PH Blog: diesel do nicely
Wake up and smell the ... derv? Dan defends opting for the black pump
The case for the defence follows! I've spent a bit of time in the 170hp Scirocco like the one we featured and actually survived the experience with my humour and lust for life intact. OK, so it fuels from the black pump. But once you're over that prejudice it's actually quite a weapon, with a pleasing sense that it's got just a little bit too much torque for the chassis to stand so making neat, tidy and rapid progress demands more interaction than the point and squirt stereotype some may assume.
The one I drove was a DSG and it demolished the roundabouts of Milton Keynes in an enjoyable sequence of understeer-quelling left-foot braking, rapid-fire shifts and suitably muscular mid-range that carried over to the real world of B-roads and corners too. He said, belatedly realising that selling the diesel dream was going to require something more emotive than recalling a drive around Milton Keynes in a VW TDI...
I'm not done yet though!
I'll shortly be in need a 'proper' car with a back seat and everything. Musing on it had me recalling some fun on-track experiences in a Renaultsport Megane. The dCi 175, no less. The Renault guys had brought the entire range to one of their track days and while everyone fought over the R26, 197 Cup and Twingo there in the corner sat a silver diesel Megane, unloved, undriven and standing idle. So I took it out for a spin. Cadwell, if I recall correctly. And what an absolute weapon it was. There's some manner of geekery I forget the precise details of but it involves something about the rear subframe settings being the same as the R26 to offset the additional weight of the engine - the kind of attention to detail you can't help but admire - and on track the thing was incredible.
The almost complete lack of noise was surreal, constantly hitting the rev limiter the only real issue, but with the torque to deal with Cadwell's inclines, the chassis to carry the speed around its corners and the same burly brakes as the other Renaultsport Meganes the diesel was soon passing any number of 888-shod Clios in almost spooky serenity.
So I want one. Silver, five-door with a Cup chassis please. I'll be lucky, given how rare they are. Indeed, according to Renault's sales stats I'll be hunting down one of five cars sold with this combination. I've got slightly better odds if I go for a black one - there were 13 of them! But I've always enjoyed a Q-car and they don't get much more stealthy than that. The only five-door dCi 175 currently in the classifieds is a more lairy blue but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled.
Now, time to start work on that PH Heroes piece on the Prius...
Dan
First we have an article suggesting that two diesel VAG Golf derivatives ( Scirocco and TT) are "two of the best exponents of the sportscar breed" and now we have an article bigging up DERV.
I love diesels. There are two on my driveway. But only because they are expedient.
Stop the madness now for the sake of all that is good. Please.
I'm sure plenty of others will disagree though.
The Griffith comes out when I really feel like a blast.
I'm sure plenty of others will disagree though.
So PH should just peddle petrol powered carporn? The kind that 99.9% of its readers can't afford? with a bit of bargain barging thrown in for good measure (also powered by petrol of course)?
Is a car such as a D5 with "345bhp, a whopping 516lb ft of torque and can hit 62mph in 5.1sec before bludgeoning its way to a top speed of 171mph" not sporty and exotic enough for you just because its powered by the devils own semen?
Take the blinkers off, enter the real world and realise that PH isnt just for your personal gratification.
I'm sure plenty of others will disagree though.
If, instead, PH editorial staff were saying " In the real world it is inevitable that some of us have to consider the diesel option, but here are two examples of diesels that are also a decent steer", then that would be fine.
But to call them "leading exponents of the sportscar breed" is just nonsense. And the article is rightly ridiculed for it.
If PH stands by these comments, then I look forward to seeing a diesel TT in the next group test with a Porsche Boxster. This of course won't happen. Which kind of demonstrates my point.
So PH should just peddle petrol powered carporn? The kind that 99.9% of its readers can't afford? with a bit of bargain barging thrown in for good measure (also powered by petrol of course)?
Is a car such as a D5 with "345bhp, a whopping 516lb ft of torque and can hit 62mph in 5.1sec before bludgeoning its way to a top speed of 171mph" not sporty and exotic enough for you just because its powered by the devils own semen?
Take the blinkers off, enter the real world and realise that PH isnt just for your personal gratification.
That I happen to think the the 1.9TDI is the best engine to have in any MKIV Golf derived VAG product, is both tantamount to the brilliance of the engine and a damning indictment of the cars it was churning out at the turn of the century.
Have had two diesel MK4 Golfs now. They're great cars.
However I do also have a petrol toy for the weekends. There's no way in hell I could cope with the Golf as my only car.
I'm sure plenty of others will disagree though.
So PH should just peddle petrol powered carporn? The kind that 99.9% of its readers can't afford? with a bit of bargain barging thrown in for good measure (also powered by petrol of course)?
Is a car such as a D5 with "345bhp, a whopping 516lb ft of torque and can hit 62mph in 5.1sec before bludgeoning its way to a top speed of 171mph" not sporty and exotic enough for you just because its powered by the devils own semen?
Take the blinkers off, enter the real world and realise that PH isnt just for your personal gratification.
2) No, a D5 isn't exotic enough for me, because it's a diesel. It's like finding a beautiful woman, finding she can cook and is great in bed, an then discovering she used to be a man. Despite the attractions, you just don't go there.
3) I never said that PH was for my personal gratification and even stated that others would disagree with my personal view. I was just pointing out why the Blood Brothers article got the flak that it did. I also expressed an opinion that plenty of car sites will talk about TT diesels, whereas PH used to focus more on the nicer stuff.
It does feel like you've run into a brick wall when it does happen though, I do recall that.
It does feel like you've run into a brick wall when it does happen though, I do recall that.
So PH should just peddle petrol powered carporn? The kind that 99.9% of its readers can't afford? with a bit of bargain barging thrown in for good measure (also powered by petrol of course)?
Btw the torque figure is meaningless as you didn't quote the revs with it.
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