year if I bought a diesel instead of a petrol. Now I figured I would rather spend that much over a year and really enjoy the car than save that money and not enjoy it so much in diesel form. I am young at the end of the day, so I want a true hot hatch, a diesel hot hatch just doesn't cut it for me.

All I can say is that most of the people on here will be biased towards one or the other. The only proper way of finding out if it is really worth it is if you calculate it.
Work out:

- How much you can sell you're current car for?
- How much will it cost to get the equivalent diesel, or the one you want?
- How many miles do you do per year?
- How much will you be spending on fuel in each car doing those miles?
- How much is the difference in road tax for each of them?

Add/subtract all of those figures as appropriate to find out which one will cost you more, and then make a decision. Also, try and go with what you're heart says.
 
#26 ·
Well mate, I've had the exact same dilemma for the past few months - whether to get a petrol or a diesel. I really wanted a diesel, just because of the mpg.

I just put a £200 deposit down for a ZR 120+ - a petrol.

I am still a massive fan of diesels, I love the torque, but there is no getting away from the fact that they are indeed slow. Yes you can modify them, but I don't want to have to pay more money for it than the equivalent petrol, plus spend more money and - probably more importantly - time tuning it.

IMO, it all depends on how much millage you do. I do about 6000 miles a year, and worked out that I would save about £350ish on fuel over the course of a year if I bought a diesel instead of a petrol. Now I figured I would rather spend that much over a year and really enjoy the care than save that money and not enjoy it so much in diesel form. I am young at the end of the day, so I want a true hot hatch, a diesel hot hatch just doesn't cut it for me.

All I can say is that most of the people on here will be biased towards one or the other. The only proper way of finding out if it is really worth it is if you calculate it.
Work out:

- How much you can sell you're current car for?
- How much will it cost to get the equivalent diesel, or the one you want?
- How many miles do you do per year?
- How much will you be spending on fuel in each car doing those miles?
- How much is the difference in road tax for each of them?

Add/subtract all of those figures as appropriate to find out which one will cost you more, and then make a decision. Also, try and go with what you're heart says.
Good suggestions and very constructive, but if you think the DERV is slow then you are driving it wrong! :deano:
 
#29 ·
So where do you come from that diesels are slow???
If that is directed at me, then I have been driving diesels for ages and am talking from experience. If you get two identical sized engines of the same car, more often than not the petrol is faster (Although great strides have been taken in the past few years at eradicating this). In my experience, even when you put you're foot down, the petrol just feels faster and more responsive.

Although, I must stress again, I am a MASSIVE fan of diesels, my last 3 cars have been diesels, and my next one will probably be one. But, petrol it is for now!

To the OP, do i suggest in my first post and then you will really be able to tell if it is worth it and worth the hassle of selling/buying again.
 
#30 ·
If that is directed at me, then I have been driving diesels for ages and am talking from experience. If you get two identical sized engines of the same car, more often than not the petrol is faster (Although great strides have been taken in the past few years at eradicating this). In my experience, even when you put you're foot down, the petrol just feels faster and more responsive.

Although, I must stress again, I am a MASSIVE fan of diesels, my last 3 cars have been diesels, and my next one will probably be one. But, petrol it is for now!

To the OP, do i suggest in my first post and then you will really be able to tell if it is worth it and worth the hassle of selling/buying again.
I think it is a bit unfair to compare petrol and diesel engines of equal size, as entry level diesels tend to be of a larger displacement than entry level petrols. I think a more equal comparison would be petrol and diesel engines that produce similar power outputs, so in the case of the rover engines the OP mentioned this means the 1.4 petrol and the 2 litre L series.

By "faster" do you mean responsive, quick to 60, or overtaking power?

I actually agree with your point regarding throttle response, with a petrol engine the power is there instantly, whereas with a diesel you rely on the turbo to build boost pressure, resulting in a delay. Other than this though i have found switching to diesel a pleasure!
 
#31 ·
I think it is a bit unfair to compare petrol and diesel engines of equal size, as entry level diesels tend to be of a larger displacement than entry level petrols. I think a more equal comparison would be petrol and diesel engines that produce similar power outputs, so in the case of the rover engines the OP mentioned this means the 1.4 petrol and the 2 litre L series.
For me, that just proves the point. Diesels need a larger engine to produce the same amount of power (albeit with more torque) than the equivalent petrol engine. Diesel's are not quite there yet in terms of performance, but for economy they are streets ahead and will never be caught.

By "faster" do you mean responsive, quick to 60, or overtaking power?
I generally mean 0-60 time and the responsiveness. For overtaking power, yes diesels are usually better at overtaking, but on both cars, if you are in the right gear with the right revs, overtaking is usually not an issue.

