Basic question for many of you, perhaps! Or irrelevant if you already bought your Doblo.

But for me is essential if I want to get
- reliability
- low fuel bills

First decission was for Diesel. But....

I'm not a speed fan: at most 120 Kms/h on highways. I drive attentively as I want to reach destination in best conditions.

I estimate we'll drive 50000 kms in the next 3 years and 100000 kms in the next 5 years.

I just read that DIESEL CARS MAKE SENSE IF YOU
* Do 10,000-plus miles a year;
* Need a big 4x4 or people-carrier;
* Require low-down power for towing.
and fuel cost savings are £250-£300 every 10,000 miles.

But it's not only this. What about noises? What about how the cars behaves in traffic? Is it responsive enough? Don't you get too tired paying attention to rpms?

Do Fiat petrol engines are as good as so much praised diesel JTD / Multijet?

:worship:

Diesels always make sence. You don't have to look at the rev counter to drive it. Diesels are louder than petrols, but not a lot. At motorway speeds diesels are quieter.

Fiat petrol engines are great, but their JTD/MJet units are superb!

Diesel all the way, when the turbo kicks in on my 1.9JTD at around 1800RPM it's faster than my mates 1.4 Fiesta! so no problems with responsiveness plus the fuel economy is soo much better on a Diesel

Out of intrest how much is Diesel per litre where you live?

viitorProprietardeDoblo said:

But it's not only this. What about noises? What about how the cars behaves in traffic? Is it responsive enough? Don't you get too tired paying attention to rpms?

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I have yet to buy a Doblo, but I will surely go for the Diesel version, although it will cost 4000 euro's more .nl.
Compared to the 1.4 petrol version it has better figures all the way. Besides the things people already mentioned you should also take into account the lesser CO2 exhaust and with new sooth particle filter it will be 'better' from an environmental aspect as well.
I will buy the 1.3 JTD engine, by the way. It simply delivers more than the petrol and I do not need the 1.9 engine.

I currently drive an old Corsa diesel and never watch the rpms. I get 20 km per liter (47.5 mpg) very regulary, shifting around 2500 rpm. I did some tests consciously shifting at 2000 rpm and it improved but not dramatically.
I assume this will be the same with the Doblo.

Did you already go for a test-drive to experience the noise level etc.?

Hope this helps.

Ozzie1989 said:

Diesel all the way, when the turbo kicks in on my 1.9JTD at around 1800RPM it's faster than my mates 1.4 Fiesta! so no problems with responsiveness plus the fuel economy is soo much better on a Diesel

Out of intrest how much is Diesel per litre where you live?

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1 litre of Diesel here = 3,44 RON = 0,975 EUR

Ozzie1989 said:

We pay £1 GBP per litre on average! Which is equivalent to around 1.5 Euro a litre!

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And of that £1 GBP the govt are taking somewhere in the region of 75% in tax!

Ozzie1989 said:

We pay £1 GBP per litre on average! Which is equivalent to around 1.5 Euro a litre!

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by the way,in Romania 1l of petrol (95) costs =1l diesel fuel. In South Wales how much is it ?

Hellcat said:

Diesels are louder than petrols, but not a lot.

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LOL thats funny, i cant hear my engine but in my mates 06 GP tdi is so much louder, you can't hear your phone to use it (handsfree of course).

Ozzie1989 said:

Mine is quiet

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yours is special maybe doblos are different but i much prefer petrol tbh

Everyone is entitled to their different views

I prefer them because you get better MPG, insurance is cheaper than on an equivalent power petrol, they're more durable and have more tourqe

The 1.9 JTD engine is superb. Not sure about the 1.3 Mjet, but the JTD works best 2-3000 rpm.

I wouldn't bother with the 1.4 petrol, its a good engine (my Dad had one in a Tipo many years ago) but was a little underpowered in the tipo, and the Doblo is a bigger vehicle and they've added a catalytic converter, which = more emissions and lower mpg.

Reggie said:

the Doblo is a bigger vehicle and they've added a catalytic converter, which = more emissions and lower mpg.

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A catalytic converter decreases the emissions exiting the vehicle through the exhaust...

Ozzie1989 said:

A catalytic converter decreases the emissions exiting the vehicle through the exhaust...

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only when it is properly warmed up and that takes up to ten miles. Something over 50% of journeys in this country are less than 5 miles.

Until a cat is fully warmed up the emissions are actually higher than without one.

Well you learn something new every day

Cheers for that SquarePeg

I stand corrected Reggie

Its not just when they're cold though - catalytic converters use more fuel, so though they make for cleaner emissions on long journeys, more fuel burned = more CO2 - it might be clean, but there's more of it...

...and remember most journeys in the UK are too short for this, so they're actually MORE dirty for these journeys, which are mostly in town. An asthma suffering friend told me that the asthma rates in children doubled soon after the legislation requiring them in all new cars took effect - I don't know how true this is.

Its a sad, strange world that we live in. Apparently it was down to lobbying by manufacturers, rather than any net benefit to us or the environment. It also screwed Ford's 1500cc 2 stroke triple - the test models were getting 70mpg and 90hp, but they wouldn't work with a cat.