Quote:
Originally Posted by Kerr
When you drive diesel cars faster they drink the juice too. There isn't any way around that.
From what I read from many guys on here many of the 335d drivers get very low 30MPG. Did Carlos, who did thrash his, not claim his overall average was something like 16MPG in his 335d?
Guys with the 330d often report it as an achievement to break 40MPG on a run.
I've owned quite a few diesels and they all needed nursed to get anywhere near the claimed figures just like a petrol. Are they not tested in the same circumstances?
Not sure why anyone can be shocked by the results. Many better magazines have carried out the same feature for years and keep coming up with the same results.
Unless you do very big miles, I can't see any reason to buy any diesel over a petrol equivalent. Too many people needlessly driving cement mixers.
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Oh yeah, if you do drive the big diesel fast of course it will drink the juice. However, drive it sensibly, and you can often get good returns.
I have had many different cars, petrol and diesel, and here is what I found:
Audi A3 2.0 TDI 140 BHP remapped to about 170 BHP: 45-47 mpg over 50k.
Audi A4 2.0 TDI 143 BHP : 40 mpg over 20k
Audi A4 2.0 TDI 177 BHP : 37 mpg over 3.5k (got rid as thats appauling for a diesel).
VW Golf 1.8T tuned to 240 BHP : 28 mpg over 30k
VW Golf 2.8 V6 204 BHP: 26 mpg over 10k
Audi S4 4.2 V8 345 BHP : 23 mpg over 8k
Now I have my BMW 335d, remapped to @330-340 BHP
So I have only done 2 tanks in this motor so far. Averaging 37.5 mpg overall.
BUT, I did give it a go to see what I could expect to get if I tried, and on a 25 mile run, with approximately 8 miles town, 10 miles dual carriageway, and 7 miles of A road, I averaged just over 45 mpg.
Still, considering it is similar power output to the S4, the 15 mpg extra I get is very welcome. It has around double the power of my old A3, and I CAN, if I wished, get a similar consumption figure to the overall I got in that car.
These results are accurate brim to empty calculations, taken from a variety of cars, over 120-odd thousand miles. With the same driver, driving the same way, over the same roads. So a fair evaluation of the difference between petrol and diesel cars.
I think it is fair to say that diesel is still more economical than petrol, and while you may pay a premium for the diesel engine when you purchase it, you do get a lot of it back in residual value at the end. As well as it being a much easier sell. My S4 was for sale for 18 months before it finally sold. And the price was dropped by over 30% to get it away too.