Petrol v diesel for highish mileage

gooner99

Just want to pick your brains on this one again, I have done a lot of reading and asking before. The brakes on my Mk5 Golf 1.4 packed in, so need to move fairly quickly. Had a look back at my service records and we were doing between 15-20k miles per year on that 1.4L Golf. Lots of parts replaced, but engine itself was totally reliable over 200k miles.

I am debating whether we are better to go petrol again and to that end I was looking at a MK1 Auris 1.33 dual vvt-i on the thinking that the engine is reliable, pretty economical and hopefully it should take quite a lot of miles trouble free and quite a lot are available locally.

Another option is a mk1 Auris hybrid, but my wife who will drive it day to day wasn't really enamored with it when we took it for a test drive.

Of course there is always an argument for diesel at this mileage. But from reading on the net, lots of the modern diesels can have quite a lot of issues with dpfs, turbos, dmf, etc. So any savings in fuel might be wiped out with a big repair bill. From reading the Ceed/I30 seem to be very reliable and don't seem to suffer from these issues as much as some other diesel engines. Drove a 1.4 petrol mk1 Ceed before and wasn't that impressed,granted it was a basic spec. Not sure what is now considered the tipping point mileage wise for modern diesel engines?

So at our mileage does it make sense to go petrol or are we mad not to consider a diesel?

All advice and comments welcome.

colm_mcm

What sort of parts are you replacing on the golf?

I'd say you're in diesel territory, but all cars need to be maintained.

Are you using main dealer for servicing? How much will the brakes cost to fix?

Is the Golf tested etc?

punisher5112

Get yourself a diesel and something comfortable for that amount of driving.

Here some ideas. Octavia or superb, Passat, Mondeo, avensis.

gooner99

Thanks guys. Golf was serviced every 10k miles with edge 5w30. I have it since new so know the history. But at 200k miles and lots of niggly things going in the last year it's time to pass it on.

I forgot to add that the miles although quite a lot yearly are 10-15 minutes runs, 4 times a day. So not long motorway miles or gridlock.

Sofiztikated

gooner99 wrote: »

Thanks guys. Golf was serviced every 10k miles with edge 5w30. I have it since new so know the history. But at 200k miles and lots of niggly things going in the last year it's time to pass it on.

I forgot to add that the miles although quite a lot yearly are 10-15 minutes runs, 4 times a day. So not long motorway miles or gridlock.

With a diesel, you'd be running into DPF, turbo and other assorted expensive troubles, with short runs, along with reduced fuel economy.

Petrol or hybrid.

demanufactured

Sofiztikated wrote: »

With a diesel, you'd be running into DPF, turbo and other assorted expensive troubles, with short runs, along with reduced fuel economy.

Petrol or hybrid.

Agreed.
Diesel is for the motorway

.G.

I do similar mileage in a similar fashion so I'm.l going petrol myself. Just a shame so many people have bought diesel over the last few years, it can be quite difficult to track a petrol down from what I've seen on my own search. Any car that interests me, a petrol version is rarer than the Dodo

gooner99

Yeah that is true. Or that make has concentrated almost totally on diesel and as such their petrol technology has suffered.

Sofiztikated

gooner99 wrote: »

Yeah that is true. Or that make has concentrated almost totally on diesel and as such their petrol technology has suffered.

Nah, petrol cars are still good. Just the Irish market went with the chape tax, shure a petrol would ate ye out of house n home.

gooner99

True. But for a good while pre 3 cylinders and turbos, there seemed to be a spell where petrols engines didn't move on. Focus 1.4 springs to mind.

.G.

111 Tuscons for sale in Ireland from 131 up to 162, 1 petrol! In the UK its a bit better but Diesel still massively out numbers the petrols. Think the petrol was only in the base spec too.

gooner99

Yeah. Petrols only plentiful in small or mid size.

bazz26

Did you look at the Lexus CT200H? It's a Prius/Auris hybrid underneath the premium badge and posher exterior. Your wife might like it though.

gooner99

Be like hens teeth up here though.

Leonard Hofstadter

Depends on what you're using the car for. If it's predominantly out of town driving, a diesel is best, the DPF and DMF are only troublesome in most diesels when they're driven around town most of the time.

If it's going to be doing a good amount of town driving, get a hybrid, it will be far more economical (diesels take much longer to warm up than petrols because they are more thermally efficient) and they are extremely reliable, they're not much fun to drive because they've got a CVT box though but most of them are very high spec so it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

A 1.33 dual VVTi Toyota will be extremely reliable, no doubt about that, but it will be a bit slow, mind you if you're used to a 1.4 petrol Golf then it won't be slow at all by comparison!

Water John

If you are thinking of getting a new car, an Ioniq electric car might suit.
Your commutes actually are very suitable for an electric car. Charge overnight for a couple of euro.

colm_mcm

I'm guessing the OP is spending around €10k going on the cars they mentioned

gooner99

Correct Colm. 2010 1.33 tr with 60 k miles, service history. 7900 sound ok?

colm_mcm

Yeah sounds around right.

