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When a friend of mine went to buy a used Ford Focus Diesel (he was very impressed with my 1.6 TDCI), he was told by the salesman at his local Ford dealership that he "did not do enough yearly mileage to warrant a Diesel". My friend was prepared to pay the higher price tag but unfortunately went along with the salesman's suggestion. Salesmen should realise that many people do not buy Diesels purely for their fuel saving. Diesels have many attributes over petrol engined cars such as huge torque, excellent passing ability, high speed cruising at low revs, good engine longevity, great hill climbing, excellent fuel economy and are fun to drive.
Asked on 10 October 2009 by
Answered by
Honest John
The trouble with diesel particulate filters is they choke up with low
mileage use, especially short runs from cold starts. Far more goes
expensively wrong with them than with petrol engines. That was the salesman's very sensible reasoning. Had your friend been buying new, then the latest generation of 1.4 turbo petrol engines are generally nicer to drive than most diesels, much sweeter at low rpm and without the frightening lack of torque you can land yourself with if you let a diesel’s revs drop below 1,700rpm.
mileage use, especially short runs from cold starts. Far more goes
expensively wrong with them than with petrol engines. That was the salesman's very sensible reasoning. Had your friend been buying new, then the latest generation of 1.4 turbo petrol engines are generally nicer to drive than most diesels, much sweeter at low rpm and without the frightening lack of torque you can land yourself with if you let a diesel’s revs drop below 1,700rpm.
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