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-   -   Is buying a Diesel Car in the next 2 years the right decision? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/241093-buying-diesel-car-next-2-years-right-decision-5.html)

I love diesel engines, having owned a Passat and a Jetta. The Passat has one of the most efficient and powerful engines providing you with nearly 200 Bhp along with a stellar mileage of over 20 kmpl. However, the time for diesel and even petrol has gone. Purchased my first EV this week. Only electric for me going forward. Otherwise I would have loved to buy the new Mahindra XUV700.

I voted for "I will use my existing diesel for as long as possible. And no more diesel will I buy."

All very good arguments on all sides. I won't go into the relative merits of the arguments per se.

The choices on the poll are somewhat specious and possibly a case of not seeing the forest for the trees. [My apologies in advance- I do not mean to offend anyone]

Is it fair to blame the higher carbon footprint on the diesel ICE buyer? Or for that matter on the ICE buyer - yes including CNG. I also think regulators worldwide turn a blind eye to the real carbon footprint of an EV engine or a Hybrid.

Regulators and policy-makers could do well to consider the true carbon footprint of transport options vis-a-vis the transport infrastructure they make available to citizens. That is in my view - a mature view of the environmental impact of the engines we use.


To explain:
If the regulator/policy-maker can make available plenty of really good roads and enables superlative rail and air connectivity to cater to all kinds of travel needs, and then let the People decide which transport mode to adopt - they will automatically choose the most resource-efficient option. The Market will scale-in or scale-out specific drive-train options - and on auto-pilot - that is -- if it's left alone to do what it does best!


Then there'll be a place in the market for the enthusiast as well as the commuter, for the long-distance business traveler and the vacationer. They will each adopt what makes the most sense - for their own well-being.

Provided of course that the policy-makers don't fiddle around with the economics of travel.

So please Mr. Minister, I say to you:

• No Unreasonable taxes on fuels -Don't fund your government's deficit using this.
• No to artificial subsidies on technologies
• Clean up the RTOs and the laws governing vehicle ownership - make it easier for people to transact. Treat a vehicle as any other asset. How would you feel if someone told you your house of 10 years vintage needs to be torn down because it's become environmentally inferior?
• Build better roads, better airports, better stations. Give people a real choice - not an illusion of choice.
• Police the roads, stations, trains better - make them safer to use
• Provide amenities to support all transport options. Start with clean toilets on the highways or on the railway stations- is it too much to ask for?

The 0-100 kmph numbers aren't correct. 330i takes 5.8s while 320d takes 6.8s. Both are excellent driving machines but the 330i takes the crown when it comes to outright performance and smoothness.

It's petrol for me in the near future. The main issue being the vacillation on government policies. You never know what the next blow on diesel will be. As it is resale prices for diesel are not what they once were. Getting a diesel now for me entails a drive it till scrap mindset which I am not yet ready for.

Plus unlike a drought a few years back we actually have a good crop of turbo charged petrol engines coming through.

All while the EV story keeps developing. If Maruti and Toyota are able to provide a good case for the self charging hybrid this may be the break though that the EV market needs. Still some while for solutions to range anxiety and adequate charging facilities in the volume segment.

Drive on,
Shibu.

Please read carefully, it is for 330d

This is not intrinsically true as globally diesel is more expensive than petrol. It is more expensive in India to to the subsidy/taxation framework.

Regardless, considering the range/efficiency, if the driving is high, the slightly expensive diesel options will more than pay for themselves over the lifetime of the car.

My personal decision to change to a diesel after 2 decades of driving petrols was driven primarily by range anxiety on super long trips, and this turned out to be pretty timely when my commute on flights for some destinations got replaced by 4 digit km drives in the post-COVID scenario!

For me, it’s simply Diesel, until or otherwise production of this fuel type completely comes to a halt! We have always had one diesel and one petrol in our household, and typically it’s one powerful diesel and another sedate petrol. We earlier had a Rapid 1.6 diesel and a Brio petrol and just three years back we switched to a Creta 1.6 diesel and an Elite i20 1.2 petrol.
Living in Bangalore, we don’t have the immediate fear of a diesel ban, but the atrocious traffic conditions mean very poor fuel efficiency, especially in slightly mid sized cars. But even in these conditions, diesels manage to deliver decent efficiency, my Creta delivers about 13-14kmpl and I’m sort of fine with that, whereas the i20 delivers just around 10-11kmpl in spite of it being much smaller in size and engine displacement.
A Creta sized petrol engined car would deliver much lower. Sure, there are new age turbo petrols, but these turbo petrols are almost at par with diesels in terms of initial purchase prices, maybe a 50k difference, but yet they are not as efficient. I’m not sure what kind of fuel efficiency would be delivered real time in the new XUV700 with its power and size. So, if you opt for slightly bigger cars, I think diesel is still the better option, well as long as you don’t stay in a city where diesel is going to be banned soon.

Having said this, if I buy a car in the next 2-3 years and in all likelihood I would intend to keep it for the following 6 years, then the unpredictability of government policies is a factor to consider.

Two scenarios, like one member pointed out, government could ban private diesel cars so as to bring subsidy back, or in the long run manufacturers like Maruti and Toyota could put some pressure on the government to do something like this and push for Electrification. In fact barring Hyundai, Kia, Tata and Mahindra, all other manufacturers would support such a move. Hence it may be fine to and buy a diesel now, but if it’s post 3-4 years then we have to really give it a serious thought.

