Passat Petrol/Diesel?

[damjee]

Hi all,

I am planning to buy a Passat, and was wondering whether Petrol or a Diesel would suite better. Personally I don't mind driving either, so it would mainly be based on what is more economical to maintain and drive. I know the Diesel returns more MPG, but

1. does it need to be more regularly serviced?
2. is the service more expensive than for a petrol?
3. are repairs/spares on a Diesel more costly?

Also my other question is,

Is a diesel engine with for example a millage of 120K in a similar mechanical condition to a petrol engine with 120K, or does the diesel engine wear faster? Assuming both have been serviced regularly.

Thanks in advance for all the answers. I appreciate your help.
Regards,
Dj

[BenR]

My wife drives a diesel Citroen C1 and we have decided that the next car will be petrol because the MPG difference doesn't offset the higher purchase price and the higher cost of the diesel fuel.

That said, the TDi engines do drive nicely... have you driven both to compare?

[damjee]

I haven't really driven a TDi, but I have driven one of the previous diesel vehicles with a non-turbo engine. Didn't mind it too much really in terms of performance. It was slower off the mark compared to a petrol, but once you are in a higher gear (motor-way) its fine in my opinion.

Regards,
Dj

[TDi_B5]

I'd go for a diesel every time. I drive a Passat TDI and my mpg at its lowest is 45 and on the motorway can easily reach 60+mpg. Expect around 30-35 for a petrol. The diesel has much more torque, especially at lower revs, is much cleaner than a petrol (better for the environment) and ofcourse, much cheaper to run. As far as I'm aware, diesels have the same or atleast very similar service intervals. I think the same principles apply when buying a petrol or diesel; make sure you have a full service history, don't neglect routine servicing and if you're in any way suspicious of what you're buying, walk away, there are loads of cars out there for sale! And in terms of the extra outlay you pay for a diesel over a petrol, its only really apparent if you're after a newish car. But that said, if you are buying a newer diesel i.e. 2001+, it will be cheaper to tax and insure than a petrol equivalent in most if not all cases. Modern diesels are just superb, the technology is improving all the time, go and test drive some and see for yourself. It also depends on what you want in a car and what sort of motoring you do, but definatley keep an open mind!

Hope this helps

[NeilS]

The Pasaat diesels command a premium over the petrol models. On a four year old above average miles car the difference can be as much as £2,000 or even more if you aspire to the PD 130 bhp model which is generally regarded as the one to have. That is a lot of cash and it would take a lot of miles to recover that difference in fuel savings bearing in mind diesel is now 10p a litre more than unleaded and it won't go back to par, ever. If people say you can get 60 mpg out of a diesel then I'd wager that would be low to mid 40's in a petrol. Still if you do an awful lot of miles you'll eventually get the extra cost back.

There's less to go "seriously" wrong with a petrol compared to a diesel and you need to be as certain as you can be that a Passat diesel (PD) has always had the right oil in it. Duff injectors and flywheels are not issues on petrol models. Servicing costs are similar but the PD oil is usually expensive.

If I wanted a Passat, didn't do big miles and had to budget a bit carefully, I'd go for the petrol. Personally I'd go for the diesel because of the way it delivers its power and the high gearing at motorway speeds makes for relaxed driving. Plus you can remap the blighters fairly inexpensively for another 30 or 40 bhp and get a lot of fun out of a decent but essentially hum drum family car :D

[Ross 1.8T]

I've owned the following VAG cars:

Passat B5.5 SE TDi 130
SEAT Ibiza 1.9 TDi Sport 130
3x SEAT Leon Cupra 1.8T 180bhp (2 AUQ engined with VVT, 1 APP engined without)
SEAT Toledo 1.8 20V SE
VW Golf Mk IV 1.9 GT TDi 130.

My current daily runner is a Passat B5 1.8T Sport so all in all a good mix of both the 1.9 TDi 130bhp diesel engine and the 1.8 20V Turbo petrol engine. I do less than 15000 miles per year so with diesel now 10p per litre more than petrol it would take a long time to recoup the difference in purchase price if I had bought a diesel.

I say this because the 1.8T is pretty economical for a turbo petrol engine. I drove from North London round the M25 down to JKM at Portsmouth to have my cambelt, auxiliary belts, thermostat and waterpump replaced yesterday. A round trip of about 220 miles didn't even use half a tank of petrol. The car returned average fuel consumption of 42mpg doing a steady indicated 75-80mph where possible and stop start traffic between the A3/M25 junction all the way to the junction with the M40. My previous diesels would no doubt have managed about 52mpg on the same journey but the cost of each gallon would have been 50p more.

At today's fuel prices, the cost of the trip in my 1.8T was roughly £25.50. In a 1.9 TDi 130 it would have been roughly £22.50, £3 cheaper. 99 model diesel Passats with less than 100k miles (if you can find one) attract a price premium of about £1000 over the equivalent spec and mileage 1.8T. With my annual mileage of about 12000, it would take me approximately 9 years to recoup that £1000. That sums it up for me from a fuel economy standpoint. For my particular circumstances, the diesel is not worth the extra initial outlay if saving money is the deciding factor.

As for driving pleasure, sure the TDi's feel nippy, especially in 130bhp form but in my opinion this is an illusion brought on by a large but short lived lump of torque. For me, its all over far too quickly with no useable power after about 4000 revs, the 1.8T is still pulling strongly all the way to about 6-6500 rpm. Put a TDi and a 1.8T side by side at 85mph and floor them and there'll only be one winner and it won't be the oil burner. This is where bhp shows over low down torque. Its important to remember that torque is a product of rpm and bhp. Ultimately, the car with the higher bhp will almost always be faster, all other things being equal.

This illustrates why the 1.8T is best for me. I'm not being critical to the diesel's or diesel owners, I've owned enough of them to know what great cars they are. Some people may be able to get the numbers to work in their favour with the diesel but for my particular circumstances, it doesn't make financial sense and it doesn't provide the driving experience I'm after.

Do your homework before you buy and testdrive both petrol and diesel cars thoroughly. If I was going for a diesel I'd choose the 110bhp over the 130bhp TDi. Its more reliable, economical and capable of higher mileages without large bills. It'll also remap to about 150bhp if you're that way inclined.


The diesel has much more torque, especially at lower revs, is much cleaner than a petrol (better for the environment)

Come on mate, cleaner than a petrol? You only have to drive behind one to know that isn't true. CO2 is not the be all and end all, diesels manage to produce less over a given distance purely by virtue of the fact that they have longer gearing allowing the engine to turn slower and less fuel to be burned. All that soot and unburned fuel has to go somewhere. There is a direct corellation between increased diesel sales and instance of childhood asthma. Diesel fumes also combine with artery clogging fats causing heart disease (see link below). The idiotic criteria that the government use to set the amount of Road tax payable is there to generate revenue, they are in no way a measure of how eco friendly diesel is over petrol. Diesel vehicles produce many times the amount of harmful emissions that petrol vehicles do. Particulate matter being the most harmful of these.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6915057.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/mar/11/medicalresearch.pollution