Big estate - petrol or diesel?

Big Chris

Big Chris

Big Chris

Soldato
Joined
5 Apr 2004
Posts
5,461
Location
Bloxham
After a new estate to cart around my growing family and all the associated prams and other gubbins that follows us from place to place. Not a fan of SUVs.

Here are the particulars:

Annual mileage
14k, almost all of which is A & B roads with very little motorway driving. My daily commute to work is a 40 mile round trip on twisty & hilly B roads.

On the list
  • Audi A6 Avant 45 TFSI or 40 TDI
  • 5 Series Tourer 520i or 520d
  • Skoda Superb 2.0 TSI or TDI

I can't decide between petrol or diesel though. My annual mileage possibly points at diesel, and I suspect the the type of roads I do my 14k on may nail a lot more petrol. Diesel seems to be viewed as the devil's juice these days though, and I'll be financing this over 3/4 years by which time who knows what sort of levies/bans will be in place.

Interested in your opinions :)
 
Whilst your mileage is high enough to just about justify a diesel. It's not high enough to actually save any money from it. (It will be pretty similar cost of ownership) so if you find a petrol car more entertaining to drive then I'd say that swings it.

Personally I think the Skoda Superb is an absolutely fantastic car. So if you don't care about the badge then it gets my vote
 
[TW]Fox said:
Why isn't it? The 520d is considerably more efficient than the 520i. I don't think a 520d would be my choice but it's not true to say it doesn't save any money.
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On a balance of running cost vs maintenance cost diesels generally cost more thanks to crap like EGR valve and DPF failures and initial purchase cost previously being higher. These added expenses not incurred by petrol cars tend to balance the cost of ownership out. However this is on a massive scale and the OP will probably be fine with a 520d rather than a 520i saving him many pennies along the way.
 
You don't save money with diesel as you need to take into account all the other costs (DPF filters, 5-10% higher cost of diesel, etc)
 
Dis86 said:
On a balance of running cost vs maintenance cost diesels generally cost more thanks to crap like EGR valve and DPF failures and initial purchase cost previously being higher. These added expenses not incurred by petrol cars tend to balance the cost of ownership out. However this is on a massive scale and the OP will probably be fine with a 520d rather than a 520i saving him many pennies along the way.
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He is looking at virtually new cars. There will be no maintenance difference until they get much older and have moved to other owners and many modern petrol cars have particulate filters now too.

Buying old diesels is I agree totally false economy but he isn't.
 
Big Chris said:
I can't decide between petrol or diesel though. My annual mileage possibly points at diesel, and I suspect the the type of roads I do my 14k on may nail a lot more petrol. Diesel seems to be viewed as the devil's juice these days though, and I'll be financing this over 3/4 years by which time who knows what sort of levies/bans will be in place.
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How about an electric or hybrid car then ..

If I can ever find a way to charge one then think i like my next car to be electric
 
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Volvo V60 too, the prettiest ... the diesel hybrid is $$$ though - apparently 30miles range.

Buying old diesels is I agree totally false economy but he isn't.
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even if its not old, the future diesel maintenance costs/'desirability' are built into the PCP ?
 
[TW]Fox said:
We need to stop climate change by emitting more co2 so now we all need petrol engines apparently.
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A 520d likely has NOx emissions that are far higher than a twenty year old petrol car (resulting in increasingly acidic rainwater) but those figures aren't as cool to publish as the CO2 ones. Which is why everyone currently wants to continue the raping of our lithium sources to create battery-powered electric cars... Go figure.

Depends on the type of driving and what you prefer tbh OP. Diesel engines are excellent for economy on motorways, but I've zero experience when doing that sort of distance on the roads you describe. Try and test drive both. You may be lucky enough to find a petrol version of the cars you've mentioned in dealerships now the devils juice is unpopular again.
 
current A6 is stunning especially as a wagon but for gods sake push the boat out a touch and get the 50tdi or 55tfsi which gets you into a nice v6 in whichever choice of fuel you prefer.
 
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