i have run diesels for over 20 years and am biased

i like diesels because of the the higher MPG

i am now so used to diesels that the difference when driving a petrol is not as nice for me

i do think though that eventually most cars will be diesel derived as we can grow it easily although im not sure if you can get petrol from plants?

Going back to the OP, the TFSI runs better on the premium, more expensive, petrol, but the TSI runs just as well on 95 Ron and is more fuel efficient. So the TSI is cheaper to run and closer to the diesel, economy-wise.

All depends on your mileage.

Enjoy driving diesels at work, but doubt I'll buy one. Never say never though. 6-pot diesels sound loads better than 4-pot ones! Had a mate staying over the weekend with a brand new CRV. Nice motor until he started it in my drive. Sounded like an elderly Transit!

Choice is choice though. Each to their own. Any Octy II vRS is a great motor!

i have run diesels for over 20 years and am biased

i like diesels because of the the higher MPG

i am now so used to diesels that the difference when driving a petrol is not as nice for me

i do think though that eventually most cars will be diesel derived as we can grow it easily although im not sure if you can get petrol from plants?

Yes you can get a petrol substitute from plants called bioethanol, it usually is got from wheat or sugar beet

http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/02-03/biofuels/what_bioethanol.htm

Ian

Yes you can get a petrol substitute from plants called bioethanol, it usually is got from wheat or sugar beet

http://www.esru.stra..._bioethanol.htm

Ian

so that kills my diesel global domination theory

Diesels for economy, petrols for enjoyment. Still hasn't changed.

Nail > Head.

We run our TFSI on a mix of Total High Octane and Morrisons 'normal' petrol depending on how our bank balance is doing - I can't say I've noticed much of a difference in MPG figures either.

EDIT: I have just been through our fuel receipts from our Summer holidays. Throughout the holiday we used high octane fuel and over 2714.4 miles we averaged 29.09mpg; given how we drove (particularly across Germany...) I'd say that was quite respectable.

If its mapped then v power for me, if it's a standard car then just normal shell. I don't use supermarket fuels. My cupra has spent most of its time with me on v power as has the tt, the 206 got the cheaper stuff.

Oh and petrol all the way, the doors don't lock properly on diesels

The vRS Blackline with 20% off was such a good deal that it probably out-weighs any low mileage / petrol cost arguements anyway. Plus I love the amount of torque you get with the modern diesel turbo engines. Colleagues of mine have also commented on how quiet the CR engine is, not at all like the old rattly diesel.

Still only got just under 800 miles on the clock and averaging 44-45mpg on local runs and 49mpg+ on longer motorway runs - so it seems to be paying off for me. Plus it bl00dy shifts when you want it to!!

+1 from me

Totally agree. That was the biggest drop back I found when i had diesel...took so long to warm up. Are the new cr diesels quicker to warm up?

My blackline warms up reasonably quickly in the cab- think it's probably down to the climate control as it's warming me up while the thermo is still planted on sub zero

I've gone from the perfect skoda (race blue TFSI VRS) to a grey diesel - and honestly if I had my money back I'd do te same again.

Don't get my wrong - if money was no object I'd have the petrol, but 25mpg long term average out of a car which only drank super (which is the same price as derv anyway) vs a long term average of 38 with a relatively small 'real world' drop in performance makes it a no brainier now we have a nipper.

It's quite sad but the thing I miss the most is actually the exhaust note on startup.......

My missus makes quite a noise on start up 1st thing too

I don't despise diesel I would've gone for a Blackline I just wasn't sure if I'd blag it regularly enough to stop DPF issues.

In 900 miles I've averaged jut under 30mpg in my tsi an full it with standard BP/Shell etc unleaded, which on my iPhone app relates to 20p/mile

Mate, do you need to go back to the dealer to make sure you don't have a serious fuel leak?

All comments made with tongue firmly in cheek...

on sort of a serious note I was up for a petrol 1.8, couldn't get 1 new so had the blackline instead because it was a bargain and I wouldn't have seriously considered a vRS at the 'normal' price as 'er indoors wouldn't have let me get away with it (I'm still getting the 'I'm having this because you bought a new car' so the petrol heads will be glad I'm suffering!). If the blackline had been petrol I'd still have had it, it's not so I've got a deisel instead. 600 miles and just filled up....

