Is diesel dead?

[Bong Water]

An interesting read to kill a few minutes on a boring wet Saturday when I should be washing my car but cant because of the weather

My next car wont be for another 12 months or so and economy will be a big consideration, I used to think a diesel would be the way forward to keep a bit of performance but its not looking like its going to be the case if things carry on as they are.....

http://cars.uk.msn.com/News/car_news_article.aspx?cp-documentid=8630652

 

[treblesykes]

It sure seems that way,esp as modern petrols catch up a little on fuel economy while diesel engined cars seem to get more and more expensive. But if we all switch then petrol will probably end up costing more than diesel.

 

[AndyMac]

Supply & demand my friend. Diesel has taken over as the main fuel in the UK and thus we pay more for it. It's as simple as that. If LPG had taken off to the ame extent then I doubt very much it would still be half the price of unleaded. No carrot just plenty of stick as always.

 

[jojo]

If there is a car out there that has the same carrying capacity as my Passat and can do 40mpg+ running on petrol with the same performance, and not too expensive to buy also, I'd like to know what it is? Diesel is here to stay!

 

[motorbikez]

You can bet your rapidly depreciating house that the goverment will increase the duty on petrol if there is a large switch back to petrol.

 

[benw123]

I'm one of the few winners in the expanding price difference between petrol and diesel. Since buying a Toyota Prius to commute in and out of London, I average 59mpg against around 45mpg along the same route in our Sportback 2.0TDI. I've calculated I'm saving around £11.50 per week in the 250 miles I drive.

 

[jojo]

I'm one of the few winners in the expanding price difference between petrol and diesel. Since buying a Toyota Prius to commute in and out of London, I average 59mpg against around 45mpg along the same route in our Sportback 2.0TDI. I've calculated I'm saving around £11.50 per week in the 250 miles I drive.

£11.50 doesn't look much, but it all adds up doesn't it? How much did it cost you to go from A3 to Prius, and how many miles can you get from a tank of petrol in your Prius if you don't mind me asking?

 

[benw123]

£11.50 doesn't look much, but it all adds up doesn't it? How much did it cost you to go from A3 to Prius, and how many miles can you get from a tank of petrol in your Prius if you don't mind me asking?

We're actually running both the Sportback and the Prius at the moment, as my wife still needs a car. I bought an 06-plate T-Spirit with nearly 18k on the clock for £14,600 - about an average price from what I can tell. The Prius seems to cost less the further north you go in Britain. I bought mine in Leicester!

I suppose what I was saying is that, when on the lookout for a second car, I could have bought another family-sized diesel hatchback - but am saving £11.50 a week (or £46 per month) by running the Prius instead, dispite the extra cost of having to buy it first.

Regarding your last point jojo, the Prius only has a 45-litre tank and I got around 468 miles from the first full tankful I recorded with about 8 litres remaining (this works out at 55mpg, a little less than the Prius computer records).

Don't forget the £15 per year road tax and group 7 insurance too

 

[SteveTDCi]

isn't it only short distances that hybrids work well on, there was a recent test where it was compared to a Jeep 2.0d and the hybrid one by about 1mpg,

 

[AndyMac]

No thanks. Only 55mpg? I get 48 from my TDi 130 A4. It would have to double that to get me in a damn Pious. What happens in 4-5 years time when the batteries are shagged?

 

[g60jet]

When I got my quattro i did a quick calculation between the Diesel and Petrol variants using Audi figures for MPG as a bench mark. At the time the Petrol would cost 1p per mile more to run on fuel costs alone. So 12000 miles per year x 0.01p = £120.00 Now given the fact that a Diesel car costs more to buy in the first place, and a typical three year ownership, and the higher insurance and road tax on petrol cars I don't see the point in a Diesel apart from filling up less times. Give the fact that Diesel is now going up in price more than petrol, I took the petrol variant.

 

[benw123]

isn't it only short distances that hybrids work well on, there was a recent test where it was compared to a Jeep 2.0d and the hybrid one by about 1mpg,

Yes, the Prius really shines in town, thanks to the fact you can run on the batteries for longer (at speeds under 30mph) and the engine switches off at the lights.

No thanks. Only 55mpg? I get 48 from my TDi 130 A4. It would have to double that to get me in a damn Pious. What happens in 4-5 years time when the batteries are shagged?

Well, the best I saw from my Sportback 2.0TDI driving in and out of London was an indicated 45mpg. And as well as the fact that Toyota provide an 8-year warranty on the hybrid powertrain, including batteries, there are plenty of owners who have done well over 100k with no problems - apparently, the trick is that the batteries never become fully charged which extends their life.

Also consider the widening gap in the price between petrol and diesel. Let's assume petrol costs £1.179 per litre, and diesel £1.309 (prices I saw on the way in to work this morning). If your diesel car does 48mpg, I'd only have to achieve 43.25mpg in my petrol car to match the cost in terms of mileage alone.

Throw in £15 per year road tax (a modest saving of £8.75 a month over our Sportback's £120 per year), plus group 7 insurance, and suddenly the Prius makes a very good case for itself.

 

[smitch]

Disco is dead.

 

[AndyMac]

Our TDi only cost £7k so still a few grand ahead of you and I still have my dignity!