Petrol Engines VS Diesel Engines: Who Wins in the Long Run?


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My experience with petrol car was with Santro, 2001 model. I should say that by the time it reached 75k kms in the odo, it started giving major issues (clutch, AC etc) and each service was very costly. At the end, before selling off my car I decided to fix all the problems, which I had skipped during regular service, and the bill came to be around 15k (3500 for some paint job). Similarly my friend who owns an Alto, has reached 70k in 7 years and now, something serious has gone wrong and he cannot drive, and it seems like some engine related malfunction. Considering these experiences, I feel Petrol cars will tend to be a lot costly to maintain after it crosses 70-80k mark. Maybe the Honda ivtec's are an exception.
 
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Diesel engines last because they are built that way-for withstanding high pressure, torque etc-diesles are heavier than petrol engines and usually are low revving. If petrol engines are over-engineered they should also last very long.

If modern diesels are smooth and and low in NHV, tubocharging can take care of the power or torque in a petrol. Which engines wins in the long run, I do not know.
 
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Without any doubts the diesel wins in the long run, with some real life incidents which happened :

The diesel engines right from the jeep days are engineered to last long and perform under utmost conditions not saying that petrol cannot go through the turmoil the M800 had taken more abuse and was still going strong but provided the feel of the engine going down was clearly evident

But this was not the case with the jeep small fixes and oil changes use to bring it back to .awesome condition and reliability was something which was tattooed on the engine [clap]

The current diesel mill with the amazing Fiat MJD has won applauds in swift, punto and almost all diesel hatchbacks and wonderful thing is i have seen swift's which are run more than 2.3L kms and still going fine but i have hardly spotted any petrol swift which had crossed 1.5L on the ODO not something to do with its current shape but most of the petrol car users have not been seen using their cars after 1L on the ODO and its true in my case too, we sold our vtech and Ikon before it hit 1L.. something strange but this always makes me believe that diesel engine's lasts longer [surprise]
 
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You don't see petrol cars that have successfully run for 2-3 lac km in India because that makes no economic sense there. I have seen Toyota / Honda / Mazda / Nissan cars that are probably as old as I am still running, here.
 
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Without any doubts the diesel wins in the long run, with some real life incidents which happened :

The diesel engines right from the jeep days are engineered to last long and perform under utmost conditions not saying that petrol cannot go through the turmoil the M800 had taken more abuse and was still going strong but provided the feel of the engine going down was clearly evident

But this was not the case with the jeep small fixes and oil changes use to bring it back to .awesome condition and reliability was something which was tattooed on the engine [clap]

The current diesel mill with the amazing Fiat MJD has won applauds in swift, punto and almost all diesel hatchbacks and wonderful thing is i have seen swift's which are run more than 2.3L kms and still going fine but i have hardly spotted any petrol swift which had crossed 1.5L on the ODO not something to do with its current shape but most of the petrol car users have not been seen using their cars after 1L on the ODO and its true in my case too, we sold our vtech and Ikon before it hit 1L.. something strange but this always makes me believe that diesel engine's lasts longer [surprise]
People in India who take petrol vehicles don't run much due to the high cost. And they sell of soon to get another vehicle just to have a change. If there running is high, they probably tend to get diverted to a Diesel vehicle. This hasn't got any connection with the lasting of petrol vehicles. Lets leave India aside!
My uncle had owned a Toyota Corolla (don't remember the model). He had crossed more than 2 lakh kms in his vehicle. Probably, 2.5L at the time of selling. He obviously had some replacements but never had any major problems with the vehicle. It was still running smooth at the time of selling!
So its not the odometer which plays role here. IMO, its the time period which plays role here & I feel diesel last longer in terms of years & not kilometres.
 
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People in India who take petrol vehicles don't run much due to the high cost. And they sell of soon to get another vehicle just to have a change. If there running is high, they probably tend to get diverted to a Diesel vehicle. This hasn't got any connection with the lasting of petrol vehicles. Lets leave India aside!
My uncle had owned a Toyota Corolla (don't remember the model). He had crossed more than 2 lakh kms in his vehicle. Probably, 2.5L at the time of selling. He obviously had some replacements but never had any major problems with the vehicle. It was still running smooth at the time of selling!
So its not the odometer which plays role here. IMO, its the time period which plays role here & I feel diesel last longer in terms of years & not kilometres.
No mate you are wrong, it might be true in case of premium petrol vehicles which are built with top notch quality and not the case with other petrol vehicles, now tell me why the same people who have the same attitude of selling vehicles often for a change do not sell diesel vehicles quicker its very simple a diesel engine is robust and is a mile cruncher even with minimal maintenance, to prove it i can tell you that the Tata TL double which we had serviced some months back had a service interval of 20K kms and that too with a normal valvoline oil, but the vtech was serviced every 10k with synthetic oil now there is a difference vtech service is done to keep the performance in tact and Tata TL double service was done late as we were very much confident about its reliability we would not risk the same way with any petrol vehicle

