Why European Drivers Like Diesel Engine

[focusian]

I heard from friend that >60% of car is diesel. Is it correct?.

If so, why...why don't you like benzine?.

[jeebowhite]

In my opinion, I do a lot of motorway miles, keeps the price down on general fuel usage, and you get extra power from the equivelant diesel. for example, my in laws own a 1.6 petrol, 89bhp - my 1.6 diesel - 109 bhp :).

Other than that, it has too many PITA features such as the "lets save the world" Diesel Partificulate Filter, if I knew of its existence before purchasing diesel, I most likely would have changed my mind...

[focusian]

In my opinion, I do a lot of motorway miles, keeps the price down on general fuel usage, and you get extra power from the equivelant diesel. for example, my in laws own a 1.6 petrol, 89bhp - my 1.6 diesel - 109 bhp :).

Other than that, it has too many PITA features such as the "lets save the world" Diesel Partificulate Filter, if I knew of its existence before purchasing diesel, I most likely would have changed my mind...

thanks, Jeebowhite.

[ford focus edge]

Theres a very clear divide between petrol and diesel some people like diesel some hate them like me .. there for skin flints who dont like driving or cars :P sorry jeeb but you and me both 1.6's off the lights we'll see whos is fastest ;) .

Diesels are cheaper to run over long period of time if you do alot of miles but if you dont theres not alot of point buying one because of the extra cost of the car to purchase and the dpf bills etc. Im not saying that to slag off diesel's and there owners just these days unless you do BIG miles there pointless yet alot of people that do 5000miles a year and p**sing money away on them its mad!

[jeebowhite]

Theres a very clear divide between petrol and diesel some people like diesel some hate them like me .. there for skin flints who dont like driving or cars :P sorry jeeb but you and me both 1.6's off the lights we'll see whos is fastest ;) .

Lol, one day and I like my 110bhp from a small and completely unmodified in any way shape or form! and your right, at the moment I don't like cars, bleedin' bills!

Diesels are cheaper to run over long period of time if you do alot of miles but if you dont theres not alot of point buying one because of the extra cost of the car to purchase and the dpf bills etc. Im not saying that to slag off diesel's and there owners just these days unless you do BIG miles there pointless yet alot of people that do 5000miles a year and p**sing money away on them its mad!

I can possibly hit up to 16200 miles a year when I dont do car pools! its a pain, I dont mind diesel, I grew to like it, but the bills assosciated with it, and the DPF its cr*p, I am tempted to go back to petrol very soon!

[ford focus edge]

Lol, one day and I like my 110bhp from a small and completely unmodified in any way shape or form! and your right, at the moment I don't like cars, bleedin' bills!

I can possibly hit up to 16200 miles a year when I dont do car pools! its a pain, I dont mind diesel, I grew to like it, but the bills assosciated with it, and the DPF its cr*p, I am tempted to go back to petrol very soon!

Mines not THAT modded if anything ive slowed it down but id rather have the heated seats in this weather than the off the line speed lol.

My mates just sacked off an astra diesel after its cost him thousands needed a dfp replacement and 2 gearboxes utterly pointless he now has an e reg xr2i thats never gone wrong once in these artic months we've had haha love it!

[jeebowhite]

Mines not THAT modded if anything ive slowed it down but id rather have the heated seats in this weather than the off the line speed lol.

Lol, may I draw your attention to your signature... :P

My mates just sacked off an astra diesel after its cost him thousands needed a dfp replacement and 2 gearboxes utterly pointless he now has an e reg xr2i thats never gone wrong once in these artic months we've had haha love it!

Yeah cant stand diesel filters at all not looking forward to that bill!

[ford focus edge]

Lol, may I draw your attention to your signature... :P

Yeah cant stand diesel filters at all not looking forward to that bill!

Well you shouldn't of crossed to the diesel side then should you :P

[cyb]

I heard from friend that >60% of car is diesel. Is it correct?.

If so, why...why don't you like benzine?.

Just to balance things up a bit …

A diesel car will typically cost more to buy than petrol, but cost less per mile in fuel. So how far would you need to drive to break even.

Ford Fiesta

1.4 Titanium 3d

List price £13,495

Fuel consumption 49 mpg

Price per litre 123.3p

1.4 TDCi (70bhp) Titanium 3d

List price £14,245

Fuel consumption 68 mpg

Price per litre 127.5p

Extra cost to buy £750 over petrol

Fuel saving per 1000 miles £29.15

Miles to break even 25,725

Time to break even

at 12,000 miles per year 2 years

Many 'driver's' also prefer a diesel because of the torque – diesel engines generally will have more torque than an equivalent petrol engine. This ‘torque’ means you have more power to use when overtaking than the petrol engine car and whilst many people look at 0-60 figures they are pointless as once the equivalent diesel car is moving he’ll pull away far quicker.

