Hi everyone,

as the title said, why you decided to go petrol instead of diesel?

I'm asking because I always had diesel car since I got my driving license, and this one is my first with a petrol engine.

It's way more fun, engine is smooth and it costs at least 2k less than the diesel one, plus I don't have to deal with DPF issues ( Very common), bad smell and black smoke anymore.

For me was a sensible choice because I drive only 1100-1200 km per month.

Plus, maintenance and insurance should costs less.

Only con is fuel range: When I drove diesel cars 20 euros of diesel last me way more than a week,sometimes also 10 days, even with spirited way of drive. 

Now? With 20 euro  ( 13 liters) I'm lucky if I can drive for 160-170 km, at the beginning when it was a novelty for me, the same amount of fuel last me 2 days! :P

I have to say a bigger fuel tank wouldn't hurt..

 

What about you?

Yes, same as you basically - used to do big mileages, now down to 5 - 6,000 miles (8 - 9500 km) a year. Similar thoughts on range - I've had 750 miles to a tank with diesel, petrol around 350.

I do like 1000-2500 miles a year 🤣. With me it's the opposite, went from petrol to diesel mainly because the 1.6 diesel in the fiesta I have is faster but as economical and cheap to run as my 1 litre petrol Peugeot 107. 

I may have to resort back to the pug though due to the emissions charge I hope that doesn't come in 2 years 

i changed to diesel in 2007 for the fuel economy (fiesta 1.6tdci)

also, compared to petrol fiestas of that time the diesel had tons more torque and felt much better to drive.

also in 2007 the UK road tax was cheaper for the 1.6tdci than the petrol engines.

I know the ecoboost petrol engine changed all that (torque and road tax cost)  but when I last changed my car (2016) I still got diesel for the economy and I felt that the ecoboost fiesta engine was a highly tuned sensitive engine that was pushed to the limit whereas the diesel just seemed to me to be more durable. I will never know if I was right or wrong (as I am not using one of each in identical driving)

I'v been driving since I was 16 (67 years ago) and have never had a diesel car.   I just cannot stand the smell of the stuff.

@isetta even now the road tax is £30 for the 1.6 TDCI 😁. Same as the 1.4 TDCI. 

£30 for the Ecoboost 100 auto too.

14 hours ago, isetta said:

i changed to diesel in 2007 for the fuel economy (fiesta 1.6tdci)

also, compared to petrol fiestas of that time the diesel had tons more torque and felt much better to drive.

also in 2007 the UK road tax was cheaper for the 1.6tdci than the petrol engines.

I know the ecoboost petrol engine changed all that (torque and road tax cost)  but when I last changed my car (2016) I still got diesel for the economy and I felt that the ecoboost fiesta engine was a highly tuned sensitive engine that was pushed to the limit whereas the diesel just seemed to me to be more durable. I will never know if I was right or wrong (as I am not using one of each in identical driving)

How do you recover the initial 2k more in the price tag of the diesel?

plus, no dpf issues with these few miles every year?

7 minutes ago, matteo10 said:

plus, no dpf issues with these few miles every year?

Unfortunately we now have gpf on new petrols which already seems to have raised a few problems on the Focus 4😞

I've come from a Volvo V60 diesel. Very good car but I was worried about potential EGR and DPF problems. Also, the diesel clatter, vibrations and regen fighter jet noise got on my nerves. And this was a 2016 VEA model which is quite refined for a diesel. The V60 was actually a VERY good car, especially for long distance. I would get 700 miles per tank, which was so useful not having to stop for refills.

I do quite a lot of miles (20k plus) as I'm often doing trips from Bradford to London. Anyway, thought i'd go back to Petrol for the refinement and less potential problems. Only downside is fuel range (get about 350 per tank), but not mpg, as this was expected. It is a pain having to fill up so often though. I do miss the V60 seats - they were sublime. I'm very happy with my Focus though (my first Ford). It's a brilliant all rounder.

I prefer petrol...sounds nicer, progressive revvy power band, and petrol fuel & exhaust smells much nicer than diesel as Bob mentioned...but at the end of the day I'm too poor for a petrol lol.

The only one I could afford to buy and run is a Mk3 1.0EB Focus...had one for a couple of weeks and hated it!  I'd rather risk limp mode from a DPF issue than catastrophic engine failure from a delicate EcoBoost.  

My 2.0TDI Golf costs £30 a year to tax, does over 50mpg with ease despite my low mileage, and has over 300Nm of torque which the 1.0EB sorely lacks!  It's worth about £2.5k for a 2012 model...  There isn't an equivalent petrol model, so I just have to put up with frequent regens for now and hope the EGR lasts until I can find an alternative...  Given my budget and requirements, the next car is highly likely to diesel again though!  If I could afford to buy brand new, and fuel economy wasn't an issue, then I'd be all for petrol hybrid myself.

Ive not changed and cant see me changing in the near future either.

I changed back to petrol after 15 years of Diesels  to give it a try and have to say the engine I've got is amazing 1.5L 182ps Ecoboost. Very flexible unit with tons of low end torque. Fuel consumption not too bad  at around 40mpg and cheap servicing with 2year intervals. Dont  think I'd go back to an oil burner now. 

@TomsFocus my dad might go tomorrow to see a 2005 volvo S60 2 litre 5 cylinder turbo. It's just this worry about ULEZ. I'm going to look next year what happens in the mayoral election and whever I might have to sell my car or not 

Just now, Comares2001 said:

I changed back to petrol after 15 years of Diesels  to give it a try and have to say the engine I've got is amazing 1.5L 182ps Ecoboost. Very flexible unit with tons of low end torque. Fuel consumption not too bad  at around 40mpg and cheap servicing with 2year intervals. Dont  think I'd go back to an oil burner now. 

Nice! I'd like to test the 182 ps unit in the Focus MK4, but sadly it's not avalaible for the Italian market ( we have the 150ps as max non-ST petrol engine).

How's like to drive? Which colour did you got?

On  a roadtrip Milan to Saint Tropez 95% highway driving, I would have liked to drive a MK4 Focus, since the Fiesta was not 100% steady when overtaking lorries at 160+ km/h..

23 hours ago, Bobr said:

I'v been driving since I was 16 (67 years ago) and have never had a diesel car.   I just cannot stand the smell of the stuff.

At first I laughed, then did my own math and it's been's been 28 years for me, I waited until I was 18 to drive. Every car I've had has been manual (except my chevelle) and petrol. 😄

3 hours ago, matteo10 said:

Nice! I'd like to test the 182 ps unit in the Focus MK4, but sadly it's not avalaible for the Italian market ( we have the 150ps as max non-ST petrol engine).

How's like to drive? Which colour did you got?

On  a roadtrip Milan to Saint Tropez 95% highway driving, I would have liked to drive a MK4 Focus, since the Fiesta was not 100% steady when overtaking lorries at 160+ km/h..

Superb drive very stable and comfortable . Colour is Ruby Red metallic.