DIESEL VS PETROL MY 1 YEAR EXPERIMENT

Hi steemians I would like to share with you my experiment, which is best? OK to start of with I am a qualified diesel and petrol mechanic, and every 6 months I get a new company car, and after the VW emission scandal it made me think if diesel is worth while.

So what I did is order the exact same car with only the engine being different, I would like to point out that the horse power was the same as well. Both cars where golf estates 150 brake horse power tdi and tsi, fully loaded with all the bells and whistles.

Economy

The cost price of both cars are about the same £25000 . The fuel consumption of diesel over 6 months was 50 miles per gallon and the petrol was 45, so I spent about £10 a month more on fuel, not that much really. If it is a vehicle that you will keep for many years keep in mind that diesel engine parts are more expensive due to having to be more precise, and also higher vibrations affect the engine.

Power

Both have the same power, but petrol reaches the power much quicker. The problem with diesel is the turbo lag, if you don't know what that is it is the time between when you put your foot down and the time you feel acceleration. When it comes to petrol you feel it almost instantaneously.

Reliability

The crazy thing with the diesel engine is the first 50 miles of it's life I had problems, yes you read that right 50. Every week the emissions lamp would come on and I would have to drive with 4 gear engaded for 15 minutes. After 4 months it was in limp mode, I thought it might be something wrong with the car so I took it into the workshop for repair. Apparently this is not a warranty fault and I was expected to pay £1800 for a new catalytic converter, I then waited for the term of the car to pass and hand it back with limp mode still on, no way would I pay that much. I thought it was not fair to the experiment so I ordered another diesel exactly the same, and the same thing happened but it recovered from limp mode. So I thought it may be a freak occurrence and ordered yet another diesel. Guess what, the same happen every weekend I would have to drive in 4th gear for 15 minutes to clear the emissions lamp, so I would say that is the norm.

In conclusion I would have to say that petrol is the way to go, it is better for the environment and pocket in the long run. I would have to say that technology is not far enough for diesel to keep up with the emissions standard in Europe and probably the world. Until the electric car car can perfect the battery, the best option is the petrol in my opinion. I personally think that this experiment was unfair due to the fact that the diesel had 3 turns and the petrol 1, and in fact the experiment took 2 years instead of 1. From now on I am a petrol head, thanks for taking the time to read my experiment.