[gsurya]

Originally Posted by nmenon

Another point is that I'll be keeping it for another 10 years at the very least, it is this scenario that is prompting me to say the hell with it and buy diesel though I love a petrol car's driving characteristics much more.

As an owner of Tata Zest Petrol, understand your quandary. But I love the relative silence of this car compared to its diesel counterpart & the 'Sports' mode of the Revotron engine gives me a superb kick that is very useful when fully loaded or on the ghats.

I am able to accelerate & overtake easily, though fuel costs may be higher than diesel, I am very happy with my choice. I think I will continue owning a petrol as long as good powerful turbo engine options are available.

[nilpat]

Nice thread...guys I was in dilemma weather to go for Petrol or Disel car. Did lot of research on pros and cons of having petrol or diesel car but I was equally confused.
finally went on to buying a diesel car. Reason:superior performing engine as compared petrol one and the car was All new Figo !!

[nmenon]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

If you feel totally at home with petrol engines, you won't like the diesel option even with all the monstrous torque.

For one, the S-Cross specially in it's 1.6L avatar suffers from plenty of turbo lag which can catch you unaware more than once in in-city conditions. Secondly, having such a car and confining it mostly to in-city trips/drives is also of no value.

Since there has been plenty of recent news of MSIL bringing out a petrol option for the S-Cross soon, my suggestion is to wait it out. With petrol car sales on the constant rise, Maruti-Suzuki would be more than aware that they are missing ground with diesel-only offerings such as the Brezza & the S-Cross.

I bet that once the Boosterjet heart completes it's testing runs, we shall see it under the S-Cross's hood first.

By Diwali 2016, maybe? Who knows!

Thanks for that advise.

I don't mind a diesel engine, as I drive a couple of my friends' cars (Ritz VDi and i20 CRDi) regularly, it's just that I don't run enough to justify a diesel and more to the point, what's the fun in waiting for power , when a Petrol can provide it instantly.

But well, my purchase is still in the future, with at least a year to go, I have time to analyse my running and take a final decision then.

PS: The S Cross 1.6 though a brilliant car is just not particularly my cup of tea, with most of my driving being in city traffic, I am not considering the 1.6, if I have to go diesel it will be the 1.3.

[nilpat]

Originally Posted by nmenon

Thanks for that advise.

I don't mind a diesel engine, as I drive a couple of my friends' cars (Ritz VDi and i20 CRDi) regularly, it's just that I don't run enough to justify a diesel and more to the point, what's the fun in waiting for power , when a Petrol can provide it instantly.

I would say answer lies in having a test drive both type of vehicle and go with the one you liked most ? believe me some good diesel cars have virtually zero turbo lag and deliver maximum performance with good FE

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by nmenon

what's the fun in waiting for power , when a Petrol can provide it instantly.

I got a Fiesta 1.5L diesel. It had almost 0 lag when I bought it. Now I got it remapped by T-O-T and man it's good. It's peppier down the range in crawling traffic and it's F-A-S-T in mid and top range. It would easily beat the likes of City/Linea T-Jet petrols which are known to be good.
My suggestion would be to go with the 1.3L S Cross and get it remapped. That's best of both the worlds.

[humyum]

I have a diesel car since 1 lakh 21 thousand kilometres and trust me, I would never migrate to a petrol car ever. The cheap fuel price, coupled with the high kmpl they give along with the humongous torque, its a win win situation for me.

[nim_peter]

Originally Posted by nmenon

I have a slightly strange query.

I am looking to change my car sometime next year (early / mid).

So far having gone through the list of cars available in the market currently, I took a liking only to the S Cross (suits my needs i.e tall enough for my parents to get in comfortably, servicing is easy since I have MASS near my residence, I love the car!, 4 wheel discs, abs and airbags and decent build).

Now my running doesn't justify a diesel by any means, I average about 1000km a month at best now. And my old car has done only 41k KM in nearly 10 years (since I wasn't home, was working in another city).

This is where the problem lies, I'm happy with a petrol with my running but nothing with a petrol engine meets my other needs, hence I'm in a quandary.

My only hope is that Maruti launches a petrol engine in the S Cross by the time I'm ready to buy.

Another point is that I'll be keeping it for another 10 years at the very least, it is this scenario that is prompting me to say the hell with it and buy diesel though I love a petrol car's driving characteristics much more.

