translates into additional expense operator who may be a loser – it’s at fix-up time. far more likely to require expensive Diesels repairs & far less likely to have a 4) Diesel is often a lot less per decent guarantee. litre than petrol, but diesel-powered vehicles must pay road tax in many Owners of large offroaders with countries, which drastically raises proven engines such as those fit- the true cost of the fuel. ted to the early Nissan Patrols and Toyota Landcruisers are also likely 5) Diesels may not be much winners. more economical for smaller vehi- cles. Various tests comparing the There’s a rough rule of thumb iesels often seem cheaper running costs of a petrol-powered with automotive diesels that the Dbecause the buyer is small car versus a diesel-powered larger the engine, the more likely it is hypnotised by the apparently low small car have concluded that the to be reliable, and vice versa. Older cost of fuel instead of looking at the average driver would take several Nissan Patrol and Toyota Landcruis- entire cost of ownership, including years at least, merely to get back the er engines have been known to do road taxes, increased servicing costs extra cost of the diesel engine. 500,000km without major repairs. and the cost of an expensive engine Also, there are many rural areas rebuild that grows ever more likely Diesels aren’t all bad: there are where you simply can’t buy petrol with every passing kilometre. two groups that do well from own- because there are no petrol stations. ing diesels: owners of new com- Most farmers, by comparison, have There are a few things you should mercial vehicles and owners of large easy access to diesel. know about diesels: offroad vehicles. Why? 1) Diesels cost more to buy. In However, unless you’re buy- almost every case, new vehicles with New commercial vehicles are ing new or buying a vehicle with diesel engines cost significantly more often covering huge distances and a proven service history, you don’t than the petrol equivalent. their owners are primarily con- know what the inside of the engine cerned with keeping running costs is like. One thing that everyone Recently, carbuyers have devel- as low as possible. Because a new agrees on is that diesels are often oped an unhealthy attraction to vehicle is under warranty, fuel and hellishly expensive to fix when they diesels for fuel economy reasons, servicing are likely to be the biggest do go wrong. So, there’s a general especially European diesels. You costs that commercial owners face. rule that if you don’t know a diesel’s should be aware that, however much Of these costs, fuel is by far the history, you should avoid it altogether, you may save in fuel, European cars biggest. If they’re doing big mile- unless a diesel mechanic tells you fitted with diesels have a shocking ages, a well-serviced new diesel can otherwise. track record for reliability, and when be significantly cheaper to operate, they break, they break your bank both in terms of fuel costs alone and The bad news account as well. in terms of overall costs of owner- You probably think that modern ship. Because the vehicle will prob- diesels are better than earlier models 2) Diesels are generally noisier ably be sold long before the engine but you may be wrong. Although than petrol engines, although you needs rebuilding, new owners don’t many improvements have been may not notice this when you’re in- care about the cost of diesel engine made over the years, big, reliable, side the car, because diesel-powered repair. It’s the next guy’s problem. chugging diesels are rapidly go- cars are often well soundproofed. Lastly, because the warranty will ing the way of the dinosaur. The require that the vehicle is regularly ever-growing need for better fuel 3) Diesel engines generally cost serviced, the engine is less likely to economy, less pollution and greater much more to service & repair give trouble for its first owner. performance has meant that diesel than petrol engines. Diesel engines engines have been pushed beyond need to be far stronger than petrol It’s the person who buys the age- their limits by over-eager vehicle engines. This additional strength ing diesel vehicle off the commercial manufacturers.

All content © The Dog & Lemon Guide 2010. All rights reserved Traditional diesel engines were fuel pumps to the exhaust system What about Japanese diesel heavily built and rarely worked very is designed to work together as one engines? The older, smaller diesel hard. Because they rarely worked whole unit. Without the computer engines by Mazda & Toyota were very hard, the engine lasted a long and the sensors in the exhaust pipe, fairly dreadful. Nissan has always time. the diesel will not run properly. been a market leader, until recently, when some new high tech diesels By comparison, most modern The European carmakers know started giving grief at a young age. diesels have turbochargers – giant this of course – in five or ten years’ Ditto Isuzu. air pumps – pushing pressurised air time when their diesel becomes through them to make the engine uneconomic to fix or will no longer New European diesels require work at least a quarter harder. As pass emissions checks, they’ll be a very clean type of diesel fuel, but the engine works at least a quarter waiting around to sell you a whole this new diesel fuel often wrecks harder, so the engine parts and cool- new vehicle. The rest of the car will the diesel pump on older Japanese ing system have to work at least a probably be junk. models. quarter harder. Some of this extra strain can be taken up with skilful Peugeot diesels use a silicon Outside of Europe, sales of die- engine designs and higher quality carbide honeycomb filter that ab- sel vehicles were expected to fall, parts, but there’s a limit to this. sorbs pollution, then every 500km but the opposite happened as fuel or so the filter system oxidizes the prices rose. The latest generation of diesel absorbed pollutants by injecting a engines, termed common-rail diesels, small amount of fuel and a rare- We’d advise you to avoid diesels are the most efficient diesel engines earth-derived additive called Eolys altogether unless your needs can ever made, and when fitted to a to superheat the exhaust and burn only really be met by having a diesel car offer good levels of power and off the soot left behind by burning engine. If you must have a diesel, buy acceleration comparable to petrol diesel. new or with caution, perhaps great engines. caution, and for God’s sake have it Very clever no doubt, and we be- checked out by a diesel mechanic However, many turbocharged lieve Peugeot’s claim that the system before you pay over any money common-rail diesel engines work eliminates 95% of pollution. When harder than any other diesels in new. However, given Peugeot’s woe- • If you want to know how a history. No matter how solidly they ful reputation for reliability even diesel engine works, see also are made, we do not believe that with existing technology, hands up our listing diesel engines in the they will last as long as their less- everyone who thinks this system dictionary. See also our article hardworking cousins of old. will still be working reliably and on alternative fuels: The Em- France is the world centre for economically in ten years’ time? peror’s New World. • small diesel engines. Diesels account Thought not. for most of the new cars sold in France and in Europe generally. Compare this to the modern Japanese petrol engine: it’s worth There is already plenty of evi- remembering that the basic Toyota dence of problems with the new Corolla petrol engine is not all that generation of European common different to the models that they rail diesel engines, even when rela- were making twenty years ago; tively new. However, there are far it’s just somewhat more complex worse problems down the track, and somewhat more efficient. It’s after the vehicles leave warranty. proven, durable technology that is European diesel engines (like their cheap to buy, cheap to service, cheap petrol siblings) are designed to to fix, and if the car is too old to be used in one vehicle for a fixed make engine repair economic, you period of time and then disposed can get a good, cheap petrol engine of. They are computer controlled from just about any wrecker. and everything from the high tech

All content © The Dog & Lemon Guide 2010. All rights reserved