I actually agree with your point regarding throttle response, with a petrol engine the power is there instantly, whereas with a diesel you rely on the turbo to build boost pressure, resulting in a delay. Other than this though i have found switching to diesel a pleasure!
I'm glad you agree. Diesels are great to drive, especially in town when you're using the clutch a lot. I reckon if they managed to reduce the noise the engines make significantly and could up the performance a bit more, there would no longer be any need for petrol engines.

But that time has yet to come.
 
#36 ·
some great suggestions here people and thank you shammy you talk a lot of sense.

the way i look at it to have power under you in the 1400 you have 2 rev the balls of it and ur mpg just drops. where as the diesel you can get good power n still keep the mpg which is the way i look at it.

and understand where people are coming from when they say to buy an equivilent diesel it will cost more but, when you go to sell it its still worth more than the petrol so your not losing anything there. it should almost depresiate better than the petrol because people dont mind diesels with bigger miles but people will avoid petrols when they have more miles if yous understand me.

think i might go for a test drive in a diesel an see what i thnk because im swaying towards the diesels atm
 
#38 ·
some great suggestions here people and thank you shammy you talk a lot of sense.

the way i look at it to have power under you in the 1400 you have 2 rev the balls of it and ur mpg just drops. where as the diesel you can get good power n still keep the mpg which is the way i look at it.

and understand where people are coming from when they say to buy an equivilent diesel it will cost more but, when you go to sell it its still worth more than the petrol so your not losing anything there. it should almost depresiate better than the petrol because people dont mind diesels with bigger miles but people will avoid petrols when they have more miles if yous understand me.
Thats pretty much the way i look at it. The feeling of being able to outpace a whole range of bigger cars while staying under 3000rpm is a strange one!

Another thing you will notice is the amount of thrust you have in a DERV where a petrol would really struggle. There is a country lane near where i live with an incredibly steep climb at the end of it. One minute i can be trundling up the hill at 30 in 3rd, put right foot down and it will rocket up to 60 in seconds.

Take one for a test drive, feels so different to having to drive on revs all the time.
 
#40 ·
Diesel FTW.... :D

This is the first diesel car ive ever had and my opinion on diesel b4 i got it was like all the others.... its too slow and sounds like a tractor etc...

I would never go back to petrol after having this diesel ZR @ 152bhp :D

Pulls like a train and can pretty much take on most petrol cars even on a 0-60!! Stick a freeflow backbox on it, decat, aswell as cone filter and it sounds a lot better especially when giving it some right foot!!

There really isnt a lot that have beaten me off the line and theres still more to come from it (Hybrid Turbo, FMIC etc) :)
 
#41 ·
I chose diesel for the economy, as between the Wife and I we cover something like 20k a year (anyone care to work out how much that's likely to save vs. the petrol variants??), but if I'm completely honest it's bittersweet. Personally I find the engine noise to be a major drawback, so make sure you take one for a good drive before committing. I also had to pay around £600 more for the diesel.
 
#42 ·
A tuned TD would be a nice upgrade from the petrol 1.4. As mentioned, the only downside is the engine noise, but if that doesn't bother you, then all the better.

Another thing to consider is the cost of changing cars verses the potential saving of running diesel. I would do the maths and see if you'll be making as much saving as you think taking into account all things.

I really enjoy my TD, and I'm only running 130-135bhp atm without a remap.
 
#43 ·
agreeing with the majority I'm afraid. What a surprise! lol

The diesels really are good at what they do. Yes they sound a bit chattery at idle but once you're moving they're not too bad, and with a nice exhaust I think they sound pretty good. I like giving mine the beans with the window open, it sounds really angry lol, check out the video, it's a bit rubbish quality but you get the idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R88Ff-3y_k

I'd say buy a derv, and set aside a couple of hundred quid for SDi injectors, exhaust and air filter. This will comPLETELY transform it and I guaruntee it will plaster a smile across your face! You will thank god that you didn't go for the 1.4!

cheers
Ben
 
#44 ·
Alrite Bob

Diesels some job. sell the 1.4 an buy one. 100 or 115 bhp to 150+bhp with about £300. O and you get 50mpg no bother. i know diesels are a bit dear but if you buy one with a bit of mileage not much different and the diesels are easier to sell with more miles its very hard to sell a petrol with over 100,000 miles but it doesnt really effect a diesel imo.

Derv all the way !!!
 
#45 ·
I would agree on the choice of diesel, but i'm not so sure on your milage views. I think it is still hard to shift a high milage diesel car, because people are naturally afraid of high milage. The benefit is that you can buy a high milage diesel for quite a bit less, safe in the knowledge that the engine will not be on its last legs, just be aware that it will be more difficult to sell on if / when you need to.
 
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