My suggestion, put the pen and paper down and just buy the car which satisfies you the most, doesn't matter if it is petrol or diesel. If you are buying a car for 11-12 lakhs, it should come from your heart and not from a computer program telling you the ideal car. All calculations are just predictions 5 years down the line and a million things are possible in those 5 years which we can't foresee. I would go for the diesel just for the psychological factor where you don't have to calculate every trip you make, just fill the tank and drive away. No petrol cars can match the range of a diesel car on a full tank.

[amit_2025]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Thank you for the kind words.

My suggestion - take TDs of them back-to-back (if possible) and think over the whole list of your requirements, then take a decision. I have a hunch you will be happy with whichever one you choose.

Good luck!

I was able to get my hands for an extensive drive on the Petrol A/T and the refinement levels and ride were outstanding

Haven't yet been able to TD a Diesel A/T but the Manual was also smooth

I have searched extensively for the ARAI certified mileage for the Petrol A/T but those figures are not available

Would it be realistic to expect atleast 10-11 kmpl, considering that the Petrol M/T is hovering around 13kmpl in Lazarus

P.S - I am not a very enthusiastic driver and usually maintain speeds of sub 120

If I freeze on the Petrol, I get the car delivered in less than a week :-)

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by amit_2025

I was able to get my hands for an extensive drive on the Petrol A/T and the refinement levels and ride were outstanding

Haven't yet been able to TD a Diesel A/T but the Manual was also smooth

I have searched extensively for the ARAI certified mileage for the Petrol A/T but those figures are not available

Would it be realistic to expect atleast 10-11 kmpl, considering that the Petrol M/T is hovering around 13kmpl in Lazarus

P.S - I am not a very enthusiastic driver and usually maintain speeds of sub 120

If I freeze on the Petrol, I get the car delivered in less than a week :-)

are you getting the petrol AT Creta in a week? which dealer is this? all Dealers I spoke to in NCR said at least 4-5 months waiting.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

I got a Fiesta 1.5L diesel. It had almost 0 lag when I bought it. Now I got it remapped by T-O-T and man it's good. It's peppier down the range in crawling traffic and it's F-A-S-T in mid and top range. It would easily beat the likes of City/Linea T-Jet petrols which are known to be good.
My suggestion would be to go with the 1.3L S Cross and get it remapped. That's best of both the worlds.

Congratulations on the remap I'm sure the guys at T-O-T did a mighty fine job.

In my experience however, it is very hard for a diesel to be quicker than a petrol in the right hands. Sure the torque surge is higher, but the top-end, range of revs you are given to play with and spread, is no match for a petrol. The city takes about 10 seconds to hit the ton while a stock Fiesta takes 14. Assuming you are running a conservative map, I find it hard to believe that your Fiesta would be able to beat a stock Linea T-Jet. I am simply saying this from experience. For example the Chevy Cruze, a renowned torque monster, took about 10 seconds to 100 while my Kizashi would do it 7.5 albeit with a lot less drama. Diesels might feel fast, but in reality, a comparable petrol is almost always faster. You may feel a bigger kick in your seat and it will actually be easier for you or anyone else to go quick in a diesel, but if you know how things work and are able to work the gearbox to keep a petrol singing, a diesel car simply does not stand a chance.

[Sebring]

Guys, what is the reason Maruti is pushing the 1.3 diesel so aggressively, As we saw with successive launches of Baleno, S Cross and Brezza? Do they know something we don't? Usually large companies are privy to future govt policies.

Will diesel engines be banned soon?

I have this theory that Maruti has signed up long term contracts with Fiat for their engines in thousands and need to complete that commitment, hence pushing diesel so aggressively for now. In spite of the fact that petrol engines are their mainstay. Would love your views on that.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by humyum

I have a diesel car since 1 lakh 21 thousand kilometres and trust me, I would never migrate to a petrol car ever. The cheap fuel price, coupled with the high kmpl they give along with the humongous torque, its a win win situation for me.

I second your opinion humyum and though I have not had a diesel engine for this long, but man am I loving every KM that I have had now

I know this is just too obvious and apparent, but here is one from my latest drive just last weekend. It was 8 of us and we had 2 GT's at our disposal and that was just about where the similarities ended:

1. My Car - 1.6 GT TDI
2. My Friend's - 1.2 TSI (Pre-facelift)



Total distance travelled was 530 kms. One full tank on both our cars during the journey was the starting point. At the end of the journey, I had nearly half tank fuel left and my friend's GT had barely a notch above empty.

