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View Poll Results: Petrol vs Diesel - What's your choice today?
Petrol 478 55.32%
Diesel 363 42.01%
Other (please specify in your post) 23 2.66%
Voters: 864. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 25th September 2019, 05:51   #46
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

I voted for Petrol too. Why? As someone who lives and drives mainly in a super crowded city , one has to be concerned about real life particulate emissions. And it’s clear that even a BS6 Diesel is not clean enough in the real world and contributes to unacceptable levels of smog. And the benefits of diesel in terms of low carbon emissions are not sufficient given the limited miles I run each year. If my driving was largely munching highway miles, where smog is less of an issue, I may have picked a diesel.

However, I must admit that this preference is not absolute - it is subject to getting the model that best suits my needs at a sensible price in the fuel of my choice. Eg, my current primary car is a diesel - bought because BMW did not sell the X3 28i at the time I was searching for a car, and I hence picked the X3 20d. I did not buy the Mercedes petrol equivalent - the GLC 300, which was available, partly because I got a good deal on the X3 (₹7 lakhs is more than enough to assuage any guilt about particulate emissions), and also because the boot space in the X3 suited my needs better than that in the GLC.
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Old 25th September 2019, 10:27   #47
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

I had the new Verna for 6 months with the diesel 1.6D MT. While the car was good I found the diesel torque annoying and having a mind of it's own. The car would suddenly leap ahead in traffic/congested areas as the diesel torque did it's thing without any accelerator input. I would have to keep 'clutching' the car to keep it under control, I am not sure how other diesel lovers keep the torque thing on a leash. Anyways I found out the diesel exhaust was not conducive to my health and I would keep getting headaches whenever I got a whiff of the exhaust and it became one of the reasons why I sold off the car in just 6 months.

I went and bought a petrol hatchback and do not absolutely miss the need for a diesel (well maybe a bit when going over speed breakers and I feel lazy to downshift). It will always be petrol for me. The sound of a petrol engine revving is heavenly for me rather than the clunk and clatter of the diesel. I will die a petrol head(hybrid will do too) and will never touch a diesel again. With hybrid tech the diesel torque may become a thing of the past. For eg the new Ciaz hybrid also moves without much accelerator input upon releasing the clutch as reported by readers ( I may be wrong here maybe Ciaz owners can confirm). As they say "To each his own" .
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Old 25th September 2019, 10:43   #48
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

While the fire-breathing woman-child Greta Thundberg thunders "shame on you (i.e., us)" today, I fear that the time is not too far when they'll all be out hysterically on the streets with pitch-forks and fire bombs to burn diesel cars. The facts be damned - are we talking PM emissions or greenhouse gases? "Burn them down" will be the flavor of the month one fine day.
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Old 25th September 2019, 11:06   #49
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar View Post
I found the diesel torque annoying and having a mind of it's own. The car would suddenly leap ahead in traffic/congested areas as the diesel torque did it's thing without any accelerator input. I would have to keep 'clutching' the car to keep it under control
Do you mean that the car leaps forward when you release only the clutch? If thats the case then yes the car does picks up speed when the clutch is released but thats the anti-stall feature working, the ECU dials in some revs so as to avoid stalling the car if the clutch is released suddenly and it does get annoying especially in bumper to bumper traffic.
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Old 25th September 2019, 11:16   #50
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

I've voted for Petrol. While I have only driven the 1.2 TSI from VW Polo GT and 1.0 GDI from Hyundai. I believe, the 1.8 TSI like in GTI or Octavia must be very good to drive.
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Old 25th September 2019, 11:18   #51
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

Voted for Diesel.

Although Diesel engines expel considerably more harmful gases, Petrol burns way too easily and fast. In other words, one full tank of Diesel in a car would take you almost 1.5 times the distance that a similar Petrol powered car can. So technically, a Petrol car would have burnt few more liters, which doesn't necessarily do any better to our environment! At least in India, the true enthusiast Petrol engines are either over priced or too delicate to handle our conditions (contaminated fuel, poor motorways, and so on).

IMO loads of trucks/buses/vans/industrial vehicles which burn way more fuel must be curbed, rather than imposing bans on private Diesel vehicles.

The bottom line is, the addictive torque, fun inducing performance and a FE that a Petrol engine can only dream of are some of the factors that gravitate me towards the environmental destroying natural resource!!

The above is especially true when you drive a VAG Diesel engine..., one of the THE BEST oil burners out there.

