Why are people buying expensive diesels?

[TameRacingDriver]

I've got nothing to much to add that probably hasn't already been said, but my inner-petrolhead cried a little when I was walking down the street in town back to my car today and decided to roughly count how many diesels there were compared to petrol cars, and it was honestly about 8 or 9 out of 10 cars were clattery tractors. It's even worse when you see something "nice" like an Alfa, Audi TT or worse still, a convertible which sounds like a transit van.

I had one diesel car in my life (Skoda Fabia vRS TDI) and I will never buy another. God-awful things that in my usage, failed to deliver anything like the expected MPG on anything other than a steady motorway run.

[AC43]

Monkeylegend said:

ORD said:

Monkeylegend said:

You could always move to Sark, problem is they still have the internet there so we would still have to put up with your drivel

You could always just stop defending the indefensible and become a growed up.

I have this vision of you rich guys with their Porches and other exotica in London, choking away on their iphones, cursing us poor people who have no option but to drive diesel because we can't afford to run a petrol car. It gives me a smug satisfaction, wrong I know, but there you go

Well I guess my point is in London it's best to walk, use public transport or cycle if possible. If you do have to do short journeys in a car then petrol is much better than diesel. But people have been taxed into diesels and they are now spewing far more visible and invisible pollutants into my air than needed.

I'd run a diesel but only a second car and only to go on longer journeys out of town.

Believe me, when you're on a bike, having a (clogged up) city soot chucker gunning past you is pretty foul.

[anonymous-user]

Monkeylegend said:

That's more like it, I knew you would come round to our way of thinking in the end.

ha ha, I'm not quite ready for the blanket and slippers yet

[heebeegeetee]

TurboHatchback said:

You have an opinion, they have an opinion.

But it's not just opinion though is it? Third post in "They also consider fuel consumption and road tax to be the only factors to consider when working out ownership costs"

Panamera owners?

Then just a few posts more "I've found that anyone who says they prefer the power delivery of diesels is just deluding themselves as they can't afford a decent petrol engine."

Panamera owners can't afford a petrol engine?

And of course before the end of the page we're into discussion on torque and power bands - for cars that are likely to be powerful autos.

Top of page 2: "Take the Porsche Panamera: I mean who the actual f... spends over £70k on a car and then worries about fuel consumption?"

fking nobody, is the answer.

And on it goes - *exactly* the same as all other thrice weekly anti-diesel threads.

So it's largely more than opinion, it's 65-and-counting pages of wrongness.

[cerb4.5lee]

yonex said:

Monkeylegend said:

That's more like it, I knew you would come round to our way of thinking in the end.

ha ha, I'm not quite ready for the blanket and slippers yet

Diesels are great for when you have lost interest in cars and just want to get from A to B as cheap as possible...petrols are for when you still have a zest for life and appreciate the lovely sound of an engine.

[neil1jnr]

MPG

That is the only reason I assume people buy diesels. You can't afford to run a petrol (or think you can't) so you buy diesel. Just like I did for commuting, an old clattering shed.

I had a 'good' diesel in the past, but even then I only had it becuase of the headline mpg, I would've had the petrol version but I couldn't afford (read justify) the fuel costs for just sitting at at 60mph in my 80+mile round trip.

[Monkeylegend]

AC43 said:

Monkeylegend said:

ORD said:

Monkeylegend said:

You could always move to Sark, problem is they still have the internet there so we would still have to put up with your drivel

You could always just stop defending the indefensible and become a growed up.

I have this vision of you rich guys with their Porches and other exotica in London, choking away on their iphones, cursing us poor people who have no option but to drive diesel because we can't afford to run a petrol car. It gives me a smug satisfaction, wrong I know, but there you go

Well I guess my point is in London it's best to walk, use public transport or cycle if possible. If you do have to do short journeys in a car then petrol is much better than diesel. But people have been taxed into diesels and they are now spewing far more visible and invisible pollutants into my air than needed.

I'd run a diesel but only a second car and only to go on longer journeys out of town.

Believe me, when you're on a bike, having a (clogged up) city soot chucker gunning past you is pretty foul.

It's all about choice I assume you work and live? there by choice.

I live miles from London in a very small village of about 250 people, surrounded by farm fields and woodland. I have to put up with fresh air, farmyard smells and rising cocks every sunrise, but that's my choice

[Monkeylegend]

cerb4.5lee said:

yonex said:

Monkeylegend said:

That's more like it, I knew you would come round to our way of thinking in the end.

ha ha, I'm not quite ready for the blanket and slippers yet

Diesels are great for when you have lost interest in cars and just want to get from A to B as cheap as possible...petrols are for when you still have a zest for life and appreciate the lovely sound of an engine.

That's exactly what I said in my earlier post, I couldn't agree more. If I want some fun my son has me insured on his Z4. I have driven it once, what a bone jarring, awful handling car that is. Nice petrol engine though

[Monkeylegend]

One thing I would add, us diesel lovers seem to be a much happier, laid back bunch, with a better sense of humour than you diesel haters. It must be the Nox.

[cerb4.5lee]

Monkeylegend said:

cerb4.5lee said:

yonex said:

Monkeylegend said:

That's more like it, I knew you would come round to our way of thinking in the end.

ha ha, I'm not quite ready for the blanket and slippers yet

Diesels are great for when you have lost interest in cars and just want to get from A to B as cheap as possible...petrols are for when you still have a zest for life and appreciate the lovely sound of an engine.