Yes, an AT petrol cannot match a MT diesel when it comes to FE, but there was some more to this. During our journey, we tried various drives such as:

- Kick down without AC and 4 on board - This time GT TSI was in D mode and my GT left it in dust
- Kick down with AC and 4 on board - Again, the GT TSI was left with over a car's length
- Kick down on GT TSI in S Mode and AC - My car was able to out run the GT TSI again initially but the TSI caught up easily
- Switched the drivers and tried all the above with the exact same results

Of course, none of the above runs really has any claims or conclusions, just that I have understood what that 250NM of Torque does to a car and its performance

Though I love high revving petrol engines, I am now a complete free revving Diesel engines fan for everything else.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

I second your opinion humyum and though I have not had a diesel engine for this long, but man am I loving every KM that I have had now

I know this is just too obvious and apparent, but here is one from my latest drive just last weekend. It was 8 of us and we had 2 GT's at our disposal and that was just about where the similarities ended:

1. My Car - 1.6 GT TDI
2. My Friend's - 1.2 TSI (Pre-facelift)

My friend, are we comparing apples to apples here?

One of the car in the comparison has 25% deficit in engine capacity here.

To really compare a Petrol to Diesel in terms of performance, lets bring in a 1.6 TSI (if such an engine exists) and then see where they stand.

Or perhaps a 1.2 TDI to go toe in toe with a 1.2 TSI.

Let the engine capacities be atleast comparable if not equal.

If it is only about comparison of two cars, we can also have a comparison between a Punto 90Hp and Abarth Punto. Isn't it?

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

1. My Car - 1.6 GT TDI
2. My Friend's - 1.2 TSI (Pre-facelift)


- Kick down without AC and 4 on board - This time GT TSI was in D mode and my GT left it in dust
- Kick down with AC and 4 on board - Again, the GT TSI was left with over a car's length
- Kick down on GT TSI in S Mode and AC - My car was able to out run the GT TSI again initially but the TSI caught up easily
- Switched the drivers and tried all the above with the exact same results

I think this comparison will tell you that a 1.2 turbo petrol and 1.6 turbo diesel are not comparable. An extra 400cc is almost 33% more that the petrol mill. Our govt policies are responsible for that - exemption for 1.2 petrols but 1.5 diesels in sub 4m.

You mention that in Kickdown though TSI was left behind initially, but it caught up with the TDI. This is something to think about. Because due a lack of fair comparison between options of petrol and diesel, we tend to go with the torquey diesel. I'm in no way saying that diesels are inferior, I will any day prefer Swift 1.3 Ddis over the 1.2 petrol.

Edit -

Originally Posted by vibbs

My friend, are we comparing apples to apples here?

If it is only about comparison of two cars, we can also have a comparison between a Punto 90Hp and Abarth Punto. Isn't it?

Just saw this. Completely agree. IMO only the linea comes close in same capacity petrol and Diesel engines - 1.4 Tjet and 1.3 diesel.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by vibbs

My friend, are we comparing apples to apples here?

One of the car in the comparison has 25% deficit in engine capacity here.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

An extra 400cc is almost 33% more that the petrol mill.

IMO only the linea comes close in same capacity petrol and Diesel engines - 1.4 Tjet and 1.3 diesel.

Woah guys, I think you either did not read my entire post or surely did not understand my point. I was not once comparing the 1.2 TSI to 1.6 TDI. The below statement actually meant that:

Of course, none of the above runs really has any claims or conclusions, just that I have understood what that 250NM of Torque does to a car and its performance

I had a similar drive on a Swift 1.2 ZXI and my 1.6 GT few months back, but that would have been a really "Apple to Apple or Apple to Orange" kinda comparison.

The GT 1.2 may appear puny on paper but that TSI motor and DSG gearbox ensures it out paces many sedans and almost every other hatch in our market today. Just the ability to keep pace with Abarth to some extent speaks a lot.

Most importantly, my comparison was more focused towards the advantage of Diesel engine and the torque wave one gets to experience out on long travels. So I personally love the modern day Diesel engines over the petrol motors.

And I believe, this thread is all about that.