Eco diesels

I now have a BMW125d which is supposed to return something like 64mpg. Uttter, utter bobbins. 40mpg requires driving like a saint and a bit of fun on the way in this morning got it to under 30mpg by the trip computer.

Oh, and the bmw stop start works for about a minute before turning back on

Maybe there is something wrong with your car…..

Maybe there is something wrong with your car…..

+1

stop start works as it should in my 520d – only comes on at lights if there is a demand from the heater, ac or similar

Used to have a Mk6 golf 2.0tdi (the 140bhp one) with blue motion (not add on pack. Along a very twist stop start b-road commute it managed 45mpg average. I’m a reasonably erratic driver though.

I’ll say. I can easily get over 50 on windy country roads in my non-bluemotion automatic Passat doing speed limits. If you want good fuel economy you have to drive economically. Not necessarily slowly, just efficiently.

VW Tiguan 2.0 diesel here, Bluemotion, 150BHP, post VW scandal so adblue tank in it already.

Don’t know what MPG I averaged but two fully laden trips to the alps this summer and it was much, much cheaper than the V70 I took last year.

The engine in a stop start car will restart if there is any load that can’t be met by the battery. Or if brake vacuum drops. Or if you move the steering wheel too much, or the climate system decides to click on. If you’d read the manual it’d probably tell you. I’ve been driving stop start for 7 years now and have read the manual…….

To be clear, I’m not after economy. I got this car to muck around in without needing to go very fast to make it great fun. Short sharp sprints between 30 and 50 mph. I use the car in a mixture of normal and one of the sport modes, not sure I’ve ever put it into economy.. When I was, my A4 would do 55mpg on the same roads. Reasonably wearing on the tyres though to maintain the speed (used to get about 15,000 out of the fronts).
I am however surprised that I only get 45mpg sitting at 75 on the motorway. That’s worse than my A6 was!
Cars due its first service in 3k miles which is about 7 weeks. I’ll get them to look at it then.
Suspect overall economy won’t improve a great deal though….

Diesel is going to phased out once the government can figure out a politically acceptable way of doing so. Plans are likely to delayed however due to Brexit sucking everyone in government up. Most likely through a combination of increased tax on diesel cars on the grounds of air pollution, and a scrappage scheme.
Injectors can be a problem on VAG cars. Dual mass flywheels are appearing on petrol too though so do check the car carefully if buying 2nd hand as they don’t trend bye covered on warranty (and they are bobbins!).

Honest John website has real world mpgs. Nissan GTR gets better than listed!

If I were buying tomorrow it’s be getting petrol.

If I were buying tomorrow it’s be getting petrol.

Same here, but my 11 year old diesel (DPF free) is still going strong, and worth very little so no point selling.

People make a big deal about diesels being dodgy in the long term (partly) due to turbos. I guess in a few years we’ll be hearing the same about the new 1.xL turbocharged petrol engines, unless the load is different between petrol and diesel?

Under NO circumstances would I buy a new diesel car in the current climate.

Why not? I’d be surprised if taxation changed for cars already bought for a long time. New cars yes at some point but not all the ones already out there.

I quite like posts like this, been old enough to remember when your average family car managed 30mpg, it it was lucky 🙂

And had the likes of SD1’s that would struggle to hit double figures, consequentially find the fact that my current diesel averages +45 mpg no matter how hard I drive it, amazing.

See I don’t get that. Even my A4 which I actually owned so I cared about (2008, 2l tdi 140bhp) would drop to low 30’s over 20 mile dashes if I really went for it.

Because diesel is a dirty, hateful fuel with residuals which get into everything from the air to the water.

Petrol may produce more CO2, but it’s cleaner by far than diesel.

iainc – Member
Maybe there is something wrong with your car…..
+1
stop start works as it should in my 520d – only comes on at lights if there is a demand from the heater, ac or similar

Same. My 120d can sit for ages “stopped”, I never turn the a/c off, and is averaging 56mpg currently overall, can average over 62 easily if driven with care on motorways. As its more spacious than any believes a 1 series can be (I think their mind defaults to the original smaller model) it’s a great golf sized hatch that’s serving me well for bike duties and cruising about for work.

Under NO circumstances would I buy a new diesel car in the current climate.

FTFY .

Because diesel is a dirty, hateful fuel with residuals which get into everything from the air to the water.

Petrol may produce more CO2, but it’s cleaner by far than diesel.

With modern ECO diesels being worse than the older black smog versions due to the “emissions” reduction being 1 of two things – transporters away from the city to burn it off on the motorway or filters that basically divide it up into even finer undetectable particles – these fines are the stuff you really need to worry about – they linger in the air due to lack of weight and are what get in and cling to your lungs.

Personally I’d look at what modern small turbo petrol cars are available, my 1.4TDCi Fiesta although returning around 60ish MPG has been the most expensive car to keep on the road due to injector leaks and not very nice to drive.