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Diesel or Petrol



smeariestbat

New member
May 5, 2012
1,731
Hi NSC
Looking to buy a car in Norway and the only thing i'm not sure of is the difference between diesel and petrol.

asfar as i'm aware Diesel is more economical if you drive long distances and do a lot of mileage, if you dont do a certain number of miles per year it can screw up your engine?

Petrolis moreresponsive and better for quick trips/town driving?

I live in Norway so tax etc is differenttotheukso i'm not worriedabout that sideof things, purely car performance.

Please advise :)
 


surrey jim

Not in Surrey
Aug 2, 2005
18,085
Bevendean
I have a diesel and generally drive around Brighton, with the occasional (weekly or fortnightly) trip of 10 miles + out of town. Get around 45MPG. (Car is a 2008 Hyundai I30)
 


beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,264
Looking to buy a car in Norway and the only thing i'm not sure of is the difference between diesel and petrol.

seems that you do understand the differences, plus and minues. only thing to add is that alot of the diesels perform as well as petrol now and the short trip negative of diesel is possibly overstated (i believe it can be negated by more frequent servicing, though that cancell out the fuel savings)
 




Springal

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2005
23,708
GOSBTS
Diesel probably needs a good 20mile or so run on an A road every couple of weeks to help prevent DPF problems.

I only do about 10k miles a year but thinking of changing to Diesel as a lot of my miles are business so I claim mileage, and I'd be better off with a Diesel
 




happypig

Staring at the rude boys
May 23, 2009
7,934
Eastbourne
Diesels are usually more expensive to buy so do your sums.
My diesel fiesta will do 65-70 mpg on a run to Crawley if I take it steady (ie keep to about 60)
 


Only newer diesels have dpf's.

In the uk ownership is generally cheaper with petrol for those doing less than 10k miles per year.

Diesel is more economical than an equivalent performing petrol engine. But they cost more new and Diesel is about 5% more to buy than petrol.

Petrol engines do seem to be upping the ante recently too with some economical small 3 cylinder engines but with decent turbos.

Of course, diesels have had turbos for years.
 






TheJasperCo

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2012
4,590
Exeter
If you plan on driving round the Nurburgring or going rally-racing, petrol trumps diesel every time (according to Jezza Clarkson).
 


jakarta

Well-known member
May 25, 2007
15,616
Sullington
I do 20,000 plus miles per year, a lot of it Dual Carriageways and Motorways. I drive a diesel estate car(for the 4th time in a row).

Mrs Jakarta does 5-6000 miles a year, almost all locally. She drives a petrol sports car.

Mind you mine is faster than hers.... :thumbsup:

As Essex Police informed me recently. :down:
 


vegster

Sanity Clause
May 5, 2008
27,867
As I recall from a motor mechanic friend of mine, you pay a bit more for a diesel engine car as they have a design life of about 150k miles. Petrol engines were designed for about 100-120k miles. He added that Fords normally had a design lifetime of 80k miles !
 




dougdeep

New member
May 9, 2004
37,732
SUNNY SEAFORD
Is there not a potential problem with diesel freezing or have they overcome that problem with additives?

It's usually the water that gets into the diesel that freezes. Changing filters regularly sorts it.
 


dougdeep

New member
May 9, 2004
37,732
SUNNY SEAFORD
I bought my first diesel last year after around 15 petrols and I don't think I'll go back. Fewer things to go wrong and starts first time whatever the weather.
 






Shoreham Gull

New member
Nov 3, 2012
494
Westdene
As I recall from a motor mechanic friend of mine, you pay a bit more for a diesel engine car as they have a design life of about 150k miles. Petrol engines were designed for about 100-120k miles. He added that Fords normally had a design lifetime of 80k miles !

Ummm I did 136,000 on merc A150 petrol and still worked fine when sold..
I know of many people who got more then 200,000 out of a diesel, also it's said in Parker's guide a VW Diesel engine can go 400,000 miles!!
My drive work Eastbourne to Reigate , I drive VW Passat TDI 2.0 Dpf and I get upto 62mpg.
 


Bevendean Hillbilly

New member
Sep 4, 2006
12,805
Nestling in green nowhere
seems that you do understand the differences, plus and minues. only thing to add is that alot of the diesels perform as well as petrol now and the short trip negative of diesel is possibly overstated (i believe it can be negated by more frequent servicing, though that cancell out the fuel savings)

When diesels go wrong they go REALLY wrong. I know this from bitter experience.
 


smeariestbat

New member
May 5, 2012
1,731
ended up buying a 2.0l diesel Dci Nissan Qashqai + 2, thanks for the help :D :thumbsup:
 






BensGrandad

New member
Jul 13, 2003
72,015
Haywards Heath
I have a diesel Skoda Octavia that is still running very well engine wise and has done 229k miles. I was told a VAG engind is good for 350k plus miles. When I buy my new car in a couple if months time it will be petrol becuase I dont now do the mileage to warrant the extra cost of diesel car and the acual fuel.
 


Garage_Doors

Originally the Swankers
Jun 28, 2008
11,789
Brighton
I bought my first diesel last year after around 15 petrols and I don't think I'll go back. Fewer things to go wrong and starts first time whatever the weather.

You need to read what other posters have said and not be so blinkered.
How many miles a year do you do?
You statement is fine if your journeys are in excess of 20 miles each time. If your just doing a few miles to the shops each time only then you wil f*** your DPF and there not cheap to replace.

We had a similar situation last year where we were going to buy a diesel golf, and when the dealer asked about our driving habits it was obvious it wasn't for us , which as it turned out was a bonus as the the petrol alternative had an extra 40bhp and over the 4000 mile she does taking into account the difference in Price for the fuel and the mpg 35/50 we still would be saving over £200 in fuel over a year.
 
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