Is Diesel Inferior?
- Thread starter Spamalot
- Start date
Yeah the Gov are doing a lame job of promoting it, I don't think they have any grants available for the general public tho. Basically you find a local conversion place on the net then take the car to them and pay £1000-1500 (depending on cylinder amount) to get the car converted, then you just buy LPG from petrol stations (Morrisons/Tescos/Service stations usually have it) or use normal petrol if you cant find anywhere with LPG. Conversions usually pay for themselves in under a year.
My next car will be a diesel. I don't really want it to be, but starting an IT Consultancy and expecting to do far far more miles in a year will make it a considerably cheaper option. I'd keep my LCR until it fell to bits otherwise.....
But the government are still intent on ringing as much duty on it as possible......perhaps one of the reasons it hasn't taken off as much as it could have??
Soldato
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Its closer than 10 years away and not as big as 2.5L in that size of car.
I love petrol cars, especially V8s but I tolerate my diesel due to the economy. I do so many miles for business now that I just can't justify funding customer visits out of my own pocket when the petrol allowance I get doesn't cover the cost.
I was a staunch diesel hater until I drove the 730d at which point I realised that they weren't that bad and are perfectly acceptable for a daily drive.
I was a staunch diesel hater until I drove the 730d at which point I realised that they weren't that bad and are perfectly acceptable for a daily drive.
[TW]Fox;17721235 said:
I'm not sure it will be entirely about saving money. How often do you see a current generation rep box with a petrol engine? When I need to replace my mk3 Mondeo I'm sure it'll be quite an effort to find a mk4 petrol. Just doing a quick autotrader search (upto 3 years old) gives 3102 diesels and 465 petrols, only 341 of these have a acceptable (2l+) engine
How low is your allowance? Mine isnt great in the scheme of things (21p), but it still more than covers the consumption you'd get from a 750i for example.
There is also the viewpoint of S class/ 7 series is all about Luxury and a Comfortable drive.
Diesels have less revs so on the motorway so they are very quiet (inside) also you don't buy a 7 series to say I can do 0-60 in 5-6 seconds or to get to the red line and thrash the car.
You buy it partly because of the image and mainly the comfort and luxury.
Diesels have less revs so on the motorway so they are very quiet (inside) also you don't buy a 7 series to say I can do 0-60 in 5-6 seconds or to get to the red line and thrash the car.
You buy it partly because of the image and mainly the comfort and luxury.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Do you know how many revs a V8 7 Series is at at 70mph?
Trust me - there is no engine noise you'd not hear in a diesel, thats for sure. And with the diesel, you CAN hear it at town speeds. This interupts the silent waftyness of a luxury saloon.
17p
I suppose in the scheme of things it doesn't make much of a difference. TBH, I would have bought a 750i if I could have found one within budget, with the right spec and from a BMW main dealer but as it was, only the 730d popped up with the right stuff.
I worry this is what might push me into diesels. Being so specific on spec means sometimes the engine choice suffers.
Absolutely. But efficiency isn't just about cost.[TW]Fox;17721235 said:
I like the efficiency for efficiency's sake! I don't like the waste of petrol ICEs, I recognise the scarcity of resources, the implications of inefficient and wasteful use. Above all I like efficient technology and dislike inefficient technology.
Diesel is a bit better than petrol, but it's still not great. I'm a lot more excited about the electric drive train trajectory and finally leaving this century old technology behind us.
I'd never choose to buy a 35mpg car when a similar 50mpg alternative exists - not because of the money but because I'd fell stupid driving such an inefficient machine.
Associate
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I only do ~4k a year. I bought a diesel focus because it was a lot cheaper to insure and run than the 1.8 petrol I was looking at. I`m looking at a 3.2 litre petrol next, so we`ll see if i prefer the power delivery 
Edit
Unlike the above post, i want to get a low MPG fast car before petrol costs make it near impossible
Edit
Unlike the above post, i want to get a low MPG fast car before petrol costs make it near impossible
I can sort of understand the 'hate' against smaller engined diesels if you are a petrolhead, however, go and try a (for example) Mercedes E350 CDI and you will see the appeal of it, bags of torque and fairly decent economy to go with it.
Tell me that its a boring car to drive, and I'll know you are lying.
Tell me that its a boring car to drive, and I'll know you are lying.
I can sort of understand the 'hate' against smaller engined diesels if you are a petrolhead, however, go and try a (for example) Mercedes E350 CDI and you will see the appeal of it, bags of torque and fairly decent economy to go with it.
Tell me that its a boring car to drive, and I'll know you are lying.
Then drive an E500.
Then pick the diesel because its cheaper to own.
Which is of course my point, really.
This is the whole problem with diesel. A 1.8 TDCi Focus is not 'a lot cheaper to run' than a 1.8 petrol Focus doing 4k a year.
[TW]Fox;17725529 said:
I agree, you can always wish for a better car but unfortunately not everyone can run a 5+ litre petrol behemoth
On the road, the extra performance is near to negligible anyway unless you want to have your licence on the line all the time, for a track car its another matter though of course.
As a matter of interest, what engine/car would be ideal for you to upgrade to?
A BMW 335i M Sport or a BMW 330i M Sport is the current favourite. I suspect it will come down to which is most easily available with the specification I want.
I'm going to try and get a proper extended test drive in the revised 58 onwards 330d at some point as well, simply because it would be silly not true to it. I'm wondering if its talents make up for the crappy noise it makes and the limited powerband. I suspect not, but its worth a try.
335d is an outsider, mostly because I dont really want an automatic.