Engine Would diesel suit me better than petrol?

[gadge]

looking into getting a civic sport with 18's and the image kit. Id say i do around 6000 miles a year. Im unsure what will be best value. I'd hope to keep the car for at least 5 years.

Any advice?

Thanks

[smb09_1999]

For that sort of mileage probably doesn't make much difference if you go for petrol or diesel. Make sure you go for the car with the spec and performance that you want -at the best price.

[czechplastik]

Diesel only really makes sense (financially at least) if you do high milage. Diesel engines are more expensive that petrol (£1k extra in the Civics case) basically if you do high milage the money you would save through higher mpg would offset the higher initial cost. In your case it wouldn't.

Although I only do 10-12k per year and bought the diesel purely for the performance, not overly bother by mpg.

[gadge]

i nearly always end up trying to squeeze more power out of the engine, and reading around these forums the 1.8 is not very good for mods. I have a 306 Hdi now and like the drive of a diesel - quite fun!

I just heard that the 1.8 sounds nice through the exhausts?

[l-noel]

If you're looking for a remapping go for the Diesel, the petrol cannot be reworked. If you're already used to drive a Diesel (the HDI is not a bad one) be prepared to a shock !
I suppose you're living in the UK so Diesel is more expensive than Petrol. If you're looking for economy it's definitely not a good choice with your mileage. For the motor, the fun and the possibility to tune it it's all right.

The Diesel engine Sound is very nice, like a turbojet engine said my Wife... and the noise is better at cruising than with the petrol...

Ask for a test drive to a dealer of both engines but not a 5 minutes test drive a minimum of an hour is better.

[paul_b]

I went for the diesel for the performance rather than economy. I don't do enough miles to justify the additional cost, so had I bought new rather than second hand, it would have been a tough decision to pay the extra.

I was surprised when passing one of my local Essos yesterday, petrol was 98.9 ppl and diesel 95.9. Something I've not seen before!

[gadge]

i like the idea of getting 180 odd bhp out of this engine after a remap. The torque must be huge!

[cylon2007]

Originally Posted by paul_b

I went for the diesel for the performance rather than economy. I don't do enough miles to justify the additional cost, so had I bought new rather than second hand, it would have been a tough decision to pay the extra.

I was surprised when passing one of my local Essos yesterday, petrol was 98.9 ppl and diesel 95.9. Something I've not seen before!

I also opted for the diesel over petrol because of the way it drove rather than economy, I do 15-16K per year but even so the fuel usage doesn't justify it. I just like the way the modern diesels perform.

I have also recently noticed diesel cheaper than (or the same price as) unleaded.

[TTDegs]

diesel can have a remap to 180-190 bhp. Petrol can't

BUT

petrol can fit a sports exhaust / cat. Diesel can't. Won't add a lot in the way of power, but will sound nice (if you like that sort of thing )

[elfa7]

Welcome gadge. If you like the diesel, go for it. It's a beauty. I don't do a big mileage, but I just like the diesel performance.

[BAUK]

I bought a Diesel rather than the Petrol purely due to the extra grunt and the feeling you got back from the steering wheel. The Diesel feels i bit heavier and I liked that in the car. The petrol's steering wheel is too light for my liking.

The Diesel feels like a lazy boy's car the power is always there even at low revs. The petrol engine you need to push hard to get the performance. If you look at the stats however the Diesel is faster by 0.1 of a second I believe so its down to charactistics.

The Diesel's servicing is much more expensive which is something you should also consider. In fact it seems to be double the cost. Therefore running cost will go up if you only do low mileage.

Diesel you cannot get an automatic. This option is only in Petrol.

[gadge]

The dealer mentioned 5 years servicing for £850. How much would it normally be?

[l-noel]

If I remember, somebody mentioned a total of 1285 £ for the services during 5 Years, use the search button you may found it

[czechplastik]

I have my first service coming up next month, hopefully it won't be too bad.

[Honda100]

My 12500 service was £153.00, which I thought was extremely good.
I would also go for the diesel as the low down torque is excellent and as much as I like the Vtec, having had two Accords, there are not that many open roads in Gtr Manchester where you can really open them up. The diesel on the other hand has so much power in the lower rev range that it is very relaxing and nimble in traffic. Cruises excellently as well. Just stick it in 6th, put cruise control on and you are breaking the speed limit without even trying.

[cb550]

Originally Posted by gadge

looking into getting a civic sport with 18's and the image kit. Id say i do around 6000 miles a year. Im unsure what will be best value. I'd hope to keep the car for at least 5 years.

Any advice?

Thanks

Hi
my advice would be to give both a thorough test drive and then go away and consider which of the 2 drives closest to your preferences.

For some people,petrol is the choice with its inevitably smoother,quieter running and top end rush.Others love the effortless torque and easy fast driving qualities of a good diesel.Also,the fuel economy is a bonus,which does give a feel good factor,even if it may not really count due to low annual mileages.Servicing will be more expensive(the petrol 5 year deal seems a great offer)

For me,the Honda diesel engine is the nearest thing to achieving petrol-like smoothness and willingness to rev.The combination of superb throttle response and slick gearbox make it a pretty unbeatable combination
Cheers Steve

[czechplastik]

Originally Posted by cb550

For me,the Honda diesel engine is the nearest thing to achieving petrol-like smoothness and willingness to rev.The combination of superb throttle response and slick gearbox make it a pretty unbeatable combination
Cheers Steve

Well said that man!

[JonB]

I just ordered the diesel without even considering the petrol alternative, The choice however is entirely yours. My previous car was a Nissan 350Z, whilst the Civic 2.2 diesel engine cannot obviously match the sheer power of the 350's engine, it does however have almost as much torque, meaning an effortless increase in speed at very low revs. You can even overtake with ease leaving it in top gear, with the petrol you'd want to drop it down a gear or two! The diesel is also extremely good at quite cruising due to it's lower revving.

As for the choice of options, nice choice, almost went for the image pack myself but changed for more practical ones, the 18" alloys however were a must for me, ended up going for the blades!

Whatever you decide it's your preference, i would agree with others in saying test drive them both, on 30mph roads and dual carriage ways/motorways to get a good feel for each one.

Happy hunting!!

[Schneider]

I decided against the diesel because it has nearly 200 kg more weight on the front axle than the 1.8 what is a disadvantage on curved roads. The 1.8 engine also delivers good throttle but needs some rpm. You also get a "hot", classical racing sound from the engine between 4k and 7k rpm.
I bought my civic after having two 2.0 turbo-SAAB's and I was surprised that it has similar acceleration.

In my opinion the petrol is better for country roads because of better handling while the diesel is more fun on Autobahn, where the 1.8 has more thirst than power.

You should drive them both and decide wherefore you need the car.

By the way: I never remapped my SAAB's although it brings a lot of additional power, because tuning turbo-engines (as the diesel are) is often done by only increase the rpm of the turbo over its limit. Beware !

[Obo]

Originally Posted by gadge

looking into getting a civic sport with 18's and the image kit. Id say i do around 6000 miles a year. Im unsure what will be best value. I'd hope to keep the car for at least 5 years.

Any advice?

Thanks

If you are purely thinking of value for money with such low milage a petrol is more economical. I only do about 7k a year and found the diesel would be a bit pointless as I was chopping in my focus ST170 as I found it really expensive to run.

However you seem to be leaning towards the performance of the diesel and I think once you make your mind up no-one will talk you out of it regardless of the value for money, and theres not a huge price difference between the 2. As someone said test drive both and see which runs the way you prefer!