Going back to the OP, the TFSI runs better on the premium, more expensive, petrol, but the TSI runs just as well on 95 Ron and is more fuel efficient. So the TSI is cheaper to run and closer to the diesel, economy-wise.

All depends on your mileage.

This was where I was going with the original post (although I didn't realise the difference between recommended fuels on the Tfsi/Tsi). Surely those running the Tfsi on super unleaded are actually spending more than an equivalent diesel? Obviously if that person really does not like diesel engines than the extra overall costs would be worth it I suppose.

Oh and petrol all the way, the doors don't lock properly on diesels

Only on mine - and they don't like unlocking either! Hopefully this has now been fixed, although it took long enough. That said, I now probably have one of the lowest mileage Blacklines out there

3 cars, all diesel.

It's about the torque, fuel economy, torque again and range. My 4wd has bout 550Nm of torque. Even the 320Nm in the skoda feels quite good.

I'll care about resale when I sell a car instead of wearing them out and passing them on for double scrap value.

BTW, my VCDS says the DPF on my skoda is in perfect health.

The one thing I don't like about diesels is the slower warmup. But getting them on boost speeds this up nicely. Luckily I live in an area I can do that. If I lived in a city I'd likely have a small petrol runabout.

Its your usage and prejudices which inform your decision. I have had Diesels for at least 30 years - from right back when you had to use the lorry pump. Most of that 30+ years was with a proper commute, 50 miles or so. Now I'm not going to work, most of my annual mileage is abroad. Where fuel is considerably cheaper, about 20-25% last autumn. So that is very nice for me.

However, the biggest plus for me is the extended range, at least 400 miles without sweating on the location of a fuel station, to nearly 600 miles if I take it easy. This isn't just about the cost, but being able to travel where I like when abroad, and allows me to bimble/romp along back roads without having to be fussed if there is a fuel available at my as yet unknown destination, and no, there frequently isn't. Similarly, when there has been difficulties with fuel supplies here, I could get to work for longer than colleagues in their petrols.

A colleague lived in the next village, about a mile away, normally, we both commuted our 25 miles in to work, the difference being the consumption. I used two tanks a month, in my Octy 1, and she used a tank a week in her Rover 200 (similar domestic use) don't know the capacity of a Rover's tank, but she spent a lot more to cover a similar distance.

I'm not much for traveling in convoy, but whenever the need arises, it seems these sort of figures are duplicated, however economical the published figures for petrol, they are rarely met in practice when driving at my sort of pace. Obviously YMMV.

I can understand people making their choice for their own good reasons, what I do find a bit strange, is people having a Diesel and only doing a few thousand miles pa. Merely owning a car nowadays is so expensive, at 3000 miles I saw recently in the Telegraph, a taxi would certainly be cheaper. But then the rational side of our brain is often overruled when making decisions about our vehicles.

That's interesting. I do about 16k a year, mixed motorway and urban, and I'd been wondering about the relative costs next time I change my car. I know a TFSI can give good economy but I'd be concerned it might not in my usage.

I like the way a diesel drives, but as I'd have DSG regardless the torque curve is less important....

The newer tsi is more economical than the tfsi. The tsi also runs happily on normal unleaded making a better case against the cost of diesel

I think i was told when nearly all the police forces started going over to diesels that 30.000 mls per anum needed to be done before a diesel was more economical. Off course this may have altered slightly as the prices have come closer together these days. I have come to a Blackline vrs from a 61 plate 1.2tsi dsg Fabia elegance.The only thing that made me go for this diesel car was the spec and the price petrol was not offered which was a real shame. Still i like the car. Is petrol better than diesel i think the saying is horses for courses.

Brownfox, I suspect the economics for police vehicles are very different to private vehicles.

The newer tsi is more economical than the tfsi. The tsi also runs happily on normal unleaded making a better case against the cost of diesel

Can anyone give me real-world MPG estimates? I get 40-55mpg from the DSG TDI Leon.

