Are modern diesels OK for urban drivers?

[evansd]

I know the basic pros/cons of diesel vs petrol, but it's hard to get specific numbers out of anyone and I was hoping for some advice.

We live in London and I've always stuck with petrol, but a growing family needs a larger car (think Sharan, Alhambra, Galaxy) and it's very hard to find the petrol models second hand so I'm thinking of switching to diesel (would need to be Euro 6 because of the new low emissions zone).

Annual mileage is under 8k at the moment. We do 3, maybe 4, short hops a week (15-45 mins each way in stop/start traffic). Once every two to three weeks we'll do a motorway run (at least 50 miles each way, often longer) and then occasional longer trips.

Will we kill the DPF like that? Or will the motorway runs be enough?

Anything else I should be thinking of? Feels like they're going to keep tightening up on diesels in cities, but I'm hoping with a Euro 6 will be OK for a while.

Thanks,

Dave

[Pericoloso]

For the usage you've described.....No.

[Zetec-S]

I wouldn't bother with a diesel in London. I'm sure they'll come after Euro 6 before too long anyway.

Not sure what your budget is but there are a fair number of petrol 7 seaters around:

Vauxhall Zafira - £6k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Ford Grand C-Max - £11k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Kia Carens - £11k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

BMW 2 Series Grand Tourer - £15k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Aeschylus]

Surely in London it should be electric, not only do you get no congestion charge, it is free parking in Westminister

[Miocene]

Zetec-S said:

I wouldn't bother with a diesel in London. I'm sure they'll come after Euro 6 before too long anyway.

Not sure what your budget is but there are a fair number of petrol 7 seaters around:

BMW 2 Series Grand Tourer - £15k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

This also comes as a Electric plug-in option, should you have somewhere you can charge it. Albeit they're fairly new, so start at £22k or so.

[Witchfinder]

I'd say go with an EV of some sort in London. If you really need the extra seats and can't afford a Model X, then the petrol S-Max (2.0 ecoboost) is pretty good.

[ZX10R NIN]

For your usage I'd say no in terms of what you're looking for I'd the S Max in Titanium X Sport trim & the 2.0T.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Jag_NE]

Euro6 diesel has a long run to go. Euro7 hasn’t been defined yet. Don’t forget petrols are also regulated in London and the NOx of a euro6 diesel is compareable to a euro6 diesel. Also, they can’t just blanket ban a fuel type. Heavier CV’s have no viable alternative to diesel at the moment. Also there there is the possibility that the whole diesel st storm will blow over to some extent, over time.

[CJ1]

Where I work we get new BMW Diesels every 15-18 months, the last one was a 2017 535d and the other a 2017 X5 40d. These cars don’t go on public roads and are used for short trips on a private estate. No journey longer than 3-5 Minutes or over 30mph.

By the time they go back to BMW they’ve covered 4-5k Miles. And not once has a DPF light come on. Both have just been replaced with 18 plates of the same car (M Sports this time!)

I dont know how this impacts the DPFs future lifespan, but they seemed happier enough with us! I think some manufacturers design the DPF’s better than others, my old 2011 VW would clog up even doing longer trips!

[Pica-Pica]

Jag_NE said:

Euro6 diesel has a long run to go. Euro7 hasn’t been defined yet. Don’t forget petrols are also regulated in London and the NOx of a euro6 diesel is compareable to a euro6 diesel. Also, they can’t just blanket ban a fuel type. Heavier CV’s have no viable alternative to diesel at the moment. Also there there is the possibility that the whole diesel st storm will blow over to some extent, over time.

I think you meant to write..”the NOx of a Euro6 diesel is comparable to a Euro6 petrol”

[Jag_NE]

Pica-Pica said:

Jag_NE said:

Euro6 diesel has a long run to go. Euro7 hasn’t been defined yet. Don’t forget petrols are also regulated in London and the NOx of a euro6 diesel is compareable to a euro6 diesel. Also, they can’t just blanket ban a fuel type. Heavier CV’s have no viable alternative to diesel at the moment. Also there there is the possibility that the whole diesel st storm will blow over to some extent, over time.

I think you meant to write..”the NOx of a Euro6 diesel is comparable to a Euro6 petrol”

Thank you, yes!

[Jag_NE]

CJ1 said:

Where I work we get new BMW Diesels every 15-18 months, the last one was a 2017 535d and the other a 2017 X5 40d. These cars don’t go on public roads and are used for short trips on a private estate. No journey longer than 3-5 Minutes or over 30mph.

By the time they go back to BMW they’ve covered 4-5k Miles. And not once has a DPF light come on. Both have just been replaced with 18 plates of the same car (M Sports this time!)

I dont know how this impacts the DPFs future lifespan, but they seemed happier enough with us! I think some manufacturers design the DPF’s better than others, my old 2011 VW would clog up even doing longer trips!

This. Active regen. If the car isn’t running hot enough via your driving the system generates hotter exhaust to drive a regen. Low mileage diesel drivers are victims of badly designed systems, not flawed technology across the board.

[essayer]

We do about 5k PA in our 2.0 TDi Tiguan and it’s fine. Same use as you. Top up adblue once a year, never once complained about DPF.

Definitely think about an EV though. Something like a 40kWh ZOE or Leaf would suit those journeys perfectly.

[Jag_NE]

essayer said:

We do about 5k PA in our 2.0 TDi Tiguan and it’s fine. Same use as you. Top up adblue once a year, never once complained about DPF.

Definitely think about an EV though. Something like a 40kWh ZOE or Leaf would suit those journeys perfectly.

He said he needs something big like a galaxy

[avenger286]

Also the Renault grand scenic can be had in a petrol, 1.4 tce, 1.6vvt and 2.0 vvt auto or the newest shape in the 1.2 tce. Always forgotten for some reason and just as good to drive as an smax.

[evansd]

Thanks all. Helpful stuff.

Electric would be great but (like a lot of Londoners) we don't have off-street parking and there are no charge points in our street so it's not an option at the moment.

I was hoping for one of the bigger MPVs which I why I was looking at e.g. Galaxy over the S-Max and the Sharan over the Touran. There are pre-reg petrol Sharan's around, but I want something with a few years on it really (don't want to spend much more than about £18k if I can help it).

I'm going to keep my eyes open for a petrol but it's good to know that some people have driven diesels under similar circumstances and not had an issue. Might have to go that way if the clock starts running out! Hopefully by the time we have to switch again the EV situation will be looking better.