Is it worth considering Petrol over Diesel?

Slime101

Slime101

Slime101

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I have a dilemma, i start a new job in Bath next week (thurs) and have to commute the 60ish miles each way daily as my house also fell through.

This wouldnt be a problem except i wrote off my car last week too, so with a budget of approx 5K (can go higher if nessecary) what can i get that isnt gonna cost a fortune to run and wil be comfortable for that ammount of travel every day?

I was looking solely at Diesels, however cant seem to find a good one at a good price so is it worth considering alternative petrols?
 
Yes, it almost certainly is. Do the maths - work out how much you'll spend a month on petrol, how much you'll spend a month on a diesel and see if the amount is significant enough to make a diesel worthwhile.

If most of your driving is at steady speeds on dual carriageways and Motorways it likely isnt.
 
I went from a 306 TD to a Mondeo ST-24, it cost me a whopping £10 a week more in fuel, but pretty much all my commute was MWAY driving.

If the choice is between a mundane 1.6 and a diesel then i would say diesel, but if you can afford a decent petrol (ie 2.0 or above) then petrol all the way.
 
Slime101 said:
I have a dilemma, i start a new job in Bath next week (thurs) and have to commute the 60ish miles each way daily as my house also fell through.

This wouldnt be a problem except i wrote off my car last week too, so with a budget of approx 5K (can go higher if nessecary) what can i get that isnt gonna cost a fortune to run and wil be comfortable for that ammount of travel every day?

I was looking solely at Diesels, however cant seem to find a good one at a good price so is it worth considering alternative petrols?
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Yes, it's always worth considering alternatives, but I'd be very surprised if you found a petrol option that was better. With that length of commute the savings will add up pretty quickly and petrol is unlikely to offer any benefits other than a small difference in initial cost on that kind of drive.

IMO, a modern diesel engine is a better choice for motorway/high speed runs, it'll be quieter, and offer better performance in the 50-80 band that you're most likely to want the power in and deliver significantly better fuel economy - I'm currently saving around £80 a month from the switch.

If you're ducking through country lanes on the other hand, you might want a petrol for that wide power band and rewarding revy engine.

I think it's very unlikely I'll ever drive another petrol.
 
Its mainly country A roads with the odd dual carriageway on the commute, hardly very quick either at upto 2 hours for the journey so "sporty" isnt a massive requirement altho i like to press on where possible.

I've done some sums and itll cost £2-3 more per day for a petrol (i think), which is quite a difference over the year.

However i have been driving diesels for years now and really like the way they drive, so not sure how i would "get on" with a petrol unless it had grunt!

The next problem of course is finding a car, the crash has drastically reduced my budget so rules out the S3 i wanted, and even A3's to a great extent.
 
you won't go wrong with a mondeo TDCi 130, quick enough, handle the twisties quite well, a lot more car for your money than from equivelents, what is your budget though?
 
wohoo said:
I went from a 306 TD to a Mondeo ST-24, it cost me a whopping £10 a week more in fuel, but pretty much all my commute was MWAY driving.

If the choice is between a mundane 1.6 and a diesel then i would say diesel, but if you can afford a decent petrol (ie 2.0 or above) then petrol all the way.
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Is the last statement in context of the budget from the OP or more of a general petrol > smoke tractor opinion?
 
My commute is 50 miles each way, so 100 miles a day (see locations).

In my 2002 1.8T Passat I would get around 400 miles to a tank (Around 50quid). With the 1.9 JTDm Alfa I'm getting 500 - 550 for the same commute.

I'm also gaining from the service intervals which have increased from every 10,000 miles to 12,000 miles although I haven't had the Alfa serviced yet so am not sure on the comparative service costs.

My 2 cents!
 
Slime101 said:
I have a dilemma, i start a new job in Bath next week (thurs) and have to commute the 60ish miles each way daily as my house also fell through.
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I would go for petrol but since you are doing 120 miles a day (31k per year) you will probably need a diesel. Mondeo is great for driving long journey and very cheap & easy to buy a good mondeo for under £5k.

I have Mondeo TDDI which does 48mpg or 550 miles per tank. The best I had was 617 miles mainly from A roads!

I was doing 17k per year and worked out how much I saved over Mondeo petrol (38mpg) - it was only £320 (£1770 vs £1450). With 120 miles per day, you would see a saving of maybe £500-600 per year but then, petrol mondeo is much cheaper to buy than diesel mondeo and also lose more value too, making petrol version a bargain buy.

It's all down to your personal preference.
 
Slime101 said:
Cos i'm picky and dont want a mondeo!
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in that case, you'll more than likely end up with a dog, or far less car than you could have with a mondeo, there's a reason they are so popular, the TDCi engine is one of the best diesels around, they eat miles, they are comfy, that's why they are a popular choice for commuters/ reps etc also, because of the fact there are plenty around, that drive3s the used prices further down, though, they are not as common as BMW 3 series anymore ;)
 
wez130 said:
there's a reason they are so popular, the TDCi engine is one of the best diesels around, they eat miles, they are comfy, that's why they are a popular choice for commuters/ reps etc
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Well, I think the quote above needs straightning up. Although you are right about TDCi engine in mk3 Mondeo being fairly good, you got the reasons for it's popularity wrong. The previous diesel in mondeo was one of the worst engines ever created, diesel or otherwise, and it was even more popular choice for reps and there were even more of them around.

Unfortunately popularity of any given model among fleet managers has nothing to do with quality, design, handling or comfort of the cars in question. And everything to do discounts and greasing.
 
I don't think there is really a definitive answer to this question. On the used market, the Diesel variant of a particular model is often vastly more expensive than the petrol equivalent, outweighing any potential cost savings. However, on some cars, the diesels are similar priced. You've also got to factor in whether or not you like the turbo diesel style of power delivery - a lot of people do and will swear their 110bhp Golf is the fastest car on the planet. Others will curse the narrow power band and wouldn't want to drive a car that sounds like a tractor.

It all boils down to your individual circumstances and what bargains present themselves. I would personally suggest keeping an open mind and looking for the best value for money rather than specifics - make, model, transmission, fuel, etc.
 
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