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petrol or diesel??

  • petrol....

    Votes: 71 51.4%
  • diesel....

    Votes: 67 48.6%

petrol or diesel?

6K views 137 replies 41 participants last post by  DunRovin 
#1 ·
what do you prefer as an all rounder? takin in performance, and comfort...
 
#5 ·
The smell of petrol? aaaaaaaaggggghhh.......I accept diesel don't smell good but Have you ANY idea of the carcigonens (hope its spelt ok) inhaled when breathing in petrol fumes, which incidentally you DOn't get with diesel.

I've driven diesel for almost 18 years and will not touch petrol OR lpg with a barge pole.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Go

I drove a diesel Pug for nearly 3yrs & although it did the job, it didnt save me a huge amount of cash in fuel & the lag was unbearable! Now im in my 1.6 petrol im loving being able to knock it into 3rd gear & overtaking just like that. Rather than dropping back a bit, then knocking it into 3rd, building up speed, double check that theres nothing coming, then comit yourself hoping nothing comes to soon!!!! :guns:
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#9 ·
mattshaw said:
I drove a diesel Pug for nearly 3yrs & although it did the job, it didnt save me a huge amount of cash in fuel & the lag was unbearable! Now im in my 1.6 petrol im loving being able to knock it into 3rd gear & overtaking just like that. Rather than dropping back a bit, then knocking it into 3rd, building up speed, double check that theres nothing coming, then comit yourself hoping nothing comes to soon!!!! :guns:
Bought secondhand my diesel has saved me masses of cash as a high mileage driver. As it is a turbodiesel with the intercooler, there is none of this dropping back and building up speed. Just leave it in 4th or 5th and press the pedal, away we go.
 
#12 ·
The performance of my diesel Ibiza is pretty amazing, the huge thud of torque is great... but i've also come to find it quite boring now, you can't thrash the pants off the thing like a zippy little petrol engine.
With the new direct injection petrol technology starting to appear from other manufaturers, petrol MPG figures are seriously catching diesels.

The insurance for my diesel is a lot cheaper than the petrol alternative though.

Definetly diesel for the sensible side, grown up side and petrol for fun!
 
#13 ·
The only thing I have against Diesel is the fact that most of them need to be twice the size of its petrol equivilent and even then its needs the aid of a Turbo in most cases.

EG. My mates 306 2.0 D-Turbo is 90bhp as standard, whereas Rovers 1.4K is 102BHP as standard. And thats an engine 7/10th's the size of it. (Plz forgive if this is wrong as I can't be arsed to work it out, but it sounds right anyhoo...)
 
#14 ·
I dont think you can say Deisels are not as good as petrol units, just because they need to be larger than the equivalent bhp petrol unit, and that if they are the same/similar size and performance that they less able because they need a turbocharger to compete equally with a petrol unit. Looking at bhp figures alone is pointless as for example a 2.0 L-series has 113bhp, but 192ib/ft of torque at around 2000rpm, but a 2.0 K-series engine has 210bhp, but still only 170 ish ib/ft or torque, thats probably produced at somewhere between 4-5000rpm. Turbo deisels have come a long way in recent years, and if the development of turbocharged deisels had not happend at the pace it has then it would mean that both Deisel engine technology and turbocharger design and development would never have been as rapid as it is today. I doubt that turbo's would have progressed much since the mid 80's if they had not been developing them further with deisel use in mind. The VNT variable geometry turbo's and the latest ball bearing turbo chargers would never have been developed if deisel engines had not been demanding this technology.
Also look at road transport, if turbochargers and deisel engines had not been developed together the way they have, i doubt that the road haulage industry would exist the way it does today. It would be impossible to have large 38tonne articulated lorries and heavy good vehicles on todays roads, if their engines were not turbocharged, with the advanced technology that they now employ.
 
#15 ·
mattshaw said:
I drove a diesel Pug for nearly 3yrs & although it did the job, it didnt save me a huge amount of cash in fuel & the lag was unbearable! Now im in my 1.6 petrol im loving being able to knock it into 3rd gear & overtaking just like that. Rather than dropping back a bit, then knocking it into 3rd, building up speed, double check that theres nothing coming, then comit yourself hoping nothing comes to soon!!!! :guns:
The pug probably wasn't a turbo diesel then. A modern TD wouldn't need dropping to 3rd, just press the accelerator and away you go.
 
