Do diesels rule?

[chrisdc]

I'm writing this in attempt to get a bit of 'positive spin' out of my bad diesel V50 experience

I own a V50 2.0D Powershift. While it's been visiting the other Volvos at the dealership (mine is a very lonely car so it spends a lot of time there), I've been driving a Peugeot 207, loaned to me by said dealer.

What we have here is a newish, small, manual petrol car with about 30,000km on the clock. I've been driving it for about 5 weeks and to date it's recorded an average fuel consumption of 6.2 l/100km.

Being manual, it's not suited to city driving because you're continually having to rummage around in its guts looking for a suitable gear.

Being petrol, there's no torque worth mentioning (this really becomes apparent when you pull out to overtake and then find that you're actually 'all done' in the power department) and having a capacity of some 1400 - 1600cc, this compounds the problem further. All in all, a bad combination. Now factor in the chances of walking away from it in the event of a crash.... well frankly, I'd really rather be in my Volvo.

Interestingly, when my Volvo is not 'broken', it manages around 7.2 l/100km under the same driving conditions (route). Given that it weighs about half a ton more, has a bigger engine and an automatic transmission, it's actually not bad at all! And of course when when you pull out to overtake, there's ample power to get the job done

So yes, in my opinion, diesels do rule!

[marc]

Look at it this way, you'll be glad to get out of the Pug when your car is fixed. The 2.0D is a good lump, and for a smallish fee (if you want to this is) can be sooooo much better.

[chrisdc]

Originally Posted by marc

Look at it this way, you'll be glad to get out of the Pug when your car is fixed. The 2.0D is a good lump, and for a smallish fee (if you want to this is) can be sooooo much better.

Sadly, Polestar is not an option on my car, I already checked

[krisby]

Originally Posted by chrisdc

Interestingly, when my Volvo is not 'broken', it manages around 7.2 l/100km under the same driving conditions (route). Given that it weighs about half a ton more, has a bigger engine and an automatic transmission, it's actually not bad at all! And of course when when you pull out to overtake, there's ample power to get the job done

So yes, in my opinion, diesels do rule!

Your comparing Apples and butterflies though, if you were to compare a turbo petrol there would be a gaping chasm.

I've owned 2 diesels in my rather long list of car ownership, both were great when they were running, getting 35-45mpg, but they were frequently needing something fixed in or around the engine, it became such a chore and dropped the enjoyment and increased the cost of ownership.
My petrols have never left me stranded, never gone into limp mode and make a much better sound.
My current S60 2.5T returns 26mpg on my commute into London and I bet does all the things you say diesels are good for...better.
Sorry, just stirring, but the argument as to whether diesels rule or not is very subjective, you yourself have had problems which for me would immediately be a big black mark against it, 5 weeks without your own car is unacceptable in my opinion.

[Shadeyman]

Generally speaking if you want a strong, cheap to run, reliable engine, buy a diesel.
If you want something to thrash about, don't care if its reliable or cheap to run, buy a petrol.

HGV, busses, trains, cruise ships etc dont use petrol engines, they use diesels, the reasons why are pretty obvious IMO ...

Q. Do diesels rule?
A. Most of the time.

[krisby]

Originally Posted by Shadeyman

Generally speaking if you want a strong, cheap to run, reliable engine, buy a diesel.
If you want something to thrash about, don't care if its reliable or cheap to run, buy a petrol.

HGV, busses, trains, cruise ships etc dont use petrol engines, they use diesels, the reasons why are pretty obvious IMO ...

Q. Do diesels rule?
A. Most of the time.

They also do big mileage, and that is where the diesel side (if reliable) pays off. However, that was not the reason the OP gave for diesels being best.
Also your suggestion about why to buy a petrol is wrong, why would anyone not care if its reliable? Heck, I bought my 528i because I knew being a Beemer it would be reliable, which would offset the cost of petrol, and it did, only oil changes, nothing else went wrong.
And you're reasoning for buying a diesel goes against the general acceptance, diesels are not reliable engines, they need more maintenance, again, only if you do moon miles does it even out.
On here, VAG, BMW, Ford, from what I have read on the numerous forums, and experience with VAG and Vauxhall, diesels do have more problems.

[marc]

Originally Posted by chrisdc

Sadly, Polestar is not an option on my car, I already checked

Take a look at Shark Performance, BSR to name a couple.

[Shadeyman]

The OP wrote:

Originally Posted by chrisdc

I'm writing this in attempt to get a bit of 'positive spin' out of my bad diesel V50 experience

And I answered it. People who want reliability dont use petrol engines, they use diesels. Unfortunately he has problems.

Originally Posted by krisby

They also do big mileage, and that is where the diesel side (if reliable) pays off. However, that was not the reason the OP gave for diesels being best.
Also your suggestion about why to buy a petrol is wrong, why would anyone not care if its reliable? Heck, I bought my 528i because I knew being a Beemer it would be reliable, which would offset the cost of petrol, and it did, only oil changes, nothing else went wrong.
And you're reasoning for buying a diesel goes against the general acceptance, diesels are not reliable engines, they need more maintenance, again, only if you do moon miles does it even out.
On here, VAG, BMW, Ford, from what I have read on the numerous forums, and experience with VAG and Vauxhall, diesels do have more problems.

Diesel engines are far more efficient then petrol engines so use less fuel to cover the same amount of miles, fuel price has little impact when comparing the two. Diesels have lower road tax to because of lower emissions. Service periods are longer for diesels, this can save on down time, labour and part costs. If you do more than 15,000 miles a year its recommended you drive a diesel, personally I don't concider 15,000 a year a lot of miles. Diesels are far more reliable than petrol and its the no.1 reason businesses that rely on their vehicles use diesels. They're usually cheaper to insure to, making diesels a far better choice for most people. Yes, someone doing 7 or 8 thousand miles a year would benifit from buying a petrol but for those of us that do more diesel is usually a better option.

[krisby]

Originally Posted by Shadeyman

The OP wrote:


And I answered it. People who want reliability dont use petrol engines, they use diesels. Unfortunately he has problems.



Diesel engines are far more efficient then petrol engines so use less fuel to cover the same amount of miles, fuel price has little impact when comparing the two. Diesels have lower road tax to because of lower emissions. Service periods are longer for diesels, this can save on down time, labour and part costs. If you do more than 15,000 miles a year its recommended you drive a diesel, personally I don't concider 15,000 a year a lot of miles. Diesels are far more reliable than petrol and its the no.1 reason businesses that rely on their vehicles use diesels. They're usually cheaper to insure to, making diesels a far better choice for most people. Yes, someone doing 7 or 8 thousand miles a year would benifit from buying a petrol but for those of us that do more diesel is usually a better option.

Ok, my comment about diesels being unreliable wasn't meant entirely that way, I mean like for like, I was looking at a 528i or 530D, consensus was the petrol would be more reliable.
I'm just going on my own experience too, my Toledo 1.9Tdi was in the garage numerous times over the 10000miles I owned it, excluding general maintenance, but for engine issues it must have been 5 times, MAF, Turbo, MAF again, EGR, and my Vectra SRi same thing, EGR, ICV, Lambda sensor, MAF, I was fed up with them always being in the garage to "fix" an immediate problem, whereas with my petrols I always put them in the garage for preventative maintenance.
Just personal experience I guess, but I've never had an unreliable petrol car.

[david philips]

the fuel this little peugeot uses 6.2 miles per litre, goodness my 19 year old 940 turbo petrol can manage that.