Petrol or Diesel car?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Whatever made you think i said or thought that?.

I was merely pointing out that diesels don't *have* to be rough and noisy.

[Huge]

... plus the fact that your neighbours will hate you for waking them up on cold mornings, the plume of black filth it will emit every time you put your foot down, the dismal performance, the evil-smelling fuel, the horrid driving characteristics.

I drive a diesel solely for financial reasons. the day I win the lottery, it's being replaced by a petrol car.

[Huge]

Let me know when you find one that isn't, will you?

[Doctor Drivel]

Unless you do very high mileages, diesel cars are just not worth it. Then there is drivability, noise, smelly, vibrations, agricultural sounds, etc. A waste of time. They resell a bit more than petrol, but only because of ignorance that diesels are somehow more reliable, which is an old wives tale.

Then when a turbo goes, any financial advantage, which is so slim if any, is shot to pieces.

Buy a Honda or Toyota petrol car. Economical and highly reliable. Preferably buy a Prius.

[Doctor Drivel]

In wonderworld they might.

Getting better.

[Doctor Drivel]

You poor sod. They look like real knobheads cars. A German taxi.

Sense at last

Oh no! He went worse again.

Try a Lexus. super reliability, economy and class.

[Doctor Drivel]

It is an Audi underneath.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Well I just did..

I drive both.

A properly tuned and maintained turbodiesel is NOT a high emitter of carbons or unburnt fuel, and neither is it especially noisy if injected correctly.

I agree that diesels should probably be catalysed more than they are..carbon particulates are not good, and many *poorly maintained* commercial vehicles do emit a lot.

But for a car, its neither here nor there. They dont emit any by and large, except at startup. but a petrol engine will also emit a cupful of unburnt fuel from a cold start as well.

[Bruce]

Sturdy, robust, safe, reliable, extremely comfortable. No wonder taxi drivers (and their passengers) love them!

As flash as a rat with a gold tooth. For people with no taste. Perfect for Jaguar drivers who can no longer put up with unreliability.

[Huge]

I await being astonished when I finally see a diesel XF, then (*). Only, people keep telling me "this diesel is a quiet as a petrol" (the last time it was BMW) and my response up until now has been "what are you, deaf?"

(* Always assuming I can suppress the nausea at the appearance of it.)

[george (dicegeorge)]

. Only, people

perhaps their new diesel is quieter than their old petrol engine..

[pcb1962]

[e-mail]...

Clearly you're still stuck in the 20th century

[pcb1962]

Clearly you have not driven an Audi or similar marque produced in the past 10 years or you would know that none of the above apply.

[Doctor Drivel]

I drove a Peugeot turbo diesel. Diesel cars are waste of time for the many reasons given.

[Bruce]

I own a Skoda Octavia diesel estate, and it certainly doesn't resemble your description. It is noisy and harsh, with plenty of vibration.

There's nothing wrong with it. It has been this way from new, and they are all like this. The same comment applies to VW, Audi and SEAT cars using the same 1.9 and 2.0 litre VAG diesel engines.

But in its favour, it is reliable and economical. Ours has done 130,000 miles and still runs like new - it was noisy and harsh even then!

[dennis]

Mine is quiet except when at idle. Its also smoother than the petrol engine cars I had before. I don't know about reliability yet as I have only done 30,000 miles.

[Doctor Drivel]

Clearly you're still stuck in the 20th century

[Bruce]

No, it isn't! The Octavia floorpan, body structure, suspension and drivetrain are derived from the VW Golf. The same underpinnings can be found under the SEAT Leon.

The Audi A3 is also derived from the VW Golf but there are significant differences from the Skodas.

The Audi A4, A5, A6 and A8 have no relationship to any Skoda models except that they use some of the same VAG (VW) engines and some minor components. The floorpan, body structure, suspension and gearboxes are all Audi designs.

[pcb1962]

So Le Mans has been won for the past 3 years in a row by an undriveable car?

>> noise, smelly, vibrations, agricultural sounds,

Take a trip to your local Audi dealer then come back and say these again. The vast majority of people would not be able to tell that my Audi is a diesel, either from the outside or the inside.

noise, smelly, vibrations, agricultural sounds,

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Sort of depends. All diesels tend to be noisy on a cold start and at idle. But the better ones ain't that obvious from inside the car in normal running.