Leonard Hofstadter

Is there any chance you'd look at something else? The Mk1 Auris is a very poor car to be honest, it's very loud at speed and the interior is rubbish, it will be a massive step backwards from a Golf.

JohnBoy26

captainspeed wrote: »

Is there any chance you'd look at something else? The Mk1 Auris is a very poor car to be honest, it's very loud at speed and the interior is rubbish, it will be a massive step backwards from a Golf.

The facelift is fine on the inside and the car itself is far from poor. The mk5 golf wasn't exactly great on the inside either and the 1.4 engine was abysmal. A 1.33 auris is not a step back from this.

Water John

That's fair your in the second hand car market. Some would say, a second hand Leaf from the UK would fit the bill. Certainly don't go for a diesel for multiple short runs.

gooner99

Wife is not keen on the leaf idea. Will take another look before settling on the auris.

I had the pleasure of picking up a 2011 Fiesta Today that came over from England from the transport company in the north. Drove it about 80 kms in mixed driving, A and B roads, dual carriageway and town. Wow what a great little car in all situations. Feels like a car from a class above inside, nice and spacious up front, but back a little tight. It drives and handles like a car from the class above,loves corners. The 1.25 82hp engine is sweet, never felt strained and reved freely. Really impressed. In fact I'd say it was as good to drive as the 1.6 diesel Focus I drove recently. Ford should have been developing this engine with yamaha in larger capacities for the focus.

Damn I am tempted by the Fiesta, only for rear space it would be a winner. Hell I would even overlook that if it were solely up to me.

JohnBoy26

gooner99 wrote: »

Wife is not keen on the leaf idea. Will take another look before settling on the auris.

I had the pleasure of picking up a 2011 Fiesta Today that came over from England from the transport company in the north. Drove it about 80 kms in mixed driving, A and B roads, dual carriageway and town. Wow what a great little car in all situations. Feels like a car from a class above inside, nice and spacious up front, but back a little tight. It drives and handles like a car from the class above,loves corners. The 1.25 82hp engine is sweet, never felt strained and reved freely. Really impressed. In fact I'd say it was as good to drive as the 1.6 diesel Focus I drove recently. Ford should have been developing this engine with yamaha in larger capacities for the focus.

Damn I am tempted by the Fiesta, only for rear space it would be a winner. Hell I would even overlook that if it were solely up to me.

They did.

gooner99

Oh. Was the 1.4 in the older focus developed with yamaha?

It seems to get slated as being poor and underpowered.

JohnBoy26

gooner99 wrote: »

Oh. Was the 1.4 in the older focus developed with yamaha?

It seems to get slated as being poor and underpowered.

It was. Maybe developed with yamaha but built by ford. They are underpowered and very fond of oil. The 1.6 is better in terms of performance but it's still fond of oil and can only match the performance of a 1.4 vvti.

gooner99

Ah i see. The 1.25 is a oeach and well suited to the fiesta. I think I read that it will be dropped in favour of a 1.1 and of course the 1.0 ecoboost in the new model. Pity.

JohnBoy26

gooner99 wrote: »

Ah i see. The 1.25 is a oeach and well suited to the fiesta. I think I read that it will be dropped in favour of a 1.1 and of course the 1.0 ecoboost in the new model. Pity.

It will live on in the ka+

colm_mcm

gooner99 wrote: »

Ah i see. The 1.25 is a oeach and well suited to the fiesta. I think I read that it will be dropped in favour of a 1.1 and of course the 1.0 ecoboost in the new model. Pity.

The 1.25 in the current fiesta is only 60bhp though and is slower than the 1.0 non turbo.

0-60 in 17 seconds. Could be one of the slowest cars on sale?

JohnBoy26

colm_mcm wrote: »

The 1.25 in the current fiesta is only 60bhp though and is slower than the 1.0 non turbo.

0-60 in 17 seconds. Could be one of the slowest cars on sale?

Is it? I know the one in the ka+ has two versions, afaik one is 75bhp and the other is 85bhp

colm_mcm

Yeah, that's not the engine from the fiesta. It's a new one. 1196cc
It's badged TI-VCT

The 70bhp ka+ is still slow as fook at 16 seconds to 100kmph.

gooner99

Spotted a 1.0 ecoboost focus on autotrader uk. New engine after 30k miles due to a common coolant pipe issue.

Leonard Hofstadter

colm_mcm wrote: »

The 1.25 in the current fiesta is only 60bhp though and is slower than the 1.0 non turbo.

0-60 in 17 seconds. Could be one of the slowest cars on sale?

They do an 81 bhp version as well, but since it's only available in Titanium spec, I bet very few Irish cars have it. Most common Feshty in the UK seems to be the 99 bhp 1.0 Ecoboost in either Zetec or Titanium spec, of course the UK Zetec spec is almost as good as the Irish spec Titanium anyway. The 1.0 non turbo is an Irish special as well, with a measly 64 bhp, it's 79 in the UK.

gooner99

Yeah the one I picked up was an 82hp 1.25 3 door. Zetec spec, well finished.

Got it sourced from the UK for my nephew. Local Irish guy over there sourcing.

