Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[mikeC]

The day I have to buy a diesel will be the day I give up driving!
I find the noise and smell offensive, and the carciogenic characteristics are largely overlooked or ignored by diesel devotees. I appreciate they have dramatically improved over the last few years, and their performance and economy are now quite remarkable, but they still spout clouds of soot from the exhaust under acceleration, and I have no wish to inflict that on my fellow man...

[47Jag]

Mike,

For the last 5 or 6 years diesels have to have particulate filters. These should eliminate any black smoke. However I agree that there are many older cars that are belch smoke. I would think that if the MOT tests were done to the letter that they would be put off the road but they seem to get through.

Art

[mikeC]

Hmmm! I was prompted to post my reply because just yesterday a brand-new BMW diesel pulled out in front of me a put his foot down - producing a great cloud of black soot which I couldn't see through

[emmerson]

Today I've been driving my neighbours newly-acquired Sang Yong Rexton, which I believe has a Mercedes 2.7 diesel engine and auto gearbox. To be blunt, it was bloody awful! If this is an example of modern diesels, then my comments in my previous post apply, redoubled.

[ukdave2002]

[Penman]

Dave
I remember a friends Diesel UNO, you didn't measure the acceleration with a stop watch, you used a calender or on a good day an hourglass.
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Bristols should always come in pairs.

Any 2 from:-
Straight 6
V8 V10

[Penguin45]

Strange how peoples perceptions of things change. In the real world, I'm an appliance repairer. I used to do 12 calls a day, 6 days a week. I always had diesel vans, originally due to their simplicity. If it stops, it's a fuel issue. If it makes a noise and stops, it's broken. I could put up with sluggish performance in exchange for the almost total reliability on offer.

Our first diesel car was an 806 people carrier (The God Bus (The Mrs's - not mine)) and now a Ulysse - which is really an 807 (God Bus II) and is actually quite sprightly, even allowing for the size of the thing. It's quiet, economical, it does not stink of fuel, it has a "nice stereo" and power steering. It makes MrsP very happy. What really scares me with that thing is the electrics. I do electrics all day every day as part of my working life - this thing is amazingly complicated. There are three fuse boxes. Say no more.......

P45.
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'67 Wolseley MkI 18/85, '70 Austin MkII 1800 The Landcrab Forum.

[ka]

Another thought; I always ran a petrol, back in the old days when even the smallest diesel was grossly underpowered, and fit for a lorry, but now have a common rail, injected small light engined Astra, that whilst technology wise is probably 20 years old, returns far more to the gallon than any petrol engined car I have owned, or still own, including the large cc motorcycle.
On our run down and up here last week to Nottingham, we averaged 66mpg, including the Highlands and the motorway work. Would I have achieved this in a petrol engined medium sized car?, but to the point, a gallon of diesel takes longer to use than a gallon of petrol, this is more efficient use of fuel. Is this more polluting?
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KA

Better three than four.

[alanb]

The last petrol car I ran as a company car was a Citroen BX16, it was quick and nimble compared to most of the competition & was a very good tow car, when it was due for replacement I chose a Citroen Xantia 1.9 turbo diesel it had almost identical performance to the Xantia 1.8 petrol but with a better towing performance and at 60 mph it was 1 decibel quieter than the petrol version, and at the time it also had the plus of being a lower taxable benefit than a petrol car. I have had several other cars since and by choice they have all been diesel. My current car which I purchased when I retired in 2005 is a Mercedes c220 cdi estate it has now done 130,000 miles and averages 46 mpg local driving and as much as 70mpg when on long mainly motorway journeys. It's comfortable quiet reliable & economical, and I have no plans to change it yet. But should I change my mind it will almost certainly be for another diesel.
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old tourer


Morris 8 two seater

[Polypedates]

I have never owned a diesel. For me driving is as much about the fun as the getting from A to B and I have never driven a diesel I liked. This has now become self-fulfilling as I actively avoid diesels even though I now do 17-20k a year commuting.

I'd rather run a petrol and enjoy the experience than save a few pounds so I am happily piling the miles onto a Ford Racing Puma at the moment.