to not want to buy a diesel car these days?

[barleyteddy]

Just that really….with all the negativity around diesel cars, carcinogenic fumes etc would you buy one?
We need to buy a 2nd hand 7 seater ( 3rd baby due in Spring) and everything seems to be diesel….would prefer to buy something less polluting though.
Any thoughts? AIBU?

I like your name Sandy

If you want a petrol engine on a car that big it will gobble fuel. Do you live in a town/city or rurally?

Dont blame you though. After our last diesel car, I said never again, but that's because when they go wrong, they're so very pricey to fix.

We snapped up the first ford smax we found with a petrol engine. Diesel engines need long distances to keep them running well (panorama covered it this year - many people being missold diesel totally inappropriately). If it's just round town and school runs with occasional longer trips then definitely get petrol. We had a petrol vw touran and now the smax - recommend both. Zafira's are not great and you'll find 3 seats in a row tight.

I've had petrol and diesel cars. I've never noticed any difference in how easy they are to drive.

Hi I live in outskirts of a city, sit in traffic a bit to work, travel about 20 miles a day short stretch on motorway then urban again. I think petrol would suit us better although probably more expensive to run than a diesel? I think I'll keep my eyes out for a petrol and borrow extra if need to....

SandyDenny they are much harder to stall than petrol. You know sometimes you're crawling along at .0000009 miles an hour in traffic and you don't really pay attention and then suddenly you stall and realise you haven't touched the gas in the last half mile? Or don't get in quick enough with it on a hill start and stall or roll back a little? Diesels don't do that. My driving instructor switched from diesel to petrol while I was learning and as a learner you really notice the difference. Not so much for experienced drivers but for those of us who are a bit clutch happy they are far more difficult to stall in.

I read that quite a lot of the problem with diesels is people removing the pollution reducing devices such as the particulate filter. I have a diesel and it is £30 road tax and completely trounces my old petrol zafira for fuel economy. I was spending an absolute fortune on petrol/oil (leak) but then again I had moved rurally so was doing a lot more miles.

I have 3 kids and that's why I got the zafira. We couldn't put a seat in the middle row as it was a lap belt which was a pain. Make sure you check!

You can fit 3 rear facing across the Middle row of a grand senic

No I wouldn't buy a diesel car under normal circumstances. They are too polluting and people are beginning to realise this.

I wouldn't buy a hybrid or electric car either. These are a technological dead end, buyers think they they are being green but they are not. Lower emissions from your car, but you are just transferring the problem. How does a landfill site filled up with dead, unrecyclable batteries help the environment? How does coal-fired electricity help the environment? How does buying a car that is more damaging to the environment during its construction than a traditional car help?

I am open to hybrid/electric power in the future, but until someone invents a fast-charging, slow-discharging and above all recyclable or biodegradable battery, it is delusional to believe these are good for the environment or are somehow "the future". Car manufacturers are brilliant at marketing these cars to a certain demographic, that smug demographic who doesn't want to reduce their car usage but wants to be seen to be "green". But being smug, being seen to be green, is not the same as being green.

An efficient petrol engine that is well maintained and driven well is the best option available at the moment, environmentally-speaking. If you want to reduce emissions, don't over-rev, don't stamp on the brakes, and above all, use public transport where it is available.

Of course, using the car less is not the choice for most people who like to pretend to be concerned about the environment. They worry about too many people driving and making unnecessary journeys, yes, but that doesn't mean them.

If it is short hops (which presumably it is with three small kids) then diesel isn't for you, it will get wrecked.

Petrol and minimal use.

My wife car is a 5.3L petrol (GMC Sierra) It's a great practical car, we get 17mpg we couldn't be without it. In hindsight we should have got the diesel version as it would be much better for towing. Shame the diesel is a 6.2L.

I would still get a diesel. I feel they are better for the environment as they use less fuel

Most new petrol cars now have small engines but a turbo which gives the same engine performance as a larger engine.

I have a Mini Cooper which has a 1.5 petrol engine but a twin turbo. I do a 15 mile commute in traffic and average 53mpg. On a long journey averaging 60mph I can get 64mpg. It's £20 tax. Might be more cost effective to look for a nearly new or new model as most manufacturers now have these types of engine as standard in their new petrol models e.g. The ford eco boost engine.

I recently bought a new car and the sales guy was saying something along the lines that they are going to stop producing diesel cars in the next 10 years or so. I wasn't paying much attention as didn't want a diesel but maybe worth looking into it?

I feel they are better for the environment as they use less fuel

Swings and roundabouts. Diesel cars produce less CO2 but more nitrous oxide and particulates which have the most short term impact on health and air quality. I wouldn't say in a million years that 17 mpg is good fuel consumption though. It's terrible.

One of my cars (petrol) does less than 17mpg. The diesel does about 37mpg on average.

Still hate the Diesel engine though.

My petrol Ford Focus Ecoboost estate does 42 mpg.

"I have a Mini Cooper which has a 1.5 petrol engine but a twin turbo"

Just the one turbo unfortunately. There are downsides to small petrol turbos though, massive complexity means we'll be seeing expensive repairs by the time they're in the hands of their 2nd or 3rd owners. Also, many of them have very poor real world fuel economy. A smallish naturally aspirated petrol is probably the best compromise in terms of economy and reliability.

Ewe - Barbara is right; the change in tax only applies to new cars, not to ones already on the road.

WhoKnows - we used to have a diesel Verso, and traded it in for a petrol one a year ago. Less polluting, yes, but oh dear, the new car wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. Totally feeble. I wish we'd stayed with diesel for that reason alone.

17MPG isn't as good as the cars I had in the U.K, but it's good for over here. Especially for the size that it is.

Modern cars seem to have smaller and smaller engines. Which are on the face of it, more fuel efficient. However there is no replacement for displacement. A small engine working harder isn't going to be as good for economy, and will wear out sooner

Sorry my bad, just one turbo. Although how you can predict the future of the requirement of excessive repairs is very impressive...

My riceburner has a 2l engine that kicks out 350bhp (single turbo).

My petrol Ford Focus Ecoboost estate does 42 mpg

Not great that is it? What sort of use is that under? Is that on the computer or calculated brim to brim? I'd expect a naturally aspirated petrol 1.6 to be able to produce similar economy. The small turbos can be made specifically to perform well on the EU economy tests though so the consumer ends up with a much more complex/expensive to fix car with similar real world economy.

how you can predict the future of the requirement of excessive repairs is very impressive...

Hardly rocket science is it? There is much more to go wrong on a small highly strung turbo motor than a larger less stressed NA unit. Most of the expensive to fix tech from the world of diesel is coming to petrols in the form form of particulate filters, high pressure fuel systems etc. There's already been issues with the 1.0 Ecoboost as far as I'm aware. So, yes, I can be pretty confident that we're going to be seeing more issues with these smaller units, not necessarily early on in their lives but once they reach 5/6 years old.

Our diesel Dacia Sandero Stepway does about 70mpg and tax is free due to excellent emissions testing. Fantastic little car that I would buy again and again.

My little diesel Punto does about 50mpg but tax is £130.