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Current diesel car drivers
- Thread starter agkm800
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I have an Audi A3 2.0 TDI and I love it.
I get much better fuel economy than my previous car, doing about 55mpg on most journeys (I don't drive economically!). This is based on UK standards for measuring mpg, so you might need to convert if you live in the US (a gallon is different over here). This is offset by the higher price of diesel though.
At low speeds I do notice the noise more than my previous car, which has a petrol engine. It's not overly loud though. On the motorway it's about the same as a petrol engine - the tyre roar drowns out the engine.
I like the extra torque you get with a Diesel. It's much easier to drive at lower speeds than my last car. It's not quick off the line but once the turbo kicks in it's fast enough. At motorway speeds it's brilliant. Get into the power band on twisty roads and it's great fun.
I haven't noticed any extra maintenance or costs associated over any other car.
I would buy a diesel again, but I think I may go for something sportier next time around and will probably end up with a petrol.
I get much better fuel economy than my previous car, doing about 55mpg on most journeys (I don't drive economically!). This is based on UK standards for measuring mpg, so you might need to convert if you live in the US (a gallon is different over here). This is offset by the higher price of diesel though.
At low speeds I do notice the noise more than my previous car, which has a petrol engine. It's not overly loud though. On the motorway it's about the same as a petrol engine - the tyre roar drowns out the engine.
I like the extra torque you get with a Diesel. It's much easier to drive at lower speeds than my last car. It's not quick off the line but once the turbo kicks in it's fast enough. At motorway speeds it's brilliant. Get into the power band on twisty roads and it's great fun.
I haven't noticed any extra maintenance or costs associated over any other car.
I would buy a diesel again, but I think I may go for something sportier next time around and will probably end up with a petrol.
I have had two diesel cars, and quite a few petrol cars. I don't profess to know a huge amount about the mechanical reasons for these, but here are a few of my thoughts. In actual day-to-day driving it is possible to notice you are driving a diesel. While this is not positive, it is only a niggling negative, and should not be enough to put you off. They are considerably noisier at low speeds, and do certainly rumble under foot on the clutch. I have experienced this with both a Volvo C30, Audi A4 and a VW Passat courtesy car. The problem I found most of all was the slow acceleration - you must physically wait for the turbo-charger to kick in before the car moves quickly. It is a strange feeling, but certainly you can live with it.
Fuel cost I have found to be around the same in the UK. While there is a slightly higher MPG on the diesel cars I've driven, the extra cost of the fuel offsets this so they are fairly similar. Other maintenance costs seem to be around the same.
I think it is unlikely I will get another diesel for several reasons.
That said, I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with a diesel. I've never met anyone that preferred them, but I've never met anyone that hates them either. If the vehicle was the same price, I'd go petrol.
Fuel cost I have found to be around the same in the UK. While there is a slightly higher MPG on the diesel cars I've driven, the extra cost of the fuel offsets this so they are fairly similar. Other maintenance costs seem to be around the same.
I think it is unlikely I will get another diesel for several reasons.
- I don't find the lack of acceleration appealing
- I prefer something a bit more 'sporty' and prefer the engine sound of a petrol
- The cost of diesel does not make it any more attractive for me
- The feeling of the clutch under-foot is not as nice as a petrol
That said, I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with a diesel. I've never met anyone that preferred them, but I've never met anyone that hates them either. If the vehicle was the same price, I'd go petrol.
I occasionally drive a Ford F350 SuperDuty diesel. For a truck, diesel is really the way to go. It can pull a house, uphill, with a headwind, in a snowstorm. No petrol engine comes close in the torque department, especially at low speeds. Noisy as hell and slow as a turtle off the line but that's not what the vehicle is about. Fuel savings are considerable of petrol equivalent in this vehicle.