[tazmaan]

Diesel cars have become popular lately. I guess it started with Tata Estate for urban segment but was not a great success. There were several attempts by other manufactures like Siena, Zen D, etc . The ford escort some what had a respectable engine. But everything changed when Assent CRDI was launched and CRDI was the thing to have under the hood. Later for other manufactures it became CRDE, DICOR, DDIS, MJD. Though mother of this technology I believe is Fiat.

I have owned the Estate, Ford Escort D, Sierra, Qualis, Innova and now DDIS. I have learned to drive on a Diesel and I love the torque they generate.

The newer diesel engines are free revving , powerful and silent unlike the ones say 5 years back. They are also very fuel efficient and are comparable to any petrol engine.

Eventually this increase in diesel demand will push the diesel upwards near the petrol rates (In most of the countires diesel is more expensive than petrol).

Till then I guess I will enjoy my diesel.

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

Originally Posted by tazmaan

Eventually this increase in diesel demand will push the diesel upwards near the petrol rates (In most of the countires diesel is more expensive than petrol).

Till then I guess I will enjoy my diesel.

Yes,that is what i was thinking about as well,but probably that wont happen soon because the truckies may go on strike then.So until the government makes some special car-specific policy its quite not going to happen.By the way,if diesel is the new 'premium' fuel,why not make the petrol cheaper for us petrolheads?

[Throttler]

Almost an year back Delhi Govt was planning to ban Diesel run SUV which they thought were more polluting. This porposal was shot down when a team of big wigs from Diesel Vehicle manufactureres met Shiela Dixit to bring a paradigm shift in her thinking. Then came the Diesel City Stall at the 2008 Auto Expo.

A person who travels long distances would definitely go for almost double advantage in cost/km.
Gone are the days when we had to wait for the "Coil" symbol of go off on the cluster.

[reppy]

The bigger issue is the quality of the diesel available in India rather than the diesel vs petrol debate.

I think diesel should stick to public and goods transport for cost effectiveness and a new high quality diesel should be introduced in the market (low sulfur, low particles/soot), and then making it compulsory for automakers to design their engines for this fuel, and enforcing the regular consumer to use this fuel.

Else we'll only see more and more dense fog (smog?) every year :(

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

Originally Posted by reppy

The bigger issue is the quality of the diesel available in India rather than the diesel vs petrol debate.

I think diesel should stick to public and goods transport for cost effectiveness and a new high quality diesel should be introduced in the market (low sulfur, low particles/soot), and then making it compulsory for automakers to design their engines for this fuel, and enforcing the regular consumer to use this fuel.

Else we'll only see more and more dense fog (smog?) every year :(

The only thing I would like to clarify is that 'petrol vs. diesel' was the last thing in my mind when i started this topic. The only thing i wanted to discuss was the change in trends and thinking of indian car buyers and how their perception for diesels have changed during the last 5 years or so.

Coming to the high quality diesel, sure it is a sensible option but then it will make the diesel costlier and then one may very well go for the petrol engine instead, so as long as the high quality diesel is priced just 1-2 rs per litre costlier than the normal diesel, its a very good idea, however making it anything like 36-38rs per litre, will harm the market for diesel cars.


Regards.

[reppy]

I agree with you there, the change in perception for diesels is attributed to the next gen turbo and other technologies available today.

However, that is also attributed in India to the higher fuel efficiencies achieved and lower cost of diesel fuel versus petrol - without this, there wouldn't have been much of a market.

I think we'll see a similar spike in turbo-petrol technologies, looking at the new 1.2 TSI from VW.

[rm_arjuna]

IMO , couple of reason why diesel is prefered over petrol
a) diesel is highly subsidized hence it is cheaper than petrol , however this may change if new policies of regulated pricing & useage are adapted as suggested by oil co's & petroleum ministry .

b) Modern technology has reduced the size of engines and Cubic capacity as compared to earlier diesel engines ( Tata planning for 1 ltr CRDI engine for Nano) .

c) Current breed of diesel engines are very reliable, minimal maintenance and fuel efficient can anyone imagine 15 or 20 KMPL FE from similar sized Petrol engines .

d) The pricing of diesel is almost similar or slightly more expensive compared to Petrol . Price difference for Octavia petrol / diesel is only 3-5k , incase of swift the excess cost is recovered within 1-2 yrs depending on useage due to low running cost hence LDI/VDI is hugely popular.

[GTO]

There are two areas where a petrol really scores:

1. The pleasure & satisfaction of revving a high-rpm engine in the same gear for a looooong time is unmatched! E.g. my Civic & City Vtec were crazy fun; in the time that they revv'ed from 2,000 rpm to 7,100 in the same gear, my 530d already makes 3 gearshifts! Diesels move onto the next gear too quickly due to the limited revs.

2. Sports exhaust - nothing quite like a well-tuned free flow for aural pleasure to accompany your redline moments.

[AYP]

The only reason I went for a diesel is for the better performance offered by it when compared to the other engines in the segment. Since our government tax relief rule allows diesel engines to be upto 1500cc in size when compared to 1200cc for petrol engines(for cars under 4m), you will find that most of the B2 and C1 segment cars have diesel engines which not only deliver better fuel efficiency but also provide a much better driving experience and performance. Ford and VW offer 1.5 diesels which are far superior when compared to their equivalent petrol engines. Honda and Hyundai(for the i20) diesels are also punchier than the petrols which are offered by them. The only exception which I observed was with Maruti, where the K12 engine feels punchier than the MJD. With the Grand i10, I thought that the performance was neck to neck with the diesel feeling slightly better. I can't say about the other segments, but for the cars belonging to the B2 and the C1 segment, driving pleasure can very well be a criteria for choosing the oil burner. This is exactly the reason why I went for the Figo 1.5D over the Baleno K12.

[nik hill]

Originally Posted by AYP

Ford and VW offer 1.5 diesels which are far superior when compared to their equivalent petrol engines.

While your statement is correct for Ford, in case of VW, the Polo or Vento have an equally if not more fun to drive petrol motor in TSI vis a vis the diesel mill.

[AYP]

Originally Posted by nik hill

While your statement is correct for Ford, in case of VW, the Polo or Vento have an equally if not more fun to drive petrol motor in TSI vis a vis the diesel mill.

Two things-

1. The TSI is available only in the top-end and that too with an automatic gearbox. So, there can't be a direct apple to apple comparison between the TDI and the TSI. A prospective buyer for the GT TSI will most likely never consider a GT TDI manual or the 1.0 MPI.

2. The TSI is available only in the Polo. The prospective Ameo customers only have the option of the 1.0 MPI.

The point number 1 applies for the Vento as well, save for the fact that the 1.6 MPI is not as bad as the 1.0 MPI for the segment. Anyway, my point was valid only for the B2 and the C1 segment.

[anthusiast]

If one were to consider a 80:20 (city:highway) driving, wont the diesels give a better driving experience as most time is spent in 1000-3500 RPM range ? The torque of diesels available from low RPMs mean less gear changes and easy city driving. Most of the petrol engines need to be revved in 2500-6000 RPM to experience their glory.