diesel or petrol? is it worth it on a smaller car?

rjk

rjk

rjk

OcUK Staff
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looking at 06-07 Fiesta Zetec S at the moment

is it worth me going for the TDCI over the petrol?

obviously there is a massive difference in road tax, that is a given.

what would running costs [mpg stats etc] be like with both compared?

would it be a good idea to run a diesel with me only doing a 15 minute run down the dual carriageway each day?


sorry for the noobish questions, but you lot are always the best to ask with stuff like this.

thanks
 
What is the purchase difference between the two? Usually buying diesel is a false economy unless you are covering high mileage(20k+).
 
Bat said:
What is the purchase difference between the two? Usually buying diesel is a false economy unless you are covering high mileage(20k+).
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I'd heard the figure as 15k, but either way its about that mark.

I persuaded a friend to go for the petrol over the diesel Zetec S (granted, this was on the new shape) and he very grudgingly admitted I was right several months after getting the car. Sounds like he does a similar commute.
 
if the 15 mile DC run is all you will ever do in it then why buy an 07 fiesta ? Surely just buy a 1.1 106 or something for £500 ?
 
rjkoneill said:
the tdci's seem to be a little more but as a rule of thumb all seem to have higher mileage

so its difficult to tell
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Unless you actually prefer the diesel I would say the petrol is a better choice. The diesels will hold a premium to buy and will not save you money on the amount of miles you do. Also around town the MPG difference is not going to be that great.
 
Unless you're doing high miles, getting the diesel is generally economically pointless.

However, that doesn't mean it is entirely pointless, drive both and see which you prefer overall. The way they drive is very different.
 
I have an old Polow with a 1.9 Golf derv lump in it.
The best thing about it is being able to go Anywhere in the country in it & me not even thinking about money but then I don't have that much money so it's critical to me.
If I had loads of money I would have a little Petrol hot hatch & thrash the knackers out of that instead.
I s'pose it depends on what you get off on when driving, Me I like to be able to keep a high rolling speed as it takes Ages to get going, I'd much rather have a 7 second petrol motor as these days I think they are more usable as there are so many Blockers on the road.
 
twoblacklines said:
pics please malc30 :D
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For now picture this,
It's a 2 door Polow in Red with Blacked out rear windows,Black rear lights & repeaters, M3 profile wing mirrors, 15inch Alloys dropped pro 40MM, Tiny Carbon Kenny wheel Good Ice & held in by Clifford. :D
It's my Chavmobile but it runs on a Thimble of Derv & sticks to the road like crap to a horse hair blanket. :p
Next time I clean it I will pic it.
 
The road tax difference of around £100 a year is going to be dwarfed by the purchase, depreciation, service, maintenance, insurance and fuel costs of running the car - it's very little in the grand scheme of things.

As Dolph said, the driving styles of each car are different. The power delivery of the TDCi will make it easier to progress in, though the petrol would likely be out-and-out faster.

Whatever you choose I suspect they'll be very little in it from a costs standpoint.
 
malc30 said:
For now picture this,
It's a 2 door Polow in Red with Blacked out rear windows,Black rear lights & repeaters, M3 profile wing mirrors, 15inch Alloys dropped pro 40MM, Tiny Carbon Kenny wheel Good Ice & held in by Clifford. :D
It's my Chavmobile but it runs on a Thimble of Derv & sticks to the road like crap to a horse hair blanket. :p
Next time I clean it I will pic it.
Click to expand...

Did you fit all those mods?
 
rjkoneill said:
would it be a good idea to run a diesel with me only doing a 15 minute run down the dual carriageway each day?
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Get the petrol, you'd barely warm up the poor derv before shutting it down, from what i heard thats not good in the long run. I like the way my diesel drives but the main reason is the 25k average i drive now and when not doing major motorways miles, workplace is about an hour+ drive away but only like 20 miles lol. If i switch jobs next yr as i plan to and with no big miles i might get a 335i or somesuch and ditch this 320D, which is reasonably quick but sometimes the noise and fairly decent rush of torque can annoy.
 
A diesel only makes sense if you do big miles, and in a decent sized car. If you like the way a diesel drives then try a turbo petrol and don't be so cheap. If you still prefer the diesel it's probably best to just top yourself.
 
Get a petrol car Rich, I use to have diesel car before (get rid of it, because of annoyed long wait for warm the engine up in cold freezing winter) petrol is far better to warm up engine pretty fast in winter. I had purchase brand new car on these both diesel (in the past) and petrol (current) but petrol is the winner for me!

Diesel is suitable for high milesage driver and a long journey!
 
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