Last edited by Vik0728 : 25th September 2019 at 11:22.
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Old 25th September 2019, 11:22   #52
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

Voted for petrol.
Only petrol should be used for small cars which will reduce the pollution levels and also the conversion from BS4 to BS6 is easier for petrols.
The one and only thing which petrols are bad at is fuel economy but this can be fixed with solutions like hybrid tech.
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Old 25th September 2019, 11:24   #53
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

Voted for Diesel as always. Reason? ECONOMY! Also the addictive turbo kick and the torque wave. Cruising in highways with TDI DSG Combination cements my decision every time.
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Old 25th September 2019, 11:38   #54
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

Diesel

Better fuel economy.
Better tank range.
Less chance of adulteration when filling up.
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Old 25th September 2019, 11:59   #55
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

Voted Petrol (Turbo).
I drive Punto Abarth. And the kick from that turbo petrol is something special. IMHO no other sub 25 lacs car can give acceleration and thrill of driving as much as Abarth. Happy to own the mighy hatch.
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Old 25th September 2019, 12:07   #56
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar View Post
The car would suddenly leap ahead in traffic/congested areas as the diesel torque did it's thing without any accelerator input. I would have to keep 'clutching' the car to keep it under control, I am not sure how other diesel lovers keep the torque thing on a leash.
For sure, this is one of the aspects of a diesel vehicle that I find to be very annoying. Especially given the fact that most of my driving is in a crowded city. Rather than the torque helping me not to use the accelerator too much, in fact the reverse happens - at slow speeds, I need to keep abusing the clutch (which itself is hard and difficult to constantly modulate) and trying to keep the speed of the car controllable. On an open road, this issue is not relevant, but for my driving on city roads, it certainly is an issue. Coupled with the hard clutch of most diesels, it is certainly not a pleasant experience. I did come close to buying a diesel a while back, but the above factors ensured that I ultimately ended up pulling the trigger on a petrol sedan.

Compared to this, a powerful petrol is just poles apart and leagues ahead in refinement, revving pleasure and auditory pleasure. AND one need not spend huge bucks for this. On my new gen Honda City, the engine revving is a super sweet sound, especially in second and third gears. Not to mention the creamy character of the engine which picks up pace in a smooth and rapid manner when egged on.

Petrol all the way for me.

Last edited by arindambasu13 : 25th September 2019 at 12:13.
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Old 25th September 2019, 12:09   #57
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

Voted Petrol. Since we are getting good turbo petrol engines today, I won’t miss my turbocharged diesel, also I genuinely think NA petrol engines are charming and have a nice character. Easy to maintain as well.
The way Govt is making changes around the policies, I think it’s better to own a Petrol if you want to keep that car for more than 10 years.
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Old 25th September 2019, 12:12   #58
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

I voted for Diesel. Unapologetically.

In this age where traffic peaks and you've to spend at least a couple hours traveling daily, a diesel seems to be a better bet. It doesn't sip that heavily, returns a decent economy and is great to drive with the torque it offers.
I refrain from falling into the guilt trap where "my" emissions pollute the air than my neighbors petrol powered car.
The closest nice petrol car I drove was the TSI 1.2. But I'm not okay with my car delivering a paltry FE.
The minor difference of ~₹10 a liter makes a huge difference on road when driving a petrol car or a diesel.
To put it in perspective, I need about ₹2300 to fill a 42 ltr tank once a month while my wife needs ₹2400 for ~35 ltr every 3 weeks.

That said, I always use Shell fuels and that makes a huge difference in the PUC readings. They are way down than any other car refueled from other bunks like HP, BP or IOC I compare with.
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Old 25th September 2019, 12:52   #59
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

I've been fortunate enough to own the Polo GT 1.2 TSI and the Verna 1.6 CRDi.

These two engines happen to be one of the best representations of a petrol/ diesel engine this side of 15 lakh rupees.

I think what skews the favour towards diesel is that most diesel engines use some sort of turbo charging while petrols are usually naturally aspirated. This means most people associate diesels with torque and a strong mid range.

However, drive the TSI or even a VTEC and your mind will change. Granted diesels are way more economical to run, but petrols are much more refined, smoother, capitally cheaper and make a better noise.

Also, petrols aren't nearly as bad for the planet.

If you can afford to run a petrol engine everyday (and God knows I can't!), turbo charged petrol is the way to go.

Last edited by SS8939 : 25th September 2019 at 12:55.
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Old 25th September 2019, 13:16   #60
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Re: The 2019 Petrol vs Diesel Car poll - What's your choice today?

Voted for Petrol

Reason is no different than a lot of BHPians mentioned. I live in a crowded city and driving experience is becoming worse year after year. I believe within city limits in case you want have fun in those occasional empty patch or a quick overtake, a turbo petrol hatch (may not be hatch in particular) is the one. I own a Duster 110 diesel and the only time I have a smile on my face is when the car is on highway. Unfortunately proportion of highway driving is always on the lower side for me which means less fun. Therefore while driving within city, my choice is a turbo petrol. I also believe that on highway, the incremental fun of a turbo diesel over a turbo petrol is probably not very high (would like to hear more from people who have driven both extensively). Hence to enjoy driving in both world my vote goes to Petrol.
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