Next week I'm going to be picking up the new family transport, a Volvo XC90 diesel.
This will be the first diesel car I've owned. Apart from boring SWMBO to death with pleas about not forgetting this when filling the tank, what else should I know about owning, driving and running a diesel car?
(Apologies if this has been covered in threads passim, but a site search on 'diesel' had a predictably huge response)
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getting used to a fuel gauge which seems to be stuck :)
Apart from that, frequent oil changes
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A zillion miles with an engine that sounds like new.
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Apart from that, frequent oil changes
But not that frequent. Let the engine bed in first. Changing the oil too early on a new car with low mileage can lead to the bores glazing up and the oil consumption can become excesive.
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Frequent oil changes? On the laguna its every 18k miles.
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Renault Family, is only joking with us - he doesn't believe the manual, really, on this one.
My input would be to use your Shell station, for a consistent fuel quality (or BP Ultimate, I guess).
VB
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Stick a shot of Millers Diesel Power Plus in the tank to keep the engine clean and give your engine a treat. Works wonders on my Peugeot 106 XLD.
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> > getting used to a fuel gauge which seems to be stuck :)
Not applicable to an XC90 D5.
It is a big, heavy, barge, and whilst drinking far less fuel than the petrol XC90s do (including the models not sold in the UK), it will still drink aplenty. I know of two XC90 D5 owners who are very disappointed in this regard, thinking any diesel would be 'economical' because well, "It's a diesel". Wrong.
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Thanks for all the fuel-related replies to date; with regard to economy, I walked into this with my eyes open and intend to keep the car for a long time. It's on a similar consumption level to the Saab that it replaces, so won't cause me sleepless nights.
What I don't know about are any quirks to a diesel that as a petrolhead may catch me out or cost me cash in the long term. And how can I ehance the joys of diesel ownership?
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A diesel has a lot more torque than a petrol engine and the lower gears are subsequently higher. Sharp corners that a petrol engined car will roll round in second need first on a diesel, or you will be pushed round quicker than you bargained for.
Regarding fuel consumption, the QE 2 does six inches on a gallon of diesel, according to one of those "Fascinating Facts" that occasionally get in the papers. Wonder what it would do on petrol?
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Not sure if you're buying new, but if so prepare to be a little disappointed at first with the acceleration, particularly from rest if it's an automatic. Diesels take longer to be fully run in than petrols, and I didn't feel I was getting the full performnce from my Audi until it had done 10,000 miles.
Once run in, you'll find that the big plus for diesels, apart from the economy compared to the same car with a petrol engine, is the slug of torque where you need it most - between 1,500 and 4,000 rpm.
Have fun. I know two people with diesel XC90s and they love them - one came from a 3.2 Jaguar XJ and the other from a Volvo 850.
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A tip applicable to all turbos, not just diesels. Let the engine idle for a minute or so before switching off, particulary after a fast run, it lets the engine oil cool the very hot bearings in the turbocharger.
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Another tip about the XC90 make sure you can get tyres for it. Autoexpress have one on long term test and they struggled to get one following a puncture. Apparently the tyre size is only used on the XC90.
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Unless your diesel has a special heater, wear gloves in winter for first 3 miles till the heater warms up.
madf
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Engine characteristics:
Max power will be around 4-4.5k, unlike petrols where the power curve falls away, diesels tend to drop far more steeply - so there's no point in going for rev's.
Max torque will come in around 1800-2000, so the power band is actually less broad than that of petrols which comes as a surprise to some folk. However, the gearing should compensate for this by using the extra torque, i.e. 70mph should be around 2000 rpm which gives good economy and max torque for easy overtaking.
Modern diesels can also be a bit sluggish from a standing start, this isn't just the turbo needing to spool up, EU4 emissions control affects initial acceleration by not allowing too rich a mixture.
This is mainly a matter of experience and technique, however you can have your car chipped which improves the driveability immensely (IMHO).
In real terms, there shouldn't be a lot of difference on the road except that you will get better economy from the diesel compared to a similar performance petrol engine - enjoy!
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Thanks for all the contributions; didn't realise the tyre situation!
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