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Diesels

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Diesels

x Alex x

x Alex x

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Hello! :wave: I drove my friends clio 1.5 dci today and wasn't impressed, clutch was too stuff and the gearbox was hard and klunky, all i want to know is are all diesels like this? because i was wanting to get a JTD punto next, but if they're as bad to drive as the clio (which i very much doubt they are!) i won't be getting one and i'll stick with petrol cars (y)
 
Mines not stiff (my clutch and gearbox). May take some getting used to if your coming from a petrol, diesels can seem slow at first, but as you adapt your driving style over time, you realise they aren't that slow at all and you'll know how to get the best out of one.
 
I recently changed from petrol to diesel and was initially shocked at the difference. A turbo diesel has a very narrow power range - say from 2 to 4 thousand revs. Outside of that range it's a slow as continental land drift. Dangerously so when pulling out of trafffic. You soon learn to keep the engine speed in the power band and then you're as fast as the rest. In fact faster because the turbo boost acceleration is very rapid.

I think the clutch/gearbox is a Renault thing - my Doblo has a slightly heavier clutch than my old ZX but the gearbox is a sweet thing.
 
The clutch and gearbox on the Panda MultiJet are very light and easy to use.
H
 
oh right thanks for the replies everyone, that's good to know, i don't think diesels are slow, i much prefer them for pulling up hills, i know what you mean about the narrow power band, i liked the clio apart from the clutch and gearbox (y) i should have known the fiats would have been better than a renault :yuck: lol thanks againb, Alex.
 
As with most cars they are different from the various manufacturers, but the one thing that I would say that they all are, & echo's what Captain_swing said is the power band is very narrow, hence why lots of TD's have 6speed box's as out the power range they are awful. Theres even a VW press release this week that even they the champions of TDi cars admit that many people do not like to drive them because of this and therefore they see the small capicity petrol units like there new 1.4 supercharged/turbo charged engine as being the way forward for many people as it has usable power from 1750rpm to 5700rpm something a diesel can't do, but return 90% of a 2L TDi's economy. they also state diesels are more expensive to make, so cost more to buy and unless you cover 20,000miles a year over a 3-4year period, make no financial sense.

You could of course read into that that they are now wanting to push there petrol engines again and its just a case of some more clever VW PR as they are very good at it.
 
J333EVO said:
As with most cars they are different from the various manufacturers, but the one thing that I would say that they all are, & echo's what Captain_swing said is the power band is very narrow, hence why lots of TD's have 6speed box's as out the power range they are awful. Theres even a VW press release this week that even they the champions of TDi cars admit that many people do not like to drive them because of this and therefore they see the small capicity petrol units like there new 1.4 supercharged/turbo charged engine as being the way forward for many people as it has usable power from 1750rpm to 5700rpm something a diesel can't do, but return 90% of a 2L TDi's economy. they also state diesels are more expensive to make, so cost more to buy and unless you cover 20,000miles a year over a 3-4year period, make no financial sense.

You could of course read into that that they are now wanting to push there petrol engines again and its just a case of some more clever VW PR as they are very good at it.
Click to expand...

That's all very true about the narrow power range, but like I said once you get used to it (and I admit took me a couple of months) you don't find yourself struggling for power all the time. It amazes me how many diesel drivers don't know how to drive them properly, they drive them like petrols and rev the nuts off them. I managed to beat a new 3 series 2.0d the other day, which I found out to have 160 hp (60hp more than my car). So it must be down to the way he was driving. If money was no object though, I'd pick a petrol as they seem to apply the power through the wheels more efficiently in certain situations.
 
well i aggree with all of that, specially if you buy a diesel and don't do more than 20k a year because they cost more to buy, insure and slightly more for diesel, the reason i want a JTD is to remap it to about the same power as the HGT and obviously A remapped JTD is far cheaper than the HGT. thanks for the replies (y)
 
the price of diesel is a bit more than petrolat the pump, but this counts for nothing. My mate has a 1.7cdti astra, which i must admit i love to drive, it is a bit slower to repsond than my punto obviously but when it does kick in it is a lot faster than the punto, bigger car obviously, but we both get roughly the same miles per £10 of petrol/diesel. he gets 90 miles, so do I. I wouldnt mind the change if i was to buy a diesel, they get the (y) from me
 
jamie03 said:
the price of diesel is a bit more than petrolat the pump, but this counts for nothing. My mate has a 1.7cdti astra, which i must admit i love to drive, it is a bit slower to repsond than my punto obviously but when it does kick in it is a lot faster than the punto, bigger car obviously, but we both get roughly the same miles per £10 of petrol/diesel. he gets 90 miles, so do I. I wouldnt mind the change if i was to buy a diesel, they get the (y) from me
Click to expand...
yeh i like them aswell, the only thing that put me off was the heavy clutch and box on that clio
 
i know, i was just giving you my opinion on diesels thats all, just saying if you want a quick car for cheap running costs diesels are the way forward:cool:
 
not everyone can afford to run and insure themselves on two cars, when most people can only drive one at a time anyway:p Besides i just steal his astra, and beau can steal his mates clio:D
 
My diesel is pretty revvy in 1st/2nd, if you come to a meet I will show you :)

Unfortunatly, because diesels run at a higher pressure than petrols, they will never rev as high. And no matter how much technology advances, they will still probably sound like a tractor. But they are a ton of fun when they are on boost, and very economical when not. So the best of both worlds :)
 
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J333EVO said:
You could of course read into that that they are now wanting to push there petrol engines again and its just a case of some more clever VW PR as they are very good at it.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Diesels are solid, usually reliable engines which last and last. This means people arn't buying replacement cars. So.. introduce a 1.4 super/turbo charged petrol. Double the chance of something terminal going wrong and there you have it - vehicle turnover.

Small/medium multijet diesels are the future. Fiat should know, they've been at the cutting edge of diesel technology for years. These cars also qualify for low road tax due to their low emissions.

Just been on a run to Whitby in the Marea JTD with my sis following in a 1.3 Ford Ka. It's about 50 miles over the North York Moors. We might get similar MPG on the flat, but up hill I leave the Ka behind - in distance and MPG.

As for VW and their stance on diesels. I was behind an 06 Passat 2.0tdi and it was belching out black smoke, even on tickover. Not constantly either, every 10 seconds or so it kicked out black smoke for a few seconds then it stopped. Maybe they've lost the plans for their diesel engines? :D
 
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