Evening all,

 

newbie here - and was after a bit of advice.

 

I'm looking for a vehicle to move people and hopefully fully assembled bicycles around, and seem to have narrowed it down to either a Tourneo Connect, or a Grand Tourneo Connect.

 

Ideally I am after a petrol (We don't make many long trips so worried about the dpf dying), with the likelihood of an LPG conversion, with a 1.5 or 1.6 diesel as a second option.

 

I was all set on the 50mpg 1.0 ecoboost Tourneo, but have read a lot about the actual mpg being 30% worse, and also a coolant hose breaking regularly (Even after replacement) which completely cooks the engine - also a little part of me does worry about a 1.0 engine moving a BIG car.

So, this lead me to the 1.6 lump, which is also marketed as an 'Ecoboost', but unfortunately only comes in automatic guise - but I can live with that for the practicalities.

MPG is meant to be a more realistic 32, and LPG is still an option, although I have been quoted £2600 as it's a direct injection engine :-(

Road tax is £250.

 

Other option is 1.5 diesel, £30 road tax, 60ish mpg (Means cost per mile for fuel is pretty much identical to an LPG converted 1.6) but then the DPF potential big bills come into play, and as it's not a Mustang, I find it unlikely I am going to be motivated to 'take it out for a blast' :-)

 

So basically what I am really asking, is do any of you know of any evidence that suggests the 1.6 with this relatively modest level of tune, is a problem engine or could suffer similar issues to it's smaller sibling - presumably it is not a 3 cylinder like the 1.0?

Would you go for the diesel instead?

Am I right to discount the 1.0 Ecoboost - appreciate that is not available in the Grand Tourneo at all.

 

For those who are nor familiar - this is what it is - a LWB Connect van with windows basically.

 

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Dan

1 hour ago, Daniel B said:

MPG is meant to be a more realistic 32, and LPG is still an option, although I have been quoted £2600 as it's a direct injection engine 😞

Road tax is £250.

£2600 is quite a few new DPFs! The newer DPFs, which are usually catalytic, are better the the old ones, and the regen systems are usually better. No need at all to rev it up and give it a blast. I have a friend with a new Suzuki diesel, if the regen indicator comes on towards the end of a journey, he just extends it a bit to complete the regen, It will do it just ambling around average roads. Or just accepts it will regen on the next journey. No fuss, no blasting around at high revs.

On a bigger vehicle like that, the 1l is going to be working near its limits a lot of the time, so the -30% on the MPG is probably realistic. In a Focus, the 1l can deliver over 65mpg, but there is enormous variability

I had a coolant hose burst on my old 1.8 a month or so ago. I just noticed a bit of steam in the headlights when I parked, checked the reservoir the next morning, it was empty. Did a temporary repair to the hose, then a better one when I got a bit of hose (about £5), job done, no problems. It only runs at about 80C, so did not overheat. The 1L usually runs at over 100C, so any burst is a major drama.

On 32MPG, and +£220 a year in tax, with fuel at £1.30 a litre and likely to go up more, you can do the maths as to how long it takes to save the cost of a new DPF.

The MPG figures for GTDI engines (petrol turbo direct injection, like the Ford petrol ecoboosts) vary hugely depending on driving conditions, and are often very optimistic. Diesel MPGs are often quite a bit more realistic. The higher compression ratio of diesel (18:1 or more, vs 10:1 for spark ignition) will always mean the spark ignition engine is inherently less efficient.

So with a vehicle like that, I would guess the diesel will be cheaper, and better for the environment (less CO2) than petrol, unless your mileage is really tiny.

I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me! Though Thermodynamics was one of my favourite subjects at Uni, I might, for no particularly good reason, mention!

 

I would go for the diesel, that 1.5 is a lovely engine and as peter says the new dpf' dont suffer like the old ones do.

Now my car has loosened up i get 48 mpg mixed  roads,  i dont hang about so younshould see somewhere around thart figure, on the 60 mph A9 on a journey to perth i can get over 65mpg, as long as there is now traffic and i maintain a constant speed

That's good to know, thankyou both for your replies.

 

The more I read, the more the diesel seems to make sense.

 

Do I read it correctly that the manual is £30 a year tax, versus £120 for the same 1.5 engine but with an automatic box?

 

@Pragmatix, is your car manual or auto, and what would you recommend mated to this engine?

 

A couple of 1.5's that are the right spec, and right price, one 40 miles away is an auto, and a manual 100 miles away.

 

 

Actually the manual is 170 miles away.

Its a manual.