Why is that Ford escorts, ikon sold with less km on the ODO it because as the vehicle crosses certain limit in ODO the maintenance cost becomes higher, but that is not the case with diesel ikon they service the vehicle and keep it because they feel it has more life left in it

You might feel what i said is not correct but its is, and why i say thiw is just because we have owned petrol and diesel vehicles side by side and i am very much confident on the diesel engine's long run capability with all my personal experience
 
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No mate you are wrong, it might be true in case of premium petrol vehicles which are built with top notch quality and
...
and keep it because they feel it has more life left in it
You might feel what i said is not correct but its is, and why i say thiw is just because we have owned petrol and diesel vehicles side by side and i am very much confident on the diesel engine's long run capability with all my personal experience
Hey buddy thanks for clarifying , we are in the market for a diesel vehicle(probably Venture(BS-4)/Quanto),
our monthly average would be more than 1000kms, it won't be driven daily but dad takes for the highway trips,is it okay if we don't start the car daily?
We did not use a diesel vehicle till date so need your inputs here.
 
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@Vishwas,

To make it clear, modern diesel engines doesn't need that you start it everyday. they are super refined and sounds just like petrol with good torque and power delivery and more FE with less fuel cost.

For you than Venture, Quanto fits well, I think our member Nuthan can tell more about his experience on Quanto.

I agree with Swift & furious on the modern diesel engines long run
 
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I dont agree with points presented by sai crdi. I think he has taken things wrongly. 1. diesel enters the engine in liquid form- wrong. diesel is injected into the cylinders as a fine spray at 200 bar or more pressure. 2. carbon monoxide is more ecco friendly- wrong. almost all cars employ catalylic converters to convert CO into CO2. why? the petrol or diesel debate has only one decent explanation. if you are using the car more (say 2000 or mor KM per month) it must be a diesel. as a family car where you use it occationally, the huge initial cost and high maintanance cost dosent justify a diesel engine.
 
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Diesel V/S Petrol is based on daily use only for majority of public. Its nothing to do with which fuel burns cleaner or which is efficient, frankly we(not just Indians anyone) don't care. That's why more than 50% world's energy used up by US alone [frustration]

I am an engineer worked with large diesel engines(Marine), but when it comes to my car its petrol so far, why? I have less than 1000 KM month excluding my long holiday drives once or twice a year. For me petrol engine runs very smooth with linear acceleration, no visual dirt at the tail, no black smoke and better engine sound with precise motion.

Having said that if my monthly usage had to go up, I will buy a diesel which almost mimics the petrol engine 'feeling'

But I agree, diesel burns better and has better power output
Right now I am looking for a replacement for my Swift Zxi and will look for Petrol vehicle(Though I will test the diesel too)
 
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@Anil kumar and Indian, you both are OT here.Your posts would have been apt on following linkhttp://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/automotive-library/4755-definitive-petrol-v-s-diesel-calculator.html
 
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Hi everybody,
this diesel vs petrol debate is going on and on endlessly. one thing is sure- diesel is more efficient because diesel's better volumetric efficiency coupled with higher compression ratio of diesel engines. and todays diesel engines are cleaner, silent and durable enough to compete with petrols. But I think all this comes at a premium. considering the high initial cost and high maintanance, diesels are not economical as a family car used only occationaly. if you are using the car for more than 1800KM per month, diesel is good.
ps: see todays newspapers- another Rs. 10/- price hike for diesel is coming. and what is the future of diesel cars in India?.ha. ha. ha.
 
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Diesel V/S Petrol is based on daily use only for majority of public. Its nothing to do with which fuel burns cleaner or which is efficient, frankly we(not just Indians anyone) don't care. That's why more than 50% world's energy used up by US alone [frustration]

I am an engineer worked with large diesel engines(Marine), but when it comes to my car its petrol so far, why? I have less than 1000 KM month excluding my long holiday drives once or twice a year. For me petrol engine runs very smooth with linear acceleration, no visual dirt at the tail, no black smoke and better engine sound with precise motion.

Having said that if my monthly usage had to go up, I will buy a diesel which almost mimics the petrol engine 'feeling'

But I agree, diesel burns better and has better power output
Right now I am looking for a replacement for my Swift Zxi and will look for Petrol vehicle(Though I will test the diesel too)
@Anil kumar and Indian, you both are OT here.Your posts would have been apt on following linkhttp://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/automotive-library/4755-definitive-petrol-v-s-diesel-calculator.html
Tornado it is not OT, the topic is 'Who wins in the long run'
Only thing I did not mention who will win at the end of my note [:)]
If you still want to know....Based on your usage levels, If you intend to put on lot of miles D wins, If average family user then P wins.
 

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