Drove the 1.33 mk1.5 (facelift mk1) auris again . Compared to the mk2 auris it just feels too heavy for the engine. No way it would budge in reverse without the accelerater. You'd swear it was a different engine to the 1.33 in the mk2. Could be tuned differently or maybe it's a difference in weight.

Maybe I was spoiled by the fiesta!

JohnBoy26

gooner99 wrote: »

Yeah the one I picked up was an 82hp 1.25 3 door. Zetec spec, well finished.

Got it sourced from the UK for my nephew. Local Irish guy over there sourcing.

Drove the 1.33 mk1.5 (facelift mk1) auris again . Compared to the mk2 auris it just feels too heavy for the engine. No way it would budge in reverse without the accelerater. You'd swear it was a different engine to the 1.33 in the mk2. Could be tuned differently or maybe it's a difference in weight.

Maybe I was spoiled by the fiesta!

Isn't it normal that you have to use the accelerator though?

gooner99

What I mean is that you'd normally get some sort of slight movement on flat ground as you'd release the clutch at the biting point, then you give it some gas. At least that's what I experienced on cars I've driven. It dies before you have any chance of giving it some gas. Guess maybe in my old age it's time for me to rev more. lol

gooner99

What I mean is that you'd normally get some sort of slight movement on flat ground as you'd release the clutch at the biting point, then you give it some gas. At least that's what I experienced on cars I've driven. It dies before you have any chance of giving it some gas. Guess maybe in my old age it's time for me to rev more. lol

JohnBoy26

gooner99 wrote: »

What I mean is that you'd normally get some sort of slight movement on flat ground as you'd release the clutch at the biting point, then you give it some gas. At least that's what I experienced on cars I've driven. It dies before you have any chance of giving it some gas. Guess maybe in my old age it's time for me to rev more. lol

Some of the older hondas were the same. You get used to it though.

Cee-Jay-Cee

gooner99 wrote: »

What I mean is that you'd normally get some sort of slight movement on flat ground as you'd release the clutch at the biting point, then you give it some gas. At least that's what I experienced on cars I've driven. It dies before you have any chance of giving it some gas. Guess maybe in my old age it's time for me to rev more. lol

That's not normal. I just went out and tried my wife's 2010 1.33 (pre face lift) Auris and the car will reverse with zero accelerator on level ground. (The engine was warm as she was only after arriving home so it was idling around 750rpm)

Maybe a rear caliper is sticking (which wouldn't be uncommon in the Auris)

gooner99

Maybe. That might explain it. Seemed a bit odd.

gooner99

Right. Think I'll stick to looking at petrols. Now there are quite a lot of modern small capacity engines out there, but from reading they have turbos, superchargers, dmfs. Also they all claim great economy, but they don't seem to live up to this in the real world. So like a diesel a big repair bill could wipe any fuel savings. Guess their main purpose is low emmisions. Pity as the 1.0 125ps focus looks sweet. Would it be better to stick to the likes of the 1.33 in an Auris or the 1.4 in the ceed/i30 or civic or can these small turbos be reliable and economical?

bazz26

The 1.4 engine in the Ceed/i30 would be as trouble free as the 1.33 engine in the Auris.

JohnBoy26

bazz26 wrote: »

The 1.4 engine in the Ceed/i30 would be as trouble free as the 1.33 engine in the Auris.

There have been reports of Timing chain tensioners failing on those which wrecks the engine

gooner99

Oh. Didn't know the ceed/i30 petrols had some chain issues. As far as I can tell the auris 1.33 don't suffer from chain issues, or indeed any real issues?

gooner99

Is the 1.4 petrol in the mk1 and mk2 ceed/i30 the same engine?

Do many suffer from stretched chains or is it rare?

Any other known issues with them?

Indeed should they be skipped in favour of a 1.6 diesel model?

colm_mcm

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

There have been reports of Timing chain tensioners failing on those which wrecks the engine

Quite rare though.

gooner99

Colm. If looking at a ceed/i30, what mileage would be the tipping point in your opinion to go with a diesel over petrol version?

gooner99

Hopefully having a look at mk1 ceed or i30 this weekend. Anything other than the usual to look out for on them?

Leonard Hofstadter

gooner99 wrote: »

Oh. Didn't know the ceed/i30 petrols had some chain issues. As far as I can tell the auris 1.33 don't suffer from chain issues, or indeed any real issues?

They allegedly lack oomph, they'll certainly need some revs to get the most out of them being non turbo, but that's about all that's wrong with them, classic Toyota reliability otherwise (shame the rest of the car it's attached to is pure muck, though).

Cee-Jay-Cee

gooner99 wrote: »

Is the 1.4 petrol in the mk1 and mk2 ceed/i30 the same engine?

Do many suffer from stretched chains or is it rare?

Any other known issues with them?

Indeed should they be skipped in favour of a 1.6 diesel model?

Apparently when the chain stretches they become difficult to start. My wife had an 08 1.4 ceed a few years ago, my mate a mechanic basically told me if it suddenly becomes difficult to start then stop trying and get it checked immediately. He said he has come across it twice only.

JohnBoy26

colm_mcm wrote: »

Quite rare though.

Still something to keep in mind though