Tuning, modern diesel engines are very tuneable and for very little outlay (£250 - £300) you can soon add an extra 50bhp to your diesel engine giving you even more power over your petrol engined friend ;)

As you say over 60% of Europeans prefer diesels and I’m just one of them. That 60% is there because it can make a lot of sense to go diesel :)

[ford focus edge]

Just to balance things up a bit …

A diesel car will typically cost more to buy than petrol, but cost less per mile in fuel. So how far would you need to drive to break even.

Ford Fiesta

1.4 Titanium 3d

List price £13,495

Fuel consumption 49 mpg

Price per litre 123.3p

1.4 TDCi (70bhp) Titanium 3d

List price £14,245

Fuel consumption 68 mpg

Price per litre 127.5p

Extra cost to buy £750 over petrol

Fuel saving per 1000 miles £29.15

Miles to break even 25,725

Time to break even

at 12,000 miles per year 2 years

so that means if you do 12.000 miles per year and will keep the car for 2 years or more a diesel can make sense.

Many 'driver's' also prefer a diesel because of the torque – diesel engines generally will have more torque than an equivalent petrol engine. This ‘torque’ means you have more power to use when overtaking than the petrol engine car and whilst many people look at 0-60 figures they are pointless as once the equivalent diesel car is moving he’ll pull away far quicker.

Tuning, modern diesel engines are very tuneable and for very little outlay (£250 - £300) you can soon add an extra 50bhp to your diesel engine giving you even more power over your petrol engined friend ;)

As you say over 60% of Europeans prefer diesels and I’m just one of them. That 60% is there because it can make a lot of sense to go diesel :)

I do detect my face has just been slapped by a duelling glove and sir i accept :P

I fully accept that over a period of time a diesel can be cheaper mileage and reliability taken into account but what about the servicing costs of a diesel engine over a petrol if there still is one, known dpf failures, turbo faults etc. I know petrols have faults but recent times ive seen alot more newer diesels having alot more issues recently than there petrol counterparts might be just due to the mass production of those engines over the petrols.

By 250-300 quid power increase i assume you mean superchips? If so my mate did that to his 150bhp diesel astra and blew the clutch chips are good but in alot of cars they lead to early wear on clutches gearboxes etc etc i like the idea of them il grant you that another good friend has done it to his seat leon 225 standard its now running aprox 255 and the whole car just came alive after it so in some instances there brilliant but it seems very car dependant. Works well on bmw 320d's though ;)

[focusian]

Well ! thanks everyone for a lot of comments, anyone else ?...................... :D

[cyb]

By 250-300 quid power increase i assume you mean superchips? If so my mate did that to his 150bhp diesel astra and blew the clutch chips are good but in alot of cars they lead to early wear on clutches gearboxes etc etc i like the idea of them il grant you that another good friend has done it to his seat leon 225 standard its now running aprox 255 and the whole car just came alive after it so in some instances there brilliant but it seems very car dependant. Works well on bmw 320d's though ;)

I am referring mainly to tuning boxes not chips.

Any car tuning; petrol or diesel may put pressure on other components as will poor driving and the hard accelerating of a normal non tuned car

I personally had a tuning box fitted to my last car and had no related problems.

I have owned numerous cars, both petrol and diesel, and can’t honestly say which is the most reliable as I have had problems with both fuel types. But I will say my wife has 1.4 petrol which has broken down twice since buying it brand new 10 months ago. As yet I have had no problems with my 1.4 diesel despite clocking up twice the mileage in a similar period. :)

[jeebowhite]

Diesel Engine lifespan also is a very good thing, if you are wanting to run it to the ground, that too is a benefit, but overall my diesel is costing my too much in maintenance, and with the dreaded DPF change on the horizon, it has truely put me off. I would rather spend more over a longer period of time than be hit by a huge bill later down the line!

There are so many pros and cons to both Petrol and Diesel, I think the issues that we all experience are not necessarily linked to either the word "Petrol" or "Diesel" but to the parts that are manufactured, and did they maybe put a tatty part in the car that tends to be unlucky victim.

If the DPF didnt exist (which it didnt until stupid EU regulations made the damned things nion mandatory!) I would happily stick with diesel.

I am not one to happily destroy the ozone, and see many generations down the line suffer for it, but if its Petrol, Diesel or walking... I cant afford to walk 60 miles per day, and I cant afford the diesel filter bills...

[cmaximum]

Could it be because diesel engines can run on biodiesel and vegetal used oil ?

By the way: any news on Ford actual engines adding biodiesel or vegetal oil to diesel and associated consequences ?

Renault engines perform very well, I know.

[hillmangimp]

I agree with whats been said about the 'reliability' of the modern diesel engine. However petrol engines are going the same way in terms of the technology they are employing (direct injection such as that of Ford's ecoboost engines) and it will be interesting to see if in the upcoming years we hear of a high number of problems with these engines as seen on common rail diesel technology.