#16 ·
Liam Olf said:
The only thing I have against Diesel is the fact that most of them need to be twice the size of its petrol equivilent and even then its needs the aid of a Turbo in most cases.

EG. My mates 306 2.0 D-Turbo is 90bhp as standard, whereas Rovers 1.4K is 102BHP as standard. And thats an engine 7/10th's the size of it. (Plz forgive if this is wrong as I can't be arsed to work it out, but it sounds right anyhoo...)
Try comparing the 2.0 in the Rover 75 diesel which is 135 BHP? To a typical 2.0 petrol unit, say a 2.0 Ford Duratec petrol engine, you get 140BHP. Not a huge difference these days, except with the Diesel you get all the extra torque.

If you like your engines to rev and rev an keep revving up to 6000 with continuous increasing power before changing up then you need a petrol, otherwise the diesel has it.
 
#17 ·
Well.. I already have a petrol 75 kv6.. and i love it.. but I really miss my 25's 2.0 tdi torgue uphill... just leave it on 5th, press the peddal and accelerate as u wish to uphill.. with the heavy 75 and the petrol.. I need to go to revs above 4000 rpm to make it go upwards.. and it still seems to me a bit stressy for the engine to me.. not to mention how the consumption jumps in such revs.
of cource the auto gearbox takes a bit form the petrol engine.. but nevertheless... I could put my old 25 in 5th on 40 mph and just accelerate and accelerate..

the drawback of this particular diesel engine (25's) however is the significant noise.., vibrations (when idling).. and the sloooooow warming up of the heating in the winter. Also the modern diesel engines are quite whimsical for the diesel quality. This issue is to be concidered in country like mine where the fuel quality is not always perfect as in western countries. This impacts mainly the injectors.. which are quite costly to change..

 
#19 ·
I've been driving my father's Vauxhall Vectra Mk2 SRi 2.2DTi a lot recently and the engine's a gem - 60mpg+ when setting the cruise control at the speed limits and circa 50mpg when thrashing and it has a nice linear power band; shame it's such a piggish, leaden thing to handle. I kind of like the indistriousness, torque and even the noise of Diesels... am I a freak?:errx2:
 
#20 ·
You cant beat the pure drama of a good petrol engine.

Take some of the Ferrari engines, the B... the B... the B...M...W (it pained me to say that) 3 litre straight 6, engines which sound gorgeous, not trick exhausts, that actual engine.

The way a petrol engine delivers, the smell... its better then a diesel anyday.

A diesel will always sound like a tractor to me. My uncle has a Ford Mondeo Zetec S TDCi 130. Astonishing performance from about 1500 RPM to 3000RPM, then its quick, grab another cog. And it sounds awful.

No, petrol for me, well for the foreseeable future anyway. Never say never I suppose.
 
#21 ·
I have a Triumph Stag V8 and I'm sorry but a diesel can't touch the thrill of putting your foot to the accelerator just as you enter a tunnel. It sounds magnifficent and power is instaneous. Plus everyone turns round and grins.

That said, I am planning on buying a Rover 75 Connosieur with a diesel. The Stag is superb and it's not going anywhere but really I see it as a fun car and something for cruising about in during summer holidays. However I also need a car which is frugal on fuel and does better than return 22 miles to the gallon!!! The 75 diesel is quite cheap to run and is bullet proof as far as reliability goes. In otherwords it will be a luxury workhorse.

So for pleasure petrol, for economy a GOOD diesel (i.e not a Peugeot diesel which sounds like a tractor)
 
#22 ·
petrol.


err, that's it.

pat

PS Diesel ("sludgey tanker fuel"), curiously, is very fashionable but gets enormous tax breaks only because HGVs use it.

It is actually a fact that diesels have traditionally been the greater polluters and causers of cancer until Peugeot introduced the particulate filter - and only now are oh-so-environmental Mercedes following Peugeot!
 
