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Should I Go Diesel

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    Should I Go Diesel

    I have a second interview next week for a role based 30 miles away, so 300 miles a week which I would commute by car.

    I have been looking to buying a second car anyway but looking a petrol options until now. Would the 300 miles a week justify looking at diesel options given the higher economy mpgs, or would the savings be negligable, given that diesel is generally more expensive than petrol anyway ?
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    #2
    Originally posted by kaiser78 View Post
    I have a second interview next week for a role based 30 miles away, so 300 miles a week which I would commute by car.

    I have been looking to buying a second car anyway but looking a petrol options until now. Would the 300 miles a week justify looking at diesel options given the higher economy mpgs, or would the savings be negligable, given that diesel is generally more expensive than petrol anyway ?
    FTW - Mercedes E320CDI saloon, plenty of reliability, performance, comfort and economy for reasonable money.

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      #3
      Be aware of problems with DPF's (particle filters) on modern diesels. They are known to clog and cost a lot of money to replace if the car is used mainly for short ditances or for longer distances if crawling in traffic. If your 30 miles is at a decent sustained speed though, you'll be OK.
      Public Service Posting by the BBC - Bloggs Bulls**t Corp.
      Officially CUK certified - Thick as f**k.

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        #4
        MPG Calculator - Work out your car's actual fuel consumption
        "A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims, but accomplices," George Orwell

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          #5
          Originally posted by kaiser78 View Post
          I have a second interview next week for a role based 30 miles away, so 300 miles a week which I would commute by car.

          I have been looking to buying a second car anyway but looking a petrol options until now. Would the 300 miles a week justify looking at diesel options given the higher economy mpgs, or would the savings be negligable, given that diesel is generally more expensive than petrol anyway ?
          I recently had to drive a 1.6 petrol Astra for a week or so while my regular car, a 2.0 diesel Volvo, was off the road.

          Average fuel prices in my area are 128.1/ltr for petrol and 132.6 for diesel.

          This equates to £5.82/gallon for petrol and £6.00/gallon for diesel.

          According to the trip computers on the two I got 35mpg out of the Astra and I get 45mpg from the Volvo.

          This works out to 23p/mile for petrol and 13p/m for diesel.

          These figures are from a daily 120 mile round trip split between A roads and motorway.

          ps. As a car the Astra was tulip.
          "Being nice costs nothing and sometimes gets you extra bacon" - Pondlife.

          Comment


            #6
            Go for the deisel. Cheaper (and better in snowy conditions during the coming ice age).

            FWIW Honda do bloody good deisel engines.

            Comment


              #7
              A big factor is whether the journey is mostly stop start traffic or motorway miles.

              If it's motorway, diesel is the way to go. If it's mostly town driving and lots of stop starts, a modern petrol engine would be a better choice as they are more responsive to the throttle and the diesel filters soon clog in city driving (big expense!).

              Engine of the year was a petrol last year:

              INTERNATIONAL ENGINE OF THE YEAR 2010

              Taking as an example the 170bhp variant of the winning 1.4-litre turbo engine, which appears in the Alfa MiTo Cloverleaf, Alfa claims 6 l/100km (47mpg) on the combined cycle for the 170bhp unit, which is more than half a litre less than the previous 155bhp, non-MultiAir engine. A start/ stop system also helps cut fuel consumption levels.


              A 170 bhp diesel engine would not do many more MPG, especially around town.

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                #8
                I suppose it also depends on whether you after a proper contractor's car or a sensible one.

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                  #9
                  I have a diesel & as I do 150miles / day mostly motorways it works out for me, I plan to keep it for 2 years then consider getting one of these for work & a TT for fun / home
                  Growing old is mandatory
                  Growing up is optional

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Golf BlueMotion

                    Hi

                    I just got one of these for work (I do around 400 miles per week).

                    Roughly 80mpg (no, really) on a run and 65 around town. Nearly 1000 miles on a tankful.

                    Zero road tax as the emissions are below 99g/km

                    VW comfort and reliability

                    Good to drive, reasonably brisk and handles well despite the low rolling resistance tyres. Stop / start takes a bit of getting used to but once you do, it's great. It looks quite cool as well because it has been lowered to reduce resistance.

                    I'm no bleeding heart liberal but I like the feeling of driving something like this everyday and it makes me feel less guilty (well, a bit) about my Jensen Interceptor with the 7.2 litre engine that I kill trees with at the weekends.

                    Get the right one and diesels are great.

                    And this from a very committed petrolhead (I also have a 750cc bike and an Audi RS4).

                    Pastalista

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