That's exactly what I said in my earlier post, I couldn't agree more. If I want some fun my son has me insured on his Z4. I have driven it once, what a bone jarring, awful handling car that is. Nice petrol engine though

[Pan Pan Pan]

AC43 said:

Monkeylegend said:

ORD said:

Monkeylegend said:

You could always move to Sark, problem is they still have the internet there so we would still have to put up with your drivel

You could always just stop defending the indefensible and become a growed up.

I have this vision of you rich guys with their Porches and other exotica in London, choking away on their iphones, cursing us poor people who have no option but to drive diesel because we can't afford to run a petrol car. It gives me a smug satisfaction, wrong I know, but there you go

Well I guess my point is in London it's best to walk, use public transport or cycle if possible. If you do have to do short journeys in a car then petrol is much better than diesel. But people have been taxed into diesels and they are now spewing far more visible and invisible pollutants into my air than needed.

I'd run a diesel but only a second car and only to go on longer journeys out of town.

Believe me, when you're on a bike, having a (clogged up) city soot chucker gunning past you is pretty foul.

At last we seem to be coming to the nitty gritty of the matter. London (and many other cities) has always been a polluted sh*thole, it is now, and will always be, because cars, all cars, whether diesel or petrol represent only a proportion of the cr*p that is spewed into the air in these grossly overcrowded environments.
Buses, taxis, and trains, and of course cars operate in the worst case stop / start / stop mode in cities, and when these are concentrated in a congested space, (to say nothing of the emissions from the millions of people, thousands of homes, businesses, factories, shops, take away`s etc all crammed together) then air pollution is the inevitable result.
To try to separate pollution from an individual source in that mix of polluters, and then lay the blame solely on that particular source, is virtually impossible, and would of course be unfair if any of the other sources were allowed remain and go on polluting.
In Japan they realized that cities are polluted, so there, many wear face masks even though most cars in Japan are petrol engined.
As far as cities are concerned it is simplistic and unrealistic to blame the pollution in these places on one type of (vehicle)
If people don't like diesels for whatever reason then don't buy one, If people don't like living in a polluted space, then don`t go into the sort of places which are known to be polluted.

[anonymous-user]

Monkeylegend said:

One thing I would add, us diesel lovers seem to be a much happier, laid back bunch, with a better sense of humour than you diesel haters. It must be the Nox.

Humble and economical, quite the combination

[Monkeylegend]

yonex said:

Monkeylegend said:

One thing I would add, us diesel lovers seem to be a much happier, laid back bunch, with a better sense of humour than you diesel haters. It must be the Nox.

Humble and economical, quite the combination

Also with a tongue firmly in my cheek, and just as I was warming to you

[Devil2575]

TameRacingDriver said:

I had one diesel car in my life (Skoda Fabia vRS TDI) and I will never buy another. God-awful things that in my usage, failed to deliver anything like the expected MPG on anything other than a steady motorway run.

That sentence in itself demonstrates something of a flawed way of thinking.

Consider that statement but replace the diesel car with any other form of technology and then think about how much sense it makes.

You tried one model from one manufacturer and on that basis you are going to write off every make and model that has ever and will ever be made.

I once had a car with a built in SATNAV. It was rubbish and failed to deliver my expectations, therefore I will never buy a car with one in again.

[GetCarter]

Filled up this a.m. Range showed 511 miles.

Saves much of my life driving nearly 40 mile round trip to fill up. If the petrol version did this I'd bite it's hand off. (Petrol would be +/- 350 miles). That's one extra day of my life each year spent NOT driving to fill up.

I'll take the extra day and the diesel…. and the extra torque.

[Pan Pan Pan]

GetCarter said:

Filled up this a.m. Range showed 511 miles.

Saves much of my life driving nearly 40 mile round trip to fill up. If the petrol version did this I'd bite it's hand off. (Petrol would be +/- 350 miles). That's one extra day of my life each year spent NOT driving to fill up.

I'll take the extra day and the diesel…. and the extra torque.

People should just buy the car type/s which best suits their particular needs, as it appears you have done.
As different peoples needs will vary, different types of car will be bought by the general public.

[daemon]

Devil2575 said:

You tried one model from one manufacturer and on that basis you are going to write off every make and model that has ever and will ever be made.

And therein lies the problem with the diesel haters - base their entire world view of diesels on the very subjective view and experiences.

Its seems to go along the lines of "i cant understand why people would buy a diesel because i had one once and it was awful therefore diesel drivers must be stupid or not enjoy driving"

[daemon]

Pan Pan Pan said:

People should just buy the car type/s which best suits their particular needs, as it appears you have done.
As different peoples needs will vary, different types of car will be bought by the general public.

Wooha!

Common sense?

Retract that statement immediately.

[anonymous-user]

daemon said:

Wooha!

Common sense?

Retract that statement immediately.

Yes, there are two of you now who have labelled loads of people 'diesel haters' who are now in complete agreement with them. Are you in politics

[daemon]

yonex said:

How so. I am expressing my opinion, people aren't likely to sell their cars because of it.

Then why keep repeating it? Repetition and expecting a different outcome is a sign of madness is it not?

Or are you trying to brow beat people into submission?

yonex said:

The main reasoning I would wager is economy, it was mine. I guess that's why you have both...

Actually, its not. I went out to buy a big wafty petrol thing, ideally an estate and / or a cheap Jag, and i stupidly knee jerked into buying a diesel X Type, based on putting in a low ball offer and it being accepted.

Really wanted a v6 estate to replace the v6 van, and should have held out for one