So why petrol over diesel on none spaceship miles?

All diesels cant be bad? My dad used to have a Volvo S70 2.5 TDi and it was really quick for a diesel. I thought the noise inside sounded ok too :p
 
I was referring to engine capacity ceteris paribus i.e. comparing 4 pots with 4 pots, 6 pots with 6 pots, etc. Not sure why you're referring to the number of cylinders when I was referring to engine capacity?

I'll explain again. Just like a super / turbocharged 1.4L can recreate and in some cases exceed the experience of driving a 2L n/a engine, a turbocharged 2L engine can recreate the feel of driving a n/a 3L engine, etc. Looking forwards, this technology will allow smaller and smaller engines to reproduce the characteristics of larger and larger ones.

No it won't, and it doesn't, all it does is create the feeling of driving a 2l engine with a turbo charger or whatever. The power delivery is nowhere close to the same, they feel totally different, the smoothness and sheer 'effortless delivery' of larger capacity engines with lots cylinders can not be replicated by any means we have now (to my knowledge). Also the noise is different, the sound the engine makes is extremely important to some people, to me, and 4 pots sound nothing like 6 pots and they sound nothing like V8's etc.

But then there won't need to be such large engines, which is my original point.

There doesn't have to be a 'need' there will always be a desire though. As far as I am concerned the sky is the limit, I love big engines with lots of cylinders, the more the better really :D ...however technology changes this, I will still go for big. The kinds of cars I like have plenty of room under the bonnet for big engines anyway, I don't care for small cars very much. You could say the same about a lot of people. And cars with short bonnets tend to look 'odd' and out of proportion to me, or like a people carrier. Thus if there is space, you might as-well fill it :D

There is no replacement for displacement!
 
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I'm 50 miles away from completing B'ham to Chester Le Street and back again. Cruised at around 65mph due to traffic, had a few spells at 50mph through cameras and 3 repmobile races.

Computer is showing 56.4mpg.

No way I'll ever have a petrol workhorse again.

Do still want a petrol for weekend though, but 3 litres plus and 6 cylinders, the grunt has got me hooked.

Much the same as my day, 21.5mpg.
 
I think you're underestimating the desire for more powerful engines. If you can make a 2L drive like a 3L, then the person who would have a 3L anyways, will want it to drive like a 4L.

That's true. Let me put it like this then: I believe that cylinder capacity alone is becoming a less important statistic as to how an engine feels / behaves.
 
That's true. Let me put it like this then: I believe that cylinder capacity alone is becoming a less important statistic as to how an engine feels / behaves.

You could make that argument to a certain extent, but whatever your cylinder capacity is 'within reason' you will still need enough cylinders. A 4 cylinder engine will never feel like an 8 cylinder, the 8 will, by convention' always have a much larger total capacity than the 4 anyway. Even if the cubic capcity of it's individual cylinders are less than the 4 pots.
 
All diesels cant be bad? My dad used to have a Volvo S70 2.5 TDi and it was really quick for a diesel. I thought the noise inside sounded ok too :p

Nobody is disputing the fact that there are quick diesel cars. What the majority of people who don't like diesels are saying is they don't like the way diesel engines deliver their power.
 
Nobody is disputing the fact that there are quick diesel cars. What the majority of people who don't like diesels are saying is they don't like the way diesel engines deliver their power.

And how incredibly rough they are compared with a proper soundproofed V8/V12 petrol. Diesels do my nut, not saying i'd never get one but they all absolutely suck in this department.
 
And how incredibly rough they are compared with a proper soundproofed V8/V12 petrol. Diesels do my nut, not saying i'd never get one but they all absolutely suck in this department.

Try out a V6 diesel in something like an A5/A6/A8/7 series. They most certainly do not suck.
 
They are 'rough' though, even the best diesel engines leave a lot to be desired when compared to a large petrol engine in terms of smoothness. Just listen when you are outside the car and a diesel engine is running 'clatter, clatter, clatter' that ticking clattering sound is rough, they even feel rough through the pedal when you put your foot down, you can tell something rather less refined than petrol is fuelling the car.

I know you can get noisier petrol engines too, but 'typically' they make a more appealing noise than diesel, which just ends up largely sounding agricultural, one way or another.
 
Take off the anti-Diesel blinkers.

They should sound louder, not rough.

They are rough as hell compared with a high end petrol, read the context. Your posts are from inexperience nothing else.

I possibly will get a diesel at some point, i am not anti diesel. But it will be to save money and i will have to put up with the rough engine.

The only indication that the engine is running in my car for example is that the rev counter shows a different number, you cannot feel it or hear it even when cranking. I am sure Moeks' Jaguar is the same, V8/12 7's are similar, Bentleys are the same. Diesels in the same engine bays are rough and noisy in comparison and are offered as part of the range for fuel efficiency alone at the expense of everything else.
 
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Take off the anti-Diesel blinkers.

They should sound louder, not rough.

:/

They sound louder and run rougher than petrol, there is no question about it, as I said, compared petrol vs diesel of the same type and litreage...diesel is rough compared to the petrol.
 
They are rough as hell compared with a high end petrol, read the context you fool. Your posts are from inexperience nothing else.

I possibly will get a diesel at some point, i am not anti diesel. But it will be to save money and i will have to put up with the rough engine.

There's really no disagreeing with people like you is there?
 
No, because you are wrong and do not understand the context. See my edit, i did not mean to sound as rude as i did. Also edited in the context of what i mean.
 
To be fair, Jez didn't say they "suck" ...he said they are rough compared to a good large petrol engine. I've driven them myself, I'm sure he has, and I think he is right. Some of them are good, very good, but only as a means of economy, they are not superior in terms of power, refinement or anything but torque really. Fact of the matter is, you buy diesel for one of 3 reasons;

1 - Because you want to save money, so you compromise, and diesel is a compromise really.

2 - Because you want to tow stuff and diesels are ideally suited to this, they have a lot of low down torque and are generally very strongly made and well suited to that end.

3 - Because of the demand for diesel, the car manufacturer has stopped putting decent petrol engines in the car you want and so your other choice is a diesel, because quite frankly the diesel is better than the petrol in this case, which is really only common in run of the mill cars with small engines, not something you really see otherwise.

Given a choice of any car, any engine, who would actually choose a diesel engine? ...money is not a factor, just want you want.
 
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