Well for starters it would depend on a number of things, how big is the tank, and how were you driving it?
BMW 125i petrol vs 120d diesel
- Thread starter radar19
- Start date
Well for starters it would depend on a number of things, how big is the tank, and how were you driving it?
Caporegime
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2004
- Posts
- 33,042
- Location
- Rutland
What are you actually looking for in a car? Do you want something fast or something that looks smart and is efficient? If it's the latter then surely there's plenty of smaller engines petrolatum in the 1 series range.
2 litre diesel against a wonderfully smooth and powerful straight six petrol? The diesel isn't in the same league!
If your doing lots of short trips the diesel will be rubbish anyway, blocked diesel particulate filter, eventual failed injectors yada yada...
If your doing lots of short trips the diesel will be rubbish anyway, blocked diesel particulate filter, eventual failed injectors yada yada...
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
It's a turbo 4.
It's a 40 litre tank, a 'full tank' is probably only 35 litres as you're likely to fill up between empty and 1/4 tank. That's 39 MPG which is not surprising for a 12 year old 1.4 on the motorway.
Test drive a manual AND automatic F20/21 before you buy.
I'm trading my 125i in after 11 months because the manual is that awful. The pedals are offset to the right, and the clutch is about as consistent as predicting the winning lottery numbers.
I'm trading my 125i in after 11 months because the manual is that awful. The pedals are offset to the right, and the clutch is about as consistent as predicting the winning lottery numbers.
[TW]Fox;26421574 said:And if you've got sufficient money to spend over £20,000 on a car stop fretting about how much it cost to drive a Ford Fiesta up the Motorway
This - honestly, why not buy a £10k car? Given that a "tank" usually lasts you a week, a rough estimate of £50/tank means the remaining £10k will pay for your fuel for the next 4 years...
You do realise that spending £80 every 2 weeks is going to cost you exactly the same as spending £40 every week?
If you're doing mostly urban, then petrol, as said a few times.
If you do regular longer drives (1 or 2 per month), then test drive both, and see which one you prefer.
The myth that diesel is only worth it at over 12k per year is just that, a myth. If you do only 6k, it'll still be a fuel saving, assuming you are driving in a manner conducive to diesel driving. But if you are driving in a manner that may not be good for you're DPF, then you may lose any fuel economy benefits, thus negating any possible savings.
Some of us (not many on here) actually prefer the way the diesel drives. I am one of them. However, that is more for the turbo. I believe the 125 is a 4 pot turbo isn't it? So it will be fun anyway.
If you do regular longer drives (1 or 2 per month), then test drive both, and see which one you prefer.
The myth that diesel is only worth it at over 12k per year is just that, a myth. If you do only 6k, it'll still be a fuel saving, assuming you are driving in a manner conducive to diesel driving. But if you are driving in a manner that may not be good for you're DPF, then you may lose any fuel economy benefits, thus negating any possible savings.
Some of us (not many on here) actually prefer the way the diesel drives. I am one of them. However, that is more for the turbo. I believe the 125 is a 4 pot turbo isn't it? So it will be fun anyway.
This entirely depends on the upfront purchase cost however, a diesel model will generally cost more than the equivalent petrol model, due to the higher manufacturing costs, so if your reduction in fuel cost is less than the increased purchase cost then it's not really a saving.
I suspect you actually prefer the way a turbocharged engine drives rather than a diesel. So in this example ignoring fuel economy I cannot see any benefits the 120d has over the 125i. They are both 2 litre turbocharged engines, only one has more power, is quicker, sounds better, doesnt dag at low speeds, etc.
Except that in general, diesels sell for more than petrols second hand, and often for close to the original difference, up to several years old. So you actually should get most of that extra cost back, thus your fuel savings remain intact.
[TW]Fox;26425793 said:
It is true, that I do prefer the drive of a turbocharged car to a non-turbocharged car. But that isn't the whole story. I do still prefer the way a diesel turbo drives, assuming similar performance figures. For example, I preferred the way my mapped 335d drove to my Audi S4 with the 4.2 V8. They had similar power figures (both circa 340 BHP), but I preferred the way the diesel drove. Okay, the S4 didn't have the turbo, so not exactly the same comparison.
Also, I really don't think you can ever, realistically, ignore fuel economy when comparing a petrol to a diesel. It's fundamental.
Can't see any real justification for going for the larger engined models anywhere in the thread, if your looking for more oomph with decent mpg compared to your fiesta, I'd suggest looking at a 116/118i. Both will be substantially quicker than your fiesta and return 40+ mpg easily, without the initial outlay of the 125i.