Petrol vs diesel/dpf vs towing

[mdm83]

hi
I'm planning on changing my car -a3 2.0t. Planning on also getting a caravan so the newer car needs to be able to tow the caravan/loaded car/family & dog etc. naturally this makes me go down the diesel route and that would've been fine a couple of years ago but now every damn diesel has a dpf.
I do less than 15k a year and lots of short trips like school runs etc hence the reason I've stuck to my 2.0t which is great but also crap as I've wanted a 3.0tdi for years.
I don't doubt my car will pull a caravan but I'm not really wanting 15mpg- if I was happy with that I would be looking for a s4 lol.
So what do you think? Get another 2.0t in the a4 but have horrendous fuel bills every time I tow or get a diesel and hope for the best?

 

[Jake 61]

Buy a diesel, have the DPF removed and mapped out.
Best of both worlds.
I checked how much about a year ago and it was coming in at about £400.00 for removal and re-map.
That would soon balance out against mad fuel bills,(which I know about with a 3.2).

 

[mdm83]

Good idea.
Is there a difference between getting the dpf removed and deleted? As I've heard if it's removed it can cause issues at mot time?

 

[Jake 61]

If it's done by a reputable company, the casing will remain with the internals removed. You then have to have the ECU remapped to ignore the signals it should receive from the DPF sensors.
The process involves cutting the DPF casing apart, removing the filter and re-welding it back together, so visually, at MOT time, it's still there.
This is the company I checked out;

http://www.eco-power-tuning.co.uk/#/dpf-removal/4565752305

There is a pretty good explanation of the process on this page, with a diagram.
They also appear to be franchised nationally, so there should be an outlet close to you.
I was going to buy a TDI 170 but it was a heap and the 3.2 was spotless with low miles.
So, I happily live with the consequences of a big(ish) fuel bill and a bigger grin.