38 replies to this topic

[Brigante]

Don't argue with the nath

[sambooka]

Right, in answer to the "oh diesel's so much more expensive at the pumps" argument - it's really not!

Petrol MK7 has 42l tank, at £1.299 that's £54.56 for a full fill up. If you get 350 miles that's 15.6p a mile

Diesel MK7 has 40l tank, at £1.389 that's £55.56 (a whole £1 more!) and if you get 520 miles that's 10.7p a mile.

Case closed

40 litres in the deisel I hope not I put 41.5 in when I filled up and it said I had 38 miles left on the computer either I there's a reserve of a few litres or bp have scammed me

[FOCA]

I couldn't own a diesel, it sounds like a tank and is slow off the mark. I'm insured on my parents 1.6 focus TDCi and it's hard work driving it. Forever seem to be changing gears as well

Sorry, got to disagree, my "slightly tuned" 180+Hp /400Nm diesel is not slow off the mark, and once on the open road i can practically leave it in top and it is quick and responsive on the road
(+ it is as quick/ or quicker than many petrol cars that are faster "on paper")

i used to drive petrol cars but im a "diesel man" now - i had to drive a 1L petrol car recently and i kept stalling it - it would'nt pull the skin off a rice pudding!

(thought i would add my tuppence worth about the performance petrol vs diesel - the MPG has been covered)

its a "personal taste" thing but if i was doing 400+ miles a diesel is the sensible choice IMO

[Marcr1]

In all fairness you can't compare your 180bhp car to this debate, it's kind of cheating the fiesta are no where near that.

Like you say it's personal preference and if you put the miles in then it's worth it

[JoeyG]

I would like a Diesel, as I do alot of miles, but love the sound of the petrol engine, the only Diesel I have driven is a Yaris, and that was terrible.

I doubt the Fiesta Diesels are terrible, as I can see people defending it. My next Fiesta/Focus will probebly be a Diesel. (Depending on how good the 1.0L Eco Boost is)

[scotthunter]

Right, in answer to the "oh diesel's so much more expensive at the pumps" argument - it's really not!

Petrol MK7 has 42l tank, at £1.299 that's £54.56 for a full fill up. If you get 350 miles that's 15.6p a mile

Diesel MK7 has 40l tank, at £1.389 that's £55.56 (a whole £1 more!) and if you get 520 miles that's 10.7p a mile.

Case closed

Ok, so if one spends the extra £1500 buying the diesel model instead of the petrol, they would have to drive 30,612 miles before they recoup the difference in purchase cost! And assuming I drive 15,000 miles a year, the car will be two years old at that point and will probably have lost about a third of it's value anyway. So the cost savings of buying a diesel over a petrol are insignificant compared to the cost of depreciation.

Of course the savings would be more noticeable for older / higher mileage cars.

I probably would have seriously considered buying a diesel for my 400 mile commute to save about £20 a week, but the above argument still stands, plus the fact that petrols outnumber diesels in the used Ford car market about 4 to 1 so there are greater savings to be had on petrols in terms of supply and demand, plus the fact that to my knowledge the Street Pack isn't available on the diesel (the spanner alloys and privacy glass was a must-have for me).

[jimrex]

I am probably only marginally better off with a diesel at the moment (mileage in my current job can be a tad up and down depending on how often I do client vists and where they are - currently just deal with companies in Cambs, Beds, Northants and Herts, so never any more than an hour's drive).

I actually prefer the way the diesel goes - okay, you change gear a lot, it's not quicker off the line than a petrol and the turbo does lag sometimes when you need it, but that burst of turbo that kicks in for overtaking is brilliant... I know a 1.6 is never going to set the world alight, but I'm glad I plumped for the 1.6TDCI over the petrol.

I bet the new Ecoboost is amazing in the Fiesta, and blends both the benefits of petrol and diesel.

To answer your original post, it's up to you but I would hang on to the ZS. Your running costs would increase with the extra performance of the Metal (they would if I was making the most of the extra power anyway!). If most of your driving is on the motorway, the drone of the sportier exhaust might get a bit tiring after a while.

Having said that, I know I am constantly looking at new cars so I can fully understand your eagerness to swap

[iNath]

Oh dear Scott, now I'm gonna have to make another spreadsheet when I get home to prove my point further

[iNath]

Right, here we go Scott

Assumptions:

• I know fuel cost won't be the same for 3 years but lets assume the gap stays the same
• As above for road tax
• I've been generous with the petrol MPG..
• Cost new was taken from the ford.co.uk configurator for a 1.6 petrol & diesel Zetec-S and is list price with no extras or haggling!

[Marcr1]

That's quite a good comparison you've made there and I'm not arguing with the facts.

You say you've been generous with petrol but you have with diesel to. I've seen that you can get 65 but 75% of people would buy a ZS for a sporty car so 65 is a bit ambitious

[Marcr1]

No ones going to ever meet eye to eye on this one

[Marcr1]

It's like arguing what your favourite football team is

[iNath]

It's like arguing what your favourite football team is

That's an easy one, I don't like football

[Stoney871]

I can see this going for a while.
Horses for courses I think.
High mileage and commuting - Diesel
Low mileage or urban bimbling - Petrol
(we diesel owners will always know what's best though)

[scotthunter]

I actually prefer the way the diesel goes - okay, you change gear a lot, it's not quicker off the line than a petrol and the turbo does lag sometimes when you need it, but that burst of turbo that kicks in for overtaking is brilliant... I know a 1.6 is never going to set the world alight, but I'm glad I plumped for the 1.6TDCI over the petrol.

The turbo of the diesel can't beat the naturally aspirated Ti-VCT 1.6 when you drop into second and bury the throttle all the way to the red line! It makes a great noise and certainly gets the adrenaline pumping!

I find diesels run out of puff after 4000rpm and they are noisy (in a bad way). Yes, the power and torque is more accessible in everyday driving, but it can't compare with the petrol if you really want to shift.

It would have been nice if Ford had included a turbocharged petrol unit like in the Citoren DS3 1.6 D-Sport THP. It's 155hp and 0-60 in 7.3 sec. Hopefully the new ST will wipe the floor with that though.