Diesel/Petrol

[cobra kid]

I seem to be right on the border for deciding which fuel to go for on my next car. I've had petrol cars all my life but like the idea of actually getting some miles for my pound of fuel.

I do approx 10000 miles a year to and from work, and maybe 2k extra just dotting round. We have a second car for carting the family round in.

I currently have a 1.8 Vectra which seems stuck round the 36mpg mark,

The budget is anything from 4-8k as it's coming out of the proceeds of a late parents house sale.

Because of this, I'm almost discounting the extra purchase price a diesel demands but also mindful that the extra 1-2k diesel premium would buy me a heck of a lot of unleaded. Rough calculations show I would save approx £500 a year in fuel based on current fuel prices.

I'm lost as part of my desire is the nice torqueyness of a 2.0 diesel as opposed to the sluggishness of my Vectra.

What have other people found?

Thanks.

[kambites]

The extra torque isn't really diesel vs petrol; it's turbo vs normal aspiration. It might be worth considering turbocharged petrol cars as a best of both worlds?

[Jimbo.]

For £500/annum over 12,000 miles...better the devil you know and stick with the current chariot?

[66comanche]

kambites said:

The extra torque isn't really diesel vs petrol; it's turbo vs normal aspiration. It might be worth considering turbocharged petrol cars as a best of both worlds?

Except that a turbocharged car of the Vectra's size is unlikely to be very economical?

IMO stick to the bottom of your budget, £4-5k will get you a Mondeo TDCi 130Bhp 56/07 plate with 60k or so on the clock, 45-48mpg is easy to achieve real world. The same budget gets you the same engine and age of petrol variant so I can't see you would be paying a premium for the diesel, presumably because there are so many diesel Mondeos about.

[kambites]

For a given power output, a turbocharged car will typically be more efficient than a normally aspirated one? I wasn't suggesting a big turbocharged engine. VAG's 1.2/1.4 turbo is a pretty good lump; might be a bit new to be in that price range, though. Not sure.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 10th September 14:42

[cobra kid]

Jimbo. said:

For £500/annum over 12,000 miles...better the devil you know and stick with the current chariot?

51 plate, 91k miles....looking a bit leggy now to be honest.

[kambites]

91k? Leggy?!?

[cobra kid]

I looked at Insignias and there was a 2k premium on diesels for same year/spec. I guess this scales down on type of car and age then.

[barky]

kambites said:

91k? Leggy?!?

91K not much really so long as cambelts have been changed ... vauxhall's of 20 years ago could exceed 300K .. general condition more relevant

[Ozzie Osmond]

Jimbo. said:

For £500/annum over 12,000 miles...better the devil you know and stick with the current chariot?

Yup, definitely. No way will you ever "save" money against that by buying a new car.

[SuperHangOn]

I wouldn't want a modern commonrail out of warranty unless I was doing serious mileage.

[cobra kid]

I suppose that after years of having my purse strings closed, the chance to finally have something nice/interesting/fun is what is influencing me.

Octavia VRs??

[anonymous-user]

0.002997516

[BlueMR2]

Can you keep the Vectra and buy something else that's more fun as a 2nd car?

[ambuletz]

based on a diesel car that does 50mpg, you're only saving about £545 in petrol. And you're spending £3-4k on a car just for that..

[SuperHangOn]

^^ Agree. Get yourself in the bargain barge thread and live a little if the Vectra has to go!

I actually own a diesel but its a simple old bangernomics to see me through a year of very high mileage.

[Disco You]

kambites said:

The extra torque isn't really diesel vs petrol; it's turbo vs normal aspiration. It might be worth considering turbocharged petrol cars as a best of both worlds?

Or a worst of both worlds- diesel reliability and petrol thirst...

[paulmoonraker]

Not sure 10K is enough miles to warrant it. Watch out for DMF and injector failure on the Mondeo.