Petrol v diesel

[r.welfare]

A bloke in work here has a newish Micra diesel and it does 70-72mpg.

No, it doesn't.That's what the salesman/brochure told him. Those 1.5DCi engines are simply nowhere near as efficient as the figures would have you believe.

I did a proper brim-to-brim 68mpg in a 1.6HDI Pug 308. 700 miles on 50 quid of diesel - Newbury-Bradford-Newbury then Newbury-Solihull-Newbury. Steady 75mph on the m-way with Radio 2 and the aircon on. Bloody ugly device but I couldn't fault the economy. If Gareth's colleague drives like a nun he might be on the money although the 1.5DCI Megane I hired in Portugal "only" got 50mpg, five-up with loadsaluggage and full a/c at 130kph cruising mind.

[bigstraight6]

My company 57 plate Avensizzzz D4D has 105,000 miles under it's crank, and is starting to feel it, a rather pronounced diesel rattle has been the norm for a while now, in particular when starting from cold. It also seems to be as flat as a witches tit Now, our 15 year old BMW 325TD has a modest 165,000 miles on it, but it's so quiet and certainly has some get up and go when needed. I think the BMW M51 engine is just superb, even Pete-M would be impressed if he tried one!.......

[Pete-M]

My 4.2 Rover produces 272 NM at 1000 rpm Not even the best car turbodizzlas can manage that.

Even the ancient VM 2.5 turbodiesel found in Rover 825s manages that at around idle.

Strange, the official 825 TD torque output is less than 200 lb ft even at its 2100 rpm peak. But I'll take your word for it.

[Polystratus]

Loveliness from a 1 litre four pot? Methinks not!

How about a 600cc two pot one then I'd wouldn't have petrol 1 litre engine in a modern supermini like the new shape Vauxhall Corsa, bet the weight factor kills the MPG.

[Milford Cubicle]

My 4.2 Rover produces 272 NM at 1000 rpm Not even the best car turbodizzlas can manage that.

Even the ancient VM 2.5 turbodiesel found in Rover 825s manages that at around idle.

Strange, the official 825 TD torque output is less than 200 lb ft even at its 2100 rpm peak. But I'll take your word for it.

272NM is 200lb/ft innit?

[Pete-M]

272NM is 200lb/ft innit?

Yup.

[pogweasel]

If Gareth's colleague drives like a nun he might be on the money although the 1.5DCI Megane I hired in Portugal "only" got 50mpg, five-up with loadsaluggage and full a/c at 130kph cruising mind.

Must still be something wrong with mine then. I've had it checked, twice, as I thought it must be leaking or not running right, I'vetried driving like a saint, everything. And I gots no A/C or anything. I just can't get decent mileage out of the thing. It's not really dreadful, but it's not anywhere close to the average figures. OK, a Kangoo had pretty poor aerodynamics, but there's surely more to it than that, and all diagnostics suggest it is in perfect health.

[dollywobbler]

Loveliness from a 1 litre four pot? Methinks not!

How about a 600cc two pot one then

Now that's a different story. You'd be surprised how smooth they are!

[Guest]

The other day, I stuck a tenner of fuel in the 626 (2 litre carb) and did around 50-60 miles before the fuel light came on again. I even put 97 Octane in, just for fun.I really can't get it in my head to be that bothered about the cost of fuel and start working out my MPG and remembering how much it should be a litre, I feel like I've missed out somehow. People seem so bothered about it, even people who don't do that many miles or earn loads more money. The thing where they can remember what it was last time so they can say "It's gone up 2p!", how do they do that? It's like my dad, he'll go to loads of pain and misery to save about 30p filling his Avensis diesel, so he can go off to a garden centre miles away and buy a load of stuff he doesn't need. Am I the one in the wrong here? Have I made some kind of mistake? I just can't understand it.Anyway, diesels and petrols, they're just different, just depends what you get on with. I prefer petrols - I like the noise, I like where the power is, I like pulling up in front of a load of HOT CHICKS and the engine not going "duggaduggaduggadugga", I'm sure there's loads of advantages to diesels but in general I'm just not wanting to get involved with them.

[Pete-M]

I'm with Comrade Hirst on this, although a tenner in the Rover might do 35 miles on a good day.

[dollywobbler]

I've spent too long driving fuel misers, so anything that can't do 40mpg comes as a bit of a shock! I do a lot of miles each year, so if I'm not in something economical, I feel the pain.But being a petrolhead, I obviously like the sound and power of a proper engine. Diesels work fine as slow, economical machines like my BX. The problems start when you try competing with petrols in terms of performance. Diesels just can't win. Even if they match the power, it'll be over a power band that's about 2000rpm long.So I'll stick with both.

[Guest]

Further to an earlier point, my dad tells me almost religiously what the prices are at the Asda petrol station and seemed genuinely panicked when it closed down for a few weeks for refurbishment.Despite his good intentions, I daren't really tell him that I've never bought petrol from there because I can't be bothered queueing and they don't have a proper shop. I had to fill up today and I went to the weird independent Texaco because they have an impressive flapjack range. There's another one I just like going to because it sells cans of "Rio".

[mk1_4dr]

Im in the same boat as D.Hirst. I vaguely glance at the price on the pump, but It wouldnt affect where I fill up, and as far as working out MPG, well, niether escRot or the E30 is ever going to win any efficiency-drives so why depress myself with cold hard figures?

[Tayne]

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[garethj]

I can't think of any advantage of a 1.0 petrol over a 1.5 turbo diesel though.

The point was, that a 1 litre AX is £200, my colleague's new Micra was something like 5 grand. That difference pays for a lot of petrol.

 

 

A bloke in work here has a newish Micra diesel and it does 70-72mpg.

 

 

No, it doesn't.

That's what the salesman/brochure told him.

Those 1.5DCi engines are simply nowhere near as efficient as the figures would have you believe.

I did a proper brim-to-brim 68mpg in a 1.6HDI Pug 308. 700 miles on 50 quid of diesel - Newbury-Bradford-Newbury then Newbury-Solihull-Newbury. Steady 75mph on the m-way with Radio 2 and the aircon on. Bloody ugly device but I couldn't fault the economy.

 

If Gareth's colleague drives like a nun he might be on the money although the 1.5DCI Megane I hired in Portugal "only" got 50mpg, five-up with loadsaluggage and full a/c at 130kph cruising mind.

He's far from driving as if on his test, but commuting to work you can't really go that fast because you just catch up with the car in front. I believe it gets a thrashing on the short bit of dual carriageway, but in day to day motoring you just go as fast as the rest of the traffic. His 70+mpg comes from the trip computer, and I suppose they're not always accurate

 

Unless you're on a bike of course My ZZR1100 did 47-48mpg including commuting through London, and I wasn't hanging about on the clear roads either

[dieselnutjob]

if you calculate speed as mph per ££ then diesels are quicker.This discussion will never reach a conclusion, other than the conclusion that some people prefer petrol engines and that other people prefer diesel engines.What the petrol engine people need to understand is that it's not all about mpg and the price of fuel. Some people like me like diesels (mostly the torque characteristics) whether they are cheaper or not.

[myglaren]

Just driven a C6 2.7L V6 diesel and it was (is) very refined, quiet, quick and reasonably frugal considering the engine size, the size and weight of the car.

[r.welfare]

I love the C6. Mmm. And that 2.7L twin-tub PSA dizzler six is a peach in S-Type Jag flavour IMO.