At present in AutoTrader.co.uk
Total cars for sale in thousands (less than 10-yr old)
Petrol Manual 168
Diesel Manual 80
Petrol Auto 41
Diesel Auto 26
Observation:
Diesel Autos are very few.
A higher % of diesels are auto compared to petrols
33% of all cars for sale are diesels! Don't know whether this figure can be termed high or low.
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Yep. I had trouble finding one (diesel auto that is) recently, and one does have to pay the price when one finds a decent one.
DSG should at least make VW Group diesel autos more common now though.
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On eBay at the moment, there are 9,263 diesel automatics. I'm idly contemplating a Merc C250 TD Auto, which are not that common.
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Movi, i wonder what percentage of those Diesel auto's are proper auto's compared to automated manuals of various names.
I wonder if conventional auto Diesels are more of a personal choice and likely to be long term purchases, ours is exactly that don't suppose we're alone.
Automated manuals maybe sold on when the warranty expires?
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Thu 18 Mar 10 at 19:34
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Diesel automatics were generally produced in larger cars which sell the least. Owners and buyers of large cars usually don't care about economy, more performance so it is only recently that such combinations have been produced that satisfy owners performance requirements. Added to that, the torque of a diesel engine can be too much for the standard slushbox - notice lack of Japanese diesel automatics, despite them making good auto boxes.
I have owned three or four diesel autos and without exception they were a dog to drive when stone cold and they have odd characteristics especially in urban traffic. I am just about coping with the D5 in the XC90, but I am still not enjoying it. My in house accountant reckons I should have bought a black cab instead!
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Are we to take it that Espadrille will not be taking over the "cab" then ? :-)
Re - Japanese diesel autos. My Squashy is fine and dandy with a slushbox but I suppose it's not really Japanese. Made in the Wi Ai plant I gather.....
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>> Made in the Wi Ai plant I gather.....
Is that not the Makem plant? :-)
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Don't think so but it could have been the Ee Wi No subsidiary unit.
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notice
>> lack of Japanese diesel automatics despite them making good auto boxes.
Maybe here, but Japanese Diesel auto's have been for sale in other parts of the world for years, and you forget the thousands of Japanese 4x4's with fantastically durable automatic boxes that roam the whole world.
I can't for the life of me understand why Toyota in particlular took so long to put a proper auto in the Avensis, now it's there it's a lovely box and i have no doubt it will find it's way into Lexus is220 soon, i suppose the lack of price differential in the UK between petrol and derv is one reason why, the same reason why it took so long for Diesels to become poplular here when they sold by the trainload in Europe, and they still wouldn't be selling here if it wasn't for turbocharging.
My previous Benz the NA 300 Diesel E class auto was a delight in traffic and had strong instant pull from rest, it was overtaking and increasing speed further up the rev band that let it down.
My own Hilux auto apart from Diesel engine noise is a delight to drive, pulls away instantly mainly because the engine's big enough to have a head of steam before the turbo gets going, thats where many cars fall down, and changes gear as smoothly as my lovely old Benz.
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I found it very difficult to find a diesel automatic when I bought my present car.
The situation was made harder by the fact that several cars (Merc C-class, Audi A4) were just about to change, and I didn't want to buy an old model. I tried a few manual diesels, but I knew that I had to have an auto really.
Ended up with the BMW 320d. SWMBO absolutely loves it - almost as much as I dislike it!
Seriously thinking of going back to petrol next time - with a DSG box you don't lose so much in MPG and performance compared to a manual anyway.
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Weren't Citroen one of the first to offer a mainstream diesel auto with the BX in the mid-80s? And they offer similarly-equipped C3s and C4s today don't they? So manufacturers have had a good 20 years+ to overcome any torque issues and match diesel engines to autoboxes.
Strikes me the manufacturers don't want to. They like charging a premium for both auto and diesel don't they? My old folks wanted to replace their Volvo S40 1.9D manual a couple of years ago with another S40. Their only option: step this way to a 20-odd grand S40 D5... grr!
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Why so few diesel automatics? - Alanovich