Voted for "No matter what, I will still buy diesel (NEW) until it ceases to be available", however my choice is not available in the poll. I would have voted for "I will use my existing diesel for as long as possible and open to buy new Diesel or Turbo Petrol depending on engine specifications and price."

I have driven Petrols and Diesels extensively, both give different kind of satisfaction, I enjoyed my petrol Suzuki Baleno (old type) a lot, now having a great time with Duster 110PS diesel.

I prefer petrol sedans & hatchbacks and diesel SUVs :Cheering:

Diesels company during a short trip to TN:

In the next 5 years, current diesel options will exist. In about 10 years, my guess is that only large diesels (powering bulky SUVs, vans, and premium sedans) will remain.

If India should be so worried about import bills, the medium term solution is plug-in hybrids which have a good electric-only range, not some bio-fuel blend grown on precious agricultural land.

Modern turbo-diesels are as clean and refined compared to gasoline engines. In America, gasoline (i.e. petrol) is so cheap that companies never bothered to lobby for diesel engines like in Europe. Only the hardcore people who tow a lot for work or recreation buy diesel trucks. :)

I just came back from a approx 750km roundtrip on my diesel ecosport. The tank was almost empty and I filled up for Rs.2800 when I started. I still have about 20% left in my tank after I returned! I think the avg mileage would have been around 25 KMPL (mine is a trend variant, doesn't show actual mileage in MID). I can't imagine this kind of economy on petrol car in any segment. My previous car Alto k10 used to cost 1.5X for a similar trip even 4 years ago, when the petrol price was much lower. I am super pleased with the economy of the diesel and I won't buy a petrol car unless diesel ceases to exist. I also think the higher emission, if any, is well compensated by the economy diesel offers.

A petrolhead myself but after getting the Bolero I have to say that I am a fan. There are a lot of things I hate about the car and the DBW Accelerator takes the cake with its ridiculously stupid lag at times but having said that the consistent FE is just amazing.

My Alto which is just a couple of months older than the Bolero returns a good FE when driven Indian style but the moment I go back to my heavy footed style the FE drops by a shocking 10 kmpl just like that, whereas no matter how hard I drive the Bolero the FE varies by just 1.5 kmpl which at least in my books gives it some more reliability points.



Then again I'm a Diesel novice if not a car novice all together. :)

Regards,
A.P.

Diesel for Highway Runs and Petrol for City Runs

I have been a Diesel Fan for the past few years. Off late I have started appreciating Turbo Petrols. Fun Factor closer to Diesels + Lesser upfront cost of purchase of a Petrol car compared to Diesel.

Pre-Covid times I covered 90K Kms in two years in my Quanto. Petrol would have been heavy on pocket. Covid is here to stay for some more time so Restricted Travels surely plays an important role in tilting the scales towards Petrol cars.

Assuming No Covid and free to travel anywhere without the risk of Infection, then Diesel it is. Torque of a Diesel Engine is Pure Addiction :loveit

Petrolhead and voted likewise.

Petrol since my understanding of engine power = revs. Diesel's power delivery just doesn't cut it. Sound is another.

But the dislike of diesels regardless of their economy arises from my experiences while touring on bikes. One of the many encounters was climbing up the Ooty hairpins where you should have an open visor, feeling and breathing the fresh air of the hills but all this is spoilt by a white Fiesta TDCi(these words are etched in my mind) belching black smoke from the exhaust and the particles hitting your face. The guy was utilising the torque from his diesel with the AC on for some reason (in those environs) and ruining it for everyone else. Stopped over at a roadside stall selling berries so I could let the belcher pass but he was soon followed by Innovas and Taveras matching the belch if not more, even a Mercedes to a lower degree but still smoking out.

So a personal bias with reasons but I understand that people behind windshields won't care.

Hope the government gets it : Credits to Providers
Overdrive : Diesels

Curiously, I feel the other way around. I have a petrol sedan with a powerful turbo petrol engine and a Diesel SUV. I enjoy long drives in nice TN highways on my petrol sedan. It is quiet, and the high revving nature of petrol helps to have some fun when one is in the mood. When driven sedately, the modern turbo petrol delivers very good highway fuel economy (I experienced 13 kmpl on Eco mode recently on a long road trip while cruising at the speed limit of 120 kph most of the time - which is not too far off from equivalent diesels). Overall, petrol engine feels more relaxed and it is also more relaxing to drive! Fuel quality has improved across the country and I have never had any issues with adulterated petrol etc. The quality of national highways have also improved and I have not seen flooded parts of highways even on rainy days.

The Diesel engine works like a charm in the city. The surge of torque allows one to dart in and out of traffic, and mileage under start-stop conditions is way better than a petrol. There is a fair chance of flooded roads in the monsoons and less worries with a Diesel in navigating those. I guess highway behaviour in modern diesels is very good as well, but still not as refined and fun at higer speeds as a petrol IMO.

I was really skeptical about diesel till I drove the 1.3 DDiS Swift back in 2010, ever since then I was converted and I bought my own Diesel in 2012, there is only a morsel of torque available in the rev range, but that comes thick and creamy and the act of driving on that knife-edge to get everything out of the engine while getting a very respectable FE is the fun and frolic of having a diesel.
Not to mention the bulletproof nature of the engines, I sold my swift a while ago after covering about 178k km, I never had any problem with the engine and even my stock clutch lasted me more than 120k km. That's why " No matter what, I will still buy diesel (NEW) until it ceases to be available".
I have now replaced my 1.3 DDiS with another fan-favorite the 1.5 TDCi (BS4) Ecosport S and I have never been happier.