Well a turbo diesel will compare favourably when compared to your average normally aspirated petrol engine. But if you compare it to a turbo petrol or a really good normally aspirated engine them there's no comparison.
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Well a turbo diesel will compare favourably when compared to your average normally aspirated petrol engine. But if you compare it to a turbo petrol or a really good normally aspirated engine them there's no comparison.
Not being rude Daniel but in terms of diesel technology the 406 is pretty ancient, even with the HDI engine. Consider that BMW now produce a 2.0turbodiesel with 204bhp and 400Nm of torque and still returns 45-50mpg.
You cannot get that performance & economy from petrol.
Kneeslider is absolutely right in what he says about power delivery for the track and petrol being better for steering a car on the throttle. However on the road, what you want is huge torque and a flat torque curve. Drive a modern performance diesel and you'll quickly discover that on a decent A road you need 4th gear and nothing else - that pulls hard from 30mph to 85mph.
Oh I know. Mine is an old school non-common rail one as well so it's quite primitive. I realise the engines have got better but it's still not the same. No offence taken :p
What's the 0-60 on a 320d? Caroline's ancient Subaru does it in a little over 6 seconds. Now we're talking a car that's 14 years old and an engine which was designed earlier so we're not talking the height of technology. A modern car with a decent engine would be even better in that respect. I realise 0-60 isn't a complete measure of performance but it's a decent measure.
When it comes to fuel consumption there is no comparison as you say. But petrol will get better. Testdrive a mito when they bring out the multiair engines. From what i've heard it's going to narrow the gap in consumption and make the gap in performance even greater.
I've often heard said that when considering petrol vs diesel then it's the 30-60 time that is more indicative. As when out driving you will more often be accelerating from a lower speed rather than stopped
It's also an important consideration when overtaking, where you need to go from around 30mph to over 60mph as quickly as you possbily can.
True but it depends where you do most of your driving. If you drive mainly in the city then you'll want something that's quick up to 30 and any performance beyong that will be a nice surprise for those times you get on the motorway. My car has a bit of a poke from 30-60 whichQuote:
Originally Posted by Mark
Sorry for taking the thread off topic (actually it's Kneeslider's fault but I haven't helped) but I just enjoy good clean discussion. If this were the the F1 forum I'd have been accused of bias against diesel, racism, ethnic cleansing and various other things already :cheese: :mark:
P.S Fizzi, do modern diesels still spew unburnt fuel out the exhaust if you put your foot down in 5th @ 30mph? Nothing gets someone tailgating your more pissed off than a showering of diesel smoke :)
From experience in following diesels. The TDi engined ones (usually the VW units) still do give off black smoke. But the PSA TDCi engines (in Peugeot, Citroen, Ford etc) give off a more clear emission, but you can still see it, if you see what I mean.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
Did VAG only recently move over to a common rail system on their diesels? Could be a reason for what you've seen. Or not :p
As far as I know VW still don't use common rail?
I wiki'd it and they do on some of their newer engines.
No idea if the other half has a Vag common rail engine, all I know is that I can't drive it for Jack and that's putting it politely. I should really get a diesel as I drive enough miles to warrant the extra expense but I just can't drive them. The other half has a 2.0l 170bhp diesel and it's alot faster than my 2.0l 150bhp petrol but theres just something I don't like about getting all your power in one massive lump. I know I don't rev my engine high enough to use the majority of its power but I'd still rather my petrol than a stinky diesel anyday.