#24 ·
patpending said:
petrol.


err, that's it.

pat

PS Diesel ("sludgey tanker fuel"), curiously, is very fashionable but gets enormous tax breaks only because HGVs use it.

It is actually a fact that diesels have traditionally been the greater polluters and causers of cancer until Peugeot introduced the particulate filter - and only now are oh-so-environmental Mercedes following Peugeot!
Is that before or after petrol went with catalytic converters???
To be honest petrol has and always will be the most carcinogenic fuel. One of its main component parts is of course benzine which is highly toxic - so much so that if you had a container of it and opened it in public it is an arrestable offence.
Lean-burn would have seen a real pollution and economy battle between petrol and diesel, but the introduction of the catalytic converter put pay to that idea and ushered in a new era of noxious gases. Thanks to the withdrawl of lead (which has since been proven to have had little effect on health - people in mountains getting water from lead pipes had higher lead content in their blood than those living in cities with modern water systems, before lead petrol was withdrawn), benzine and other stuff has stepped forward which is far nastier.
Add to the fact that a catalytic converter is only helpful when its running properly and the majority of the time it isn't, and a lot of the time when they aren't apart from letting the normal toxic gases and components through (unburnt HC's, nitrous oxides, etc.) they actually create some of their own. Also, that eggy smell...... toxic carcinogenic gas that is.....

Diesel had a slight problem with the sulphur content which has now been reduced (which is a shame really as it cut the power somewhat). Less unburnt HC's eminated from diesels before hand anyway and now they also carry catalytic converters there isn't too much of a problem in that respect.
The biggest problem for diesel has always really been the smoke and soot - people always believe them to be the worst polluters due to the more obvious smoke than petrol.

Wherever you got that info from (probably the school of J. Clarkson) I'm afraid it is very slanted. Yes the sulphur was toxic in diesel, but nowhere near as bad as benzine and other stuff (and I believe there are also some sulphates in petrol which are a bit nasty).
 
#25 ·
MGROVERnut said:
I have a Triumph Stag V8 and I'm sorry but a diesel can't touch the thrill of putting your foot to the accelerator just as you enter a tunnel. It sounds magnifficent and power is instaneous. Plus everyone turns round and grins.

That said, I am planning on buying a Rover 75 Connosieur with a diesel. The Stag is superb and it's not going anywhere but really I see it as a fun car and something for cruising about in during summer holidays. However I also need a car which is frugal on fuel and does better than return 22 miles to the gallon!!! The 75 diesel is quite cheap to run and is bullet proof as far as reliability goes. In otherwords it will be a luxury workhorse.

So for pleasure petrol, for economy a GOOD diesel (i.e not a Peugeot diesel which sounds like a tractor)
The problem is there haven't been that many real performance diesels until now. Only within the last 2 years have we seen a V8 and V10 performance oriented (or high-speed) diesel engine.
The BMW 6-cylinder mid-90's 525tds engine (also in some 3's and Vauxhall Omega's) sounds great when pushed, showing that even with diesel the extra cylinders and design tailored to sportyness can make all the difference.

The problem with the 75 diesel (or any BMW 4-pot diesel) is that it is just 4-cylinders and is effectively about as sporty as other offerings from rivals such as Pug, Vauxhall, etc.
The only companies pushing really sporty diesels are:
Audi (VAG - although few in the rest of the group get access to the V10, etc.), BMW, Mercedes, (and through tie-ups with Detroit Diesel/VM/ Mercedes) some Alfa's and Fiat's, and the odd one or two GM/Isuzu/Vauxhall's.
 
#26 ·
Vincero said:
The problem is there haven't been that many real performance diesels until now. Only within the last 2 years have we seen a V8 and V10 performance oriented (or high-speed) diesel engine.
Not to forget the new Mercedes E 420 CDI.

It does 0-100 km/h in 6.1 sec.

4,8 sec. from 60-120 km/h.

The E 55 AMG with 467 HP is only 1,4 sec faster.

http://rhein-zeitung.de/a/service/auto/test/t/rzo157454.html
 
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