Best/Worst/Current Diesel Engine

Using forum etiquette of "well I bought one so it must be the best" as applied in the technical areas by the propeller heads who discuss bits and bytes, the one I have in my 530D is the best.

Though to be fair the big one they put in the A8 was very impressive too.
 
I think when the OP asks specifically for the best engine you have experienced, then you are entitled to list the engine YOU have used as the best YOU have used. Which may well not be the one in the car you have bought.
 
#Chri5# said:
Worst : Whatever the tractor lump that was in the Nissan Juke we had as a rental in Spain back in June. Sounded like a Singer special mounted in the glove box. Actually, the entire car was awful.
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Probably a dCi, they are extremely noisy and unrefined and whatever turbo they fit sounds like an asthmatic paedophile every time you touch the accelerator pedal. (I've only got one 'cos I'm a tight b'stard and diesel is a lot cheaper in Ireland than petrol)
 
I've only ever driven two diesels so far. The first was a 1.3 (I think?}) non-turbo diesel in a Fiesta rental car whilst in Spain. I was tired after travelling and when I got the the first roundabout I nearly killed everyone in it by misjudging the power massively :o

Second is a 1.9tdi in a Freenlander 2. Again, I just don't like it!

That Audi one Lashout linked up looks interesting and actually sounds great, without even having to add "for a diesel". Is it exhaust trickery?
 
Worst: 1.9D in Mk1 Seat Toledo (showing my age a bit). NA indirect injection with a massive 64bhp and barely 90lbft of torque. Skins on rice puddings were safe from that engine.

Best: All my experience of diesels have come from hire cars so the best of the 4 cylinder bunch is the VAG 2ltr. Smoother, more refined and slightly better economy than the equivalent BMW 2ltr unit.

The most disappointing was in the 116d. Barely any better economy than the 2ltr and noticeably less performance.
 
Had a few, not fussed about the image I prefer how they drive.

First, 306 D 1.9 none turbo, terrible and dangerously slow, very unrefined and rubbish, bomb proof though had 210,000 miles and never missed a beat.

306 HDi 2.0, had a good amount of power for the road very nosiy and unrefined again, same as above totally bomb proof.

2.5CDTi in a Vauxhall LWB van, quite noisy and hated cold, didnt start too well. Cant really say much other than it been good for carrying loads of weight.

Astra 1.9 CDTi 150, not a bad engine with a map good power delivery and felt quick, 1st gear was pants no power at all. Again noisy and quite unrefined, DMF issues and smokey when floored.

Focus 2013 1.6 TDCi Econetic, brilliant engine just very lacking in the power department, excellent MPG and refined for a diesel, quite too. No smoke and drove smooth.

Skoda Octavia 2014 1.6 TDI, best of the bunch, newest too, power delivery and smoothness are excellent. Very quite, maybe the car is well sound proofed, but no rattling inside or shaky steering wheel. Be nice to have a 2.0 but needs must, very good MPG and very un-diesel like.

Need to drive a powerfull diesel like the 335d or the big 4.2 V8 TDI from Audi :D
 
Just sticking to current diesels:

Best 4 pot - Skyactive 2.2D in my CX-5, very very quiet and very very smooth
Best 6 pot - BMW N57 series (especially with the auto), I loved it in the F10/8 speed auto), so refined, punchy and effortless.

The worst diesels I've driven lately are all 4 pots,
Notably the Audi A1 1.6 TDi - tiny powerband, noisy, unrefined and horrible to drive, but gets good MPG
 
Based on what ife driven more recently and can remember

Worst: 1.7cdti in the astra.

Best: 2.4JTDM found in the Alfa 159, economy was poor but it didn't sound bad for a diesel, relatively small and had enough power to keep me mildly entertained.

Current: 2.2 Duratorq 100ps in my work transit.
 
[TW]Fox;26900521 said:
The other good thing about the Audi BiTDi is that its the only engine choice bar the hybrid which will allow you to have a transmission that actually suits the car.
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The RS6 also has the ZF8HP.

[TW]Fox;26903230 said:
Most of the 116d are 2 litre engines which is why the deliver similar economy.
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I thought that with the F20 that the 14 and 16 diesels were both 1.6s and the 18/20 and 25 were 2.0s.
 
This is a difficult one for me because I've only ever really had diesel experience with hire cars which are invariably low to moderately-powered 4-cyl models and I generally dislike diesels.

The worst one would be the 1.6 TDI in a mk6 Golf. Gutless, awful power delivery and power band, noisy, not particularly economical.

Recently I had a 1.6 HDI Citroen C4 which, whilst it exhibited most of the above traits, it was fairly impressively economical.

In terms of which one is the best - as I said, quite difficult to say but probably an A4 2.0 TDI with the Multitronic CVT box. I know everyone lambasts that gearbox but I genuinely thought it worked well with the engine.


I don't own a diesel-powered vehicle and can't really envisage myself doing so any time soon. I've sadly had no experience with "proper" diesels such as the ones mentioned in this thread.
 
Out of my two diesels I much prefer the 3l TDV6 in the Range Rover, the way it just pulls all the weight pretty quickly is impressive and it sounds nice too albeit juicy.

The Ultra 2l 190 TDI in my A6 is good too now it's run in a bit, returns about 50 mpg in dynamic/sport mode (throttle very sensitive) and in economy mode with being careful I got it up to 65 mpg but it's very boring to drive like that, throttle is a lot less sensitive, revs are limited and gear ratios feel different, not sure how in a manual...?

So the A6 makes up for what I lose in the Range Rover effectively :p

Worst I've driven is the 1.7 that I had in my Astra.
 
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The VAG 2.0CR TDi is very dull to drive (my one is a 140bhp version is a golf estate, I think the new version is 150bhp), although it is very quiet, very good on fuel (I've had over 70mpg on longer trips sat at 70) and touch wood so far my one has been ok reliability wise (although the clutch isn't very nice). I would however say my old VAG 1.9PD Diesel was better in every aspect apart from noise.
 
Only diesels I have driven are a 2.0TDI A4 and a 1.9TDI Polo (unless you want to count vans, which I don't)

Neither of them sounded great, being 4 pot diesels, but the 1.9 was considerably more lumpy than the 2.0, and the power seemed to roll off a-lot sooner. There was definitely less of a usable power band in the 1.9 compared to the 2.0.

That said, it was a re-mapped PD130 with about 165HP in a Polo, so it pulled like a train and was incredible. :p
 
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