It would appear that all modern diesels have the aforementioned, so avoiding them is impossible.
I have recently driven a friends A4 Tdi and another friends 320d, both estates, both '08 plates. I preferred the Beemer, probably because I'm used to the handling characteristics of my '04 330 soft top. My plan is to sell the 330 to a friend, buy a proper 2 seater privately in January 2014, and get a mid size estate as a runaround for the elderly relatives and carrying my 'stuff' about. The 320d with 177 bhp goes ok, and I read in HJs column recently that it does not suffer from DPF problems, as many others do. I walk to work, do a little stop/start motoring, but drive 60 miles on a single trip fortnightly on fast A roads.
Does the panel think I should avoid the 320d ?
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>> It would appear that all modern diesels have the aforementioned, so avoiding them is impossible.
Rubbish.
Buy a petrol! ;-)
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Just to clarify...are you saying that it is possible to get a modern diesel without a DPF?
Or that, to avoid any possible DPF problems, I should continue to buy a petrol car? I'm just trying to get the best of both worlds....better mpg and half decent performance from a 320d, as opposed to lower mpg from a 320 petrol. 50mpg was mighty appealing as opposed to 30 from the petrol.
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according to your mileage profile you do 60 miles once a fortnight, and some local poodling around. So thats what 2k, 2.5k max per year?
Its not even bordering on diesel is best territory, and certainly flirting with gummed up DPF territory.
Its a no brainer, Diesel? bin it.
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Another ideal LPG situation, keep the lovely quiet usable engine (and real auto box) and enjoy better than Diesel fuel costs without the problems.
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and at 2k miles a year you may recover the conversion costs before you die.
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LPG is not liked in the UK Gordon.People think they have a bom in the car.Tank take's room unless build in from new underneath the car.
I was using LPG about thirty years back,VW Jetta Italian system.
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It's not just money though, the thing with a diesel is the effortless power. My mileage is only about 8k a year so common sense would have said get the 1.6 petrol Scenic but the 2.0 diesel is so much more relaxed and pulls like a train, perhaps too easily at times. My car does get a short run on the M4 on days when I drive to work (J18 to J19) which I think is enough to keep the DPF clean.
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common sense would have said get the
>> 1.6 petrol Scenic but the 2.0 diesel is so much more relaxed and pulls like
>> a train, perhaps too easily at times.
Comparing apples and oranges though, 2 litre turbo Diesel against 1.6 NA petrol.
Yes Dutchie is quite right, there is something about LPG that doesn't agree with most here yet very common in other parts of Europe, probably just as well or Dick Turpin would soon chuck some more tax on it if too many people got converted.
What i don't understand is why people are happy to spend several thousand pounds in order to buy a more complicated car with known issues to get economy fuel figures, but won't spend far less in order to give their present car (if its a proper car, ie 6+cyl and real auto) Diesel economy....its probably me.
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>> What i don't understand is why people are happy to spend several thousand pounds in
>> order to buy a more complicated car with known issues to get economy fuel figures,
>> but won't spend far less in order to give their present car (if its a
>> proper car, ie 6+cyl and real auto) Diesel economy....its probably me.
>>
What GB said.
Personally, and this should clarify my meaning, I would not touch a DPF diesel with a barge pole.
And as for Adblue.... I think in the future it will be discovered that it is bad for peoples health.
I find my eyes burning when following thus equipped vehicles, and as for when they are running in the workshop - my throat also starts burning.
You know, similar (but worse) to when one goes into some public conveniences....
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Thanks for your advice and comments....I drive 8k pa, the longest REGULAR trip being 60 miles each way once a fortnight. Plus local stop start. plus irregular long trips of 200 miles.
I just liked the pulling power of the 320d from low revs, although I also enjoy the power of the 330 at higher revs. Apples n oranges I suppose.
Having never ever owned a diesel car (I've probably owned 30+ cars in 40 years motoring) I just fancied a change to broaden my motoring experience. Probably better the devil you know so on your advice it looks like a petrol again. As and when the right one crops up. Probably a 320 because I do prefer RWD, and will have the luxury of a 2 seater if my plans come to fruition. Or a nice Outback. Or a Legacy.
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The trips that Legacylad describes would be fine for a DPF equipped car.During the short runs the dpf would collect the soot and then every 2 weeks,if needed, 60 miles is plenty of distance to start and finish a regen.I have a 59 plate Mondeo from new and drive around town doing very short trips and the car is now 4 years old and has never had any trouble with the dpf.It regens roughly every 500 miles and so i reset the trip to zero and then when its getting near the 500 i take it for a spirited drive,taking the revs up to 3500 regularly.This seems to force start the regen and i carry on driving until its finished.The amount of miles i do didn't warrant a diesel but i got a deal with £8,000 off list price because its was pre reg.It was an offer i couldn't refuse and i don't regret getting a diesel 4 years down the line.I get 37 to the gallon around town and 53 on the motorway.My previous petrol got no where near that.
So not all dpf cars are bad.I personally think that its a bit like when 'cats' were introduced and they were failing left,right and centre.They have improved on the design and now you don't hear of any failing.Its the same with the dpf's.Early problems getting sorted as time goes on.
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I think its all sorts of reasons. Is a bit of an unknown to many, I think people are a bit unsure of how reliable it is. Will it konck out where will it get repaired if it does, some inns companies are a bit funny about you modding your car in that way. Many might not want to keep it that long to pay back.
I thought about it for mine, but the pay off was 4 years, I didn't know ie would keep it that long, there's only one lpg station for 20 odd miles near me. The boot space taken up would bother me, quite often its full to the brim. I would consider it in the future though probably from someone who'd done it already.
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tinyurl.com/legacy-screw-diesel
So it costs £200 year more to tax.
Meh.
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We've now done 10k kms in five months with the Accord, mostly medium length journeys but some regular short trips and - X fingers - no DPF issues. I have never been able to tell if the thing is regenerating but there is a warning message when it needs X minutes at more than 37mph (why not above X revs?) that I haven't seen yet. The handbook also says white smoke may be visible from the exhaust during regeneration but I haven't see that either, so far.
The opinion on Accord forums seems to be that 0-30 oil should be used to avoid DPF issues but our car has 5-40 in it, made by a firm called Fuchs-Labo, which the Honda dealer's service manager insists is the right stuff.
I still maintain that the power delivery of a turbo diesel is deceptive and flatters indifferent driving. Sure, it's strong at low revs but falls off a cliff above 4k, which is why six gears may be 'necessary', with all the extra effort involved. Luckily, our car has a 5-speed auto with the usual excellent Honda shift plus flappy paddles - the best bit of the whole motor.
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DPF's. Conflicting advice - swiss tony
