Diesel-Engine and Turbo Diesel-Engine Vehicles
Diesel engine and turbo diesel-engine vehicles use a multi-cylinder four-stroke engine that burns a diesel fuel/air mixture. Unlike the gasoline-powered engine which uses a spark plug to ignite the mixture in the combustion chamber, the diesel engine uses the heat created by the high compression generated by the engine to ignite the mixture.
Both diesel and turbo diesel engines produce high levels of torque in comparison to gasoline engines. However, because of certain inherent characteristics such as its high compression ratio, it is more solidly built, heavier and noisier. What’s more, it produces more nitrogen oxide particles than gasoline engines, which warrants the use of more complex emissions controls and particulate filters. These characteristics add up, which make diesel and turbo-diesel engines more expensive to produce, although they offer extended durability and lower fuel consumption than their gasoline counterparts. In order to recover the added expense of purchasing a diesel or turbo- diesel vehicle an owner must travel between 15,000 to 20,000 kilometres per year over five years. If you travel between 20,000 to 25,000 kilometres annually, the extra expense will be recovered in four years. If you travel over 25,000 per annum, you will recover your expense even sooner.
Diesel or turbo-diesel vehicles
Fuel consumption: less than 7 L/100 km
Average CO2 emissions: 3,121 kg/year
Price: less than $35,000
Audi A3 2.0 TDI (6.7 L/100 km)
Chevrolet Cruze Diesel 2014 (4.6 L/100 km)
Volkswagen Beetle TDI (6.7 L/100 km)
Volkswagen Golf TDI (6.7 L/100 km)
Volkswagen Jetta TDI (6.7 L/100 km)
Volkswagen Passat TDI (6.8 L/100 km)
Diesel engine and turbo diesel-engine vehicles use a multi-cylinder four-stroke engine that burns a diesel fuel/air mixture. Unlike the gasoline-powered engine which uses a spark plug to ignite the mixture in the combustion chamber, the diesel engine uses the heat created by the high compression generated by the engine to ignite the mixture.
Both diesel and turbo diesel engines produce high levels of torque in comparison to gasoline engines. However, because of certain inherent characteristics such as its high compression ratio, it is more solidly built, heavier and noisier. What’s more, it produces more nitrogen oxide particles than gasoline engines, which warrants the use of more complex emissions controls and particulate filters. These characteristics add up, which make diesel and turbo-diesel engines more expensive to produce, although they offer extended durability and lower fuel consumption than their gasoline counterparts. In order to recover the added expense of purchasing a diesel or turbo- diesel vehicle an owner must travel between 15,000 to 20,000 kilometres per year over five years. If you travel between 20,000 to 25,000 kilometres annually, the extra expense will be recovered in four years. If you travel over 25,000 per annum, you will recover your expense even sooner.
Diesel or turbo-diesel vehicles
Fuel consumption: less than 7 L/100 km
Average CO2 emissions: 3,121 kg/year
Price: less than $35,000
Audi A3 2.0 TDI (6.7 L/100 km)
Chevrolet Cruze Diesel 2014 (4.6 L/100 km)
Volkswagen Beetle TDI (6.7 L/100 km)
Volkswagen Golf TDI (6.7 L/100 km)
Volkswagen Jetta TDI (6.7 L/100 km)
Volkswagen Passat TDI (6.8 L/100 km)
 |
| Photo: Philippe Champoux |