Was having browse through this thread and I can't believe this quote.
Lancia integrale EVO 215bhp 0-60 5.7secs, one of the quickest cross country cars ever made, less than the 220bhp quoted you think some remapped tractor is quicker
Honda integra Type R only a paltry 187bhp, often quoted as one of the best FWD cars ever built, low 6's 0-60 near 150mhp top end, only has 135lb ft torque poor little thing.
Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo 220bhp, and again dam quick.
The list is endless of cars that have same/less than the quoted 220bhp petrol car that would obliterate a remapped Punto diesel.
And even 2L TDI VAG stuff is not that quick, had many a laugh in my turbo Cinq easily getting away from said TDI's, they were especially slow out of corners.
When it comes down to it, diesel cars do not deliver the visceral delights of a petrol engine. They often do not handle as well as diesel engines weight far more than petrol equivalents, look at kerb weights of similar models in range often the petrol is some 100-150kgs lighter, and as most of these cars are front engine fwd the weight distribution is very poor when adding even more weight up front.
Diesel engines are also much more expensive to produce, this cost is generally passed onto customer, so cars more expensive to buy, servicing is often more expensive, the added weight and the torque rich characteristics of diesels means tyres have a much harder life, so need changing more often, is some cases they last half as long on lighter, freer spinning petrol siblings.
And with diesels costing now about 15p a liter more the extra cost of buying car, running said car, you would need to cover something like 25+K miles a year over about 3 years to make it even worth while. In fact that Martin Lewis the money saving expert guy said pretty much that the other day on TV, diesel only make sense to very high mileage drivers, so don't believe the marketing hype from manufacturers.
Plus 5TH Gear showed that even the Polo Blue Motion did only a true 46mpg over a week, no where near the 76mpg quoted by VAG. they are not actually as efficient as you are lead to believe. A diesel is only 18% efficient a petrol 17%, this is the amount of power produced during the cycle, the rest is wasted in producing heat.
