is worth changing to diesel

[tealeafuk]

 

Hi everyone again, I was on here a few months ago asking about my fords mpg I have a 64 plate 1.5 ecoboost focus titanium x I was asking if my mpg was low at around 32 to 42 mpg. You all said that's pretty normal which is fair enough. Its still not great I put £50 in and I get about 370 miles back. Now there is a little voice in my head saying why don't you go back to ford and ask if you can swop for a diesel. Now of course ford are going to love that aren't they, rubbing there hands together. So am I being stupid? so if anyone has like a 2014 to 2016 focus diesel is the mpg much better? is it really worth even asking ford for this or is it better to just forget it and live with it?

 

thank you for reading :)

[Stoney871]

Stick with petrol.
Diesels are about to be taxed out of existence.

Sent from my SM-G930F

[tealeafuk]

thank you for your reply. I've heard about this, is the road tax going to go up on diesels? tax on my isn't cheap 110 a year.

[drsdriver]

It depends on what sort of mileage you do a year ? Less than 12k then petrol is a better option. 

Lots of short journeys kills diesels and can clog up the dpf filter. 

You will loose a lot of money swopping it over to a diesel as diesels demands a higher premium from the offset. 

Your current mpg is quite normal for a petrol .

[JIMMWX]

It really depends on your annual mileage.  Anything less that 12-13k and to be honest not worth it for Modern Diesels.  I stuck with a diesel this time around (1.6 TDCI) and to be honest while yes it's great if I am going away for the weekend, my commute to work would easily be covered by a petrol engine, it's borderline at a round trip of 30 miles that I feel I would't really see a benefit.

Unless you are regularly doing high mileage either commuting or at the weekends I wouldn't bother, stick with Petrol.  

 

[TomsFocus]

Road tax isn't changing for existing cars.  All the new ones from March 2017 will be £140 a year (except the first year which will differ depending on price and emissions).  So if you do want to get a brand new one, make sure it's registered before March lol.

As you're getting fairly low MPG I'll guess a lot of your driving is short journeys or in town?  Definitely avoid modern diesels if that's the case!  You'll have no end of DPF and EGR problems.

[JIMMWX]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Road tax isn't changing for existing cars.  All the new ones from March 2017 will be £140 a year (except the first year which will differ depending on price and emissions).  So if you do want to get a brand new one, make sure it's registered before March lol.

As you're getting fairly low MPG I'll guess a lot of your driving is short journeys or in town?  Definitely avoid modern diesels if that's the case!  You'll have no end of DPF and EGR problems.

I used to sell cars.  Someone came in with a daily mileage of 10 and was insistent that they really wanted a 2.0 CDTI engine (Because they could, lol)

Guess where that car spent most of it's time - on the ramp in the workshop being fixed due to the DPF absolutely choking itself to death.

 

 

[isetta]

how many miles per week? what sort of driving?

[tealeafuk]

My miles differ from week to week I'm a driving instructor sometimes use it for that i'm also a trucker but won't go far just local. my g/f lives far away about 50 miles so I go down to see her a lot that gives it a good run. I see what your all saying though it is abit of silly idea. i'm taking it this is with all new diesels? because I had a 2010 60 plate fiesta before I got my focus and it was cool never got any problems with it choking its self with the DPF.

 

again thank you again for your input.  

[DJ_Andy_M]

Basically, the new tax rules coming into force next year mean you'll pay higher tax on new cars and used cars so its best to get one before these rates change. I believe cars purchased before this change over date are unaffected by the new rules.

However, in response to your last post. I'd stick with a petrol because all new cars have a DPF on them, and for those short journeys you do I can see you car trying to an active regen quite frequently as 50 miles down the motorway might not just be enough to do a complete passive regen unless you sit in 4th gear the entire way which will then result in it being no more fuel efficient than the petrol. 

[goldtail77]

The question is will it work out economically for you in the long run?

Just supposing you swap your car for one of the same age and spec. It will probably cost £1-£2.5k for the change.

How long will it take to claw that back from extra fuel in the Petrol? Say £50 gets you 370P and 444D miles (20% extra mpg)

Over 20k miles the Petrol will cost £2,700 the Diesel £2250. So At 40k miles travelled you will have saved £900 on the fuel. Still down £100 on your cost to change at very best.

[tealeafuk]

 

 

thank you both for your answers I'm surprised 50 miles wouldn't clear it, I suppose I really don't know new diesels, as said my 60 plate was amazing. I think I will stick to what I got because its a lovely car and it moves like grease lightening. Goldtail77 I was talking to a mate of mine just before I posted this and he said just what you said. thank you again :)

[tealeafuk]

 

 

d j andy just read your post again what  is a  active regen?

[tealeafuk]

read all about DFP all scary stuff and can see why everyone told me to go for petrol. just wondering how much do you diesel drivers get to tank? costs £50 for me at the moment and that gets me 360 to 380 to a tank. how much does it cost you and how far does it get you? i think once i know that it will stop me wondering.

[Dave1981]

I switched from diesel , 1.6 hdi with remap, to a 2.0 petrol this year. Yes the tax was half on the diesel what the petrol is but my reasons were similar to yours in a way.. I wasn't doing the milage, prob 7-9k a yr. I was lucky tho my diesel didn't have a dpf it was the last yr of model before it was introduced. As for filling up, if I remember right it was bout 60-70 quid depending where I went and I got approx  550 - 600 to a tank. 

My petrol however, 50-60quid again depending and i get approx 430 to a tank, if I do long journeys, short town work drops it to bout 350-380.

But I agree 100% with comments on here, if u don't do the milage and only short journeys a new diesel is a bad idea cost wise not to mention the dreaded dpf issues u could end up with. 

[m1tch]

I switched to diesel about 5 years ago for the economy I got from them, small diesel hatch backs that cost me £20-£30 a year in road tax and have returned up to 85mpg in fuel economy. New more modern diesels are no longer a good option due to the more advanced tech needed to make them run efficiently which usually fails and costs a lot to repair (eg injectors, DPF etc). More modern diesels are being pushed to their limits to get the most out of a smaller displacement which can then cause other issues as the engines are highly stressed - take the 1.6 TDCi engine for example, great engine in terms of power and economy but catastrophically bad for reliability.

This is why I won't be getting a diesel for my next car as I know any car newer than my 56 plate Fiesta 1.4 TDCi (No DPF) will have all sorts of issues, the issue I have is that no petrol car can really match the fuel economy of a diesel, so I guess I will just have to get used to paying extra for more fuel and tax but balanced out slightly by the reduction in the overall running costs. 

[drsdriver]

My 1.6tdci mk3 averages about 650 miles sometimes slightly more. Range is always 720 miles but as the miles clock up I end up refilling about 650 miles, but it does work out that I do actually have a gallon of fuel left in the tank prior to refilling. 

Which works out an average of 61 mpg over the whole tank. 

I do mainly A road work, 40 mile round trip to work,  not very often I go on the motorway. Drive carefully and economically. 

Diesels are great for economy, but I do bear in mind the dpf needs a good clean now & again, so occasionally I give it a good booting in 3rd and 4th . oil changed every 6k and full service every 12 months. 

[tazzman600]

You're right in sticking with your focus.
I had a 1.6 diesel focus and got rid for my current TXS mondeo.
As for fuel economy in the focus I'd never get anywhere near 650 miles to a tank. 450 absolute tops. My mondeo is 380 to 400.
It's a no brainer to stick with petrol as the ecoboost engine is a gem.