I have a petrol VRS and love it. Previously, I drove a petrol Mazda 6 which I hated. The car before that was a diesel Vectra which I loved. So, I don't really have a preference in terms of fuel but what I loved about the diesel and love about my VRS is the torque. It may be the way I drive or the driving I do, but I find that a decent dollop of torque makes life easier. The Mazda had a decent amount of power but the engine was really peaky and needed revving to make decent progress - no torque! It really did my head in so it had to go! I guess that's what turbochargers have done for us - it's allowed downsizing in petrols for similar outputs and has allowed decent power outputs for diesels making them more practical in everyday terms. Of course, if I was driving 20k miles a year, I'd have a diesel for the cost benefit but it doesn't make financial sense for me.

Can anyone give me real-world MPG estimates? I get 40-55mpg from the DSG TDI Leon.

On a long motorway run sitting at speed limit I'll get 40mpg. My daily commute of 18miles made up of urban /a roads I get about 37. Usually achieve about 450miles out a tank. That includes having the odd blast. All depends how smooth your driving style.

45mpg combined on a manual pd scout. The dash readout lies by about 6%.

I think I can comment as I had a new 2011 petrol VRS estate from May 2011 to May 2012 then had to change to exact same spec new diesel VRS due to massive increase in yearly mileage.

The only reason I changed was economy/running costs for next 6 years and 150K.

The petrol car handled a bit better (less weight over the nose) and accelerated quicker in gear, was smoother and sounded better.

Over 20K miles on Vpower with my petrol VRS I got 36 MPG.

Over 14K since May this year on Shell diesel my new car gets 52 MPG

It is down to economics for me as given the choice I would have my petrol car back tomorrow.

I think I can comment as I had a new 2011 petrol VRS estate from May 2011 to May 2012 then had to change to exact same spec new diesel VRS due to massive increase in yearly mileage.

The only reason I changed was economy/running costs for next 6 years and 150K.

The petrol car handled a bit better (less weight over the nose) and accelerated quicker in gear, was smoother and sounded better.

Over 20K miles on Vpower with my petrol VRS I got 36 MPG.

Over 14K since May this year on Shell diesel my new car gets 52 MPG

It is down to economics for me as given the choice I would have my petrol car back tomorrow.

Pretty much sums it up. I am not a diesel hater, I just don't find them particularly exciting or rewarding to drive.

I had a tfsi vrs, then a cr vrs, followed by a tsi vrs and whilst it's purely a personal opinion, it's objective having experienced both petrol and diesel in the same car.

I averaged circa 37mpg in my cr and circa 28mpg in my tsi. My mileage is mainly a 16 mile round commute 5 days a week so diesel probably didn't make sense financially although I bought it for change as much as anything but couldn't wait to get back in the petrol.

The cr lacked the acceleration through the gears that both the petrol engined cars provided although in gear acceleration at motorway type speeds was similar. I had my cr remapped which made a difference and made it feel more comparable with my previous tfsi.

In terms of the cost of fuel I only use V-power in my petrol cars so it's more expensive anyway but I also only used V-power diesel in the CR plus paid a small fortune for diesel additives in an attempt to get a bit more power out of it.

In summary then, I wouldn't buy another diesel unless I was doing mega mileage and I certainly wouldn't opt for one because I preferred the way it drove or performed because I don't. The torque of diesel engined cars is great but you get that now from turbo charged petrol engines such as the tsi so from my perspective there's simply no benefit or enjoyment of having a diesel.

Noticed that diesel was 4p a liter more than super this morning. I don't think I remember the difference being so big ever. 8p a liter more than 95RON.

Re fuel consumption, last European run in mid October was about 400 miles non stop. MFD read out was 61 mph average speed, and low 50's mpg, 52-53 perhaps. To average that speed you need to be on or about an indicated 80, for me cruise is a boon.

Big plus is the way it will pull up hills, proper hills that is. A re-tank at St Omer @ 1.32 euro by the way (at todays rate, £1.07, nice!) the 180 miles home leaves an indicated 3/4 tank, which is quite useful.