What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
S Max - Petrol or Diesel?
I'm thinking about getting an S Max as a family car but Petrol models appear to be thin on the ground. I'm apprehensive about getting a diesel as most of our journeys are short ones around town.
However, I live in Brighton and we do runs along the M23 and A27 fairly often to go places as well as through the Sussex countryside. My concern with getting a diesel model is the DPF and keeping it in good working order. Would a weekly run on the M23 for say 30 minutes be enough to stop it getting clogged up and causing problems?
Whilst a petrol model is preferable, there so many more used diesel examples out there and you can't argue with the fuel economy either!
Hope you can help!
However, I live in Brighton and we do runs along the M23 and A27 fairly often to go places as well as through the Sussex countryside. My concern with getting a diesel model is the DPF and keeping it in good working order. Would a weekly run on the M23 for say 30 minutes be enough to stop it getting clogged up and causing problems?
Whilst a petrol model is preferable, there so many more used diesel examples out there and you can't argue with the fuel economy either!
Hope you can help!
Asked on 20 May 2015 by ollielewis
Answered by
Honest John
You can't argue with the fuel economy of a diesels. But you can with all the expensive things that can go wrong with them: DPF, DMF, EGR, turbo. It takes a lot of economy over 2 years to make up for £5,000 of repairs over 2 years. All DMFs eventually get choked with ash by about 80,000 miles, but can be cleaned out by the Ceramex process for about £300. The problem is getting choked with soot from repeated short runs from cold and the effect that can have on the DPF active regeneration that can pump so much fuel into the engine that it blows itself up. So those are the risks.
Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.
Honest Used Car Prices
Our Fuel Cost Calculator shows you which will be the best choice for you.
Compare the running costs of petrol, diesel and electric cars to make the right choice for you.
Dear Honest John,
Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:
Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:
Similar questions
I am deciding on a Company Car and have narrowed the choices down to a Toyota Prius and a Golf Bluemotion.
The Golf costs slightly more in relation to BIK, but both fit my budget. I feel that the Golf's...
Our current petrol Merc C200k auto estate has been excellent, but is returning just 29mpg, is 8 years old and close to 100k.
It takes a family of four on school runs, family holidays, been stuffed to...
I am hoping to swap my 54 plate 1.8 auto Almera for a new car that will be cheaper to run. I have looked at the Chevrolet Aveo and ruled that out due to poor crash testing and very high depreciation. I...
Related models
Strong blend of comfort and performance. Fun to drive. Standard equipment is high on all models.
.jpg)
