Diesel Vs. Gasoline

[MiniK]

Hello all,
I'm going to be selling my current vehicle (a 2005 Hyundai Accent) and purchasing another vehicle in the next 6 months and I've been doing a heap of research and I've leaning towards a VW Golf. Now, I have yet to choose whether or not I'm going to be buying it new or used. But I've been hearing mixed reviews on diesel engines and it was something that I was considering. Now I have a few questions that some of you fine folk might be able to help me with.

Is there any difference in performace between a diesel engine vs a regular gasoline engine?

Is there a difference in maintance and replacement parts when it comes to price?

Are there alot of disadvantages to owning a diesel engine?

I heard some parking garages won't allow diesel engines to park in them, is this true?

How fuel efficent are diesel engines?

What kind of things should I watch out for if I do purchase a diesel engine?

Any other information in regards to diesel engines would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your time.


One more thing. I live in Alberta and as some of you may know the winters here can get really, horribly cold. Will a diesel engine run just as well in winter than it's gasoline counterpart?

[Crash]

That’s a lot of questions, you must be seriously thinking about it so I’ll try an answer a few of those for you.

Performance? Diesel technology is being mainly led by the Europeans and so that is where we have to look for most of these answers. BMW has a diesel vehicle running in saloon car championships over there which is directly competing with gas equivalents. It is also rumored that as diesel sales are so popular over there, all the research and innovation is being pumped into diesel technology. To the point where some modern diesel units can out-perform similar sized gas vehicles and the gap is widening all the time.

Maintenance? All vehicles need to be maintained; the general rule is that diesel engines (if properly serviced) will yield better returns in the way of higher mileage, fuel economy, and a longer life. Maintenance can on occasion be more expensive than gas units, however much of this is due to the lack of trained (modern diesel) technicians over here and the parts cost in relation to supply and demand. In Europe, in many cases, diesel parts are easier to find and cheaper because so many people own them. As we start to see more companies bringing in diesels (I think that this is a gimme), things will change here also.

Advantages/ Disadvantages? That all depends on who you talk to. The N. American manufacturers have been a little slow on the uptake towards diesels. Over here, most people think of them a “smelly, noisy things with huge hp, better suited to a truck” as that is what the N.A. manufacturer’s produce. I’ll give you an idea of how things are in Europe…I was in the UK for a conference recently. Some of the guys were arriving in limo’s, so as I was standing next to a running Mercedes S class. I said to the driver “I thought that you guys would all be driving economical diesels”. He replied “what are you an idiot, it is a diesel”. I was standing close enough to touch it and I couldn’t tell, and I’m supposed to be a “car guy”!

Parking? I never heard of anything like that, although to be honest, My friend owned a Cummins turbo diesel pickup and I’d ask him to turn it off outside my shop as it rattled the pictures on the walls, “a typical N.A. diesel”!

How fuel efficient? How long's a piece of string? It all depends on the vehicle, some will almost double fuel economy. A funny thing about diesels is that the fuel economy often gets better the more miles they have on them.

Things to watch out for? It all depends on the vehicle, do your homework on whatever model it is that you're considering.

One thing which should be mentioned is that our diesel over here is “extremely low quality”. In fact, some Euro-diesels won’t even run on the stuff that’s sold here, it’s that bad. This can affect the fuel economy figures when comparing vehicles running in Europe.
Another thing, is that over here the diesel car drivers often have to share the pumps with truckers. The pump handles are often covered in dirty oil and can be a bit off putting. In Europe, so many diesels are on the roads that there are loads of diesel pumps available and the trucks have their own separate isles.
Things will change over here as more diesels are sold. I think that we are going to see them arriving in large numbers in the next few years. With Daimler/Chrysler firmly in the hands of the Germans, expect to see them make the first big move. They have already started to fit jeep products with them and as their models (like the Chrysler 300) sold in Europe have diesel power plants, how long will it take them to turn around and start selling them here.

I hope that this has been helpful and I’m sure that my colleagues on here will have a few wise words on the subject also.

[Crash]

After all that, I forgot your final question RE; cold weather?

Some of the older diesel units can suffer in the cold weather, I know, I have a couple of old Land Rover Defenders. Trying to get them going in the middle of winter is a bit like trying to pry me out of bed at 6.30 am after a night out with the boys :-)

Todays modern units are much better now. Although, it might still be wise to help them out whenever possible with a block heater and a battery blanket.

That's not much different than telling someone not to go out in a tee shirt during an Alberta winter storm. I know a little about winters, as when I first came to Canada, I lived for 3 years in Manitoba. The people in that province might well be friendly, but their winters certainly aren't :-).

[Pritch]

Volkswagen diesels are a good bet too, as they pretty much pioneered the application in our market.

I have several friends with diesel jettas with a half million kms on them, still running well.

My experience is that they tend to get better mileage than similar gas engines too, probably because you arent as tempted to go stomping on the gas pedal (if thats your thing)

JP

[The General]

Here's my diesel story:

Last week, I was booting around in a Range Rover Sport Supercharged. It was sucking in 23L of fuel per 100 km. This week, I am piloting a much more boring yet sedate ML320 cdi. This one only requires about 11L per 100 km to travel the same routes. INSANE! The 320 produces 215 hp and 398 lbs of torque (only 12 lbs shy of the Sport). I can barely hear the typical diesel "clatter" and it is pretty fast.

Diesel is the way to go.

About your Golf TDi, I would suggest you get properly inspected. Turbos on these cars regularly fail due to not being beaten. Sounds weird but it's true. Oil sludge is another problem if oil changes were not regularly done.

[big_block]

Originally Posted by The General

This week, I am piloting a much more boring yet sedate ML320 cdi. This one only requires about 11L per 100 km to travel the same routes. INSANE! The 320 produces 215 hp and 398 lbs of torque (only 12 lbs shy of the Sport). I can barely hear the typical diesel "clatter" and it is pretty fast.

Diesel is the way to go.
.

I think it's the same engine that we're going to see in the Grand Cherokee CDI next Spring. 11L/100km that is very decent for the vehicule size but how much for the price. The Liberty CDI is selling for around 35000$, so I guess his bigger brother will cost around 40000$ for diesel version.

[The General]

That sounds about right for the Grand Cherokee. The ML starts at $59,000.