Hi everyone.

Thinking of coming off a FL Scout TDI and looking at Type III Vrs in TDi vs TSI. Working the maths it looks like this below.

i.e with the Diesel tax in NZ the whole exercise is fairly close using the combined fuel figures so seems pretty clear cut the extra premium paid on a diesel motor I'm never going to recover as car yearly registration costs more for a diesel over here too.

These are all manual transmission figures also.

 

                 TSI VRs         TDI VRs     TDI Scout

litres               50             50             60

L/100km         6.2            4.6           5.9

range             806          1087        1017

RUC/km          $0            $.053       $.053

RUC cost        $0            $58.04     $54.31

$ per litre       $2.26      $1.50        $1.50

total fuel        $113.00  $75.00       $90.00

total a tank    $113.00   $133.04    $144.31

$ per KM        $.1401     $.1224      $.1419        

fills                 24.8         18.4          19.7

KMs per year  20000      20000         20000

$ per year     $2,802      $2,448      $2,838

 

So In saying that, this could be a silly question but, in your opinions "is it easier to maintain the stated figures in a diesel than in the petrol eqivilant"?

My Scout has returned 5.9L/100lms in the 60000kms I have had it. If I can replicate similair in the new TSI VRS thats great, but driven the same will the petrol do the same thing or are the combined figures not quite equally easy to replicate in your opinions if the cars are treated the same?

My friends current ver 2 TSI VRS gets nowhere near the stated figures and he drives fairly conservatively where my Scout has been spot on so wondering about others here and what they have found so far....

 

Just asking because if the combined figures are relatively honest, the new TSI will be cheaper to run than my current Scout is, and the >$400 saving on the new diesel i'll forgo for the extra performance and quietness of the petrol so looking at the above its a no brainer!!

Edited 19 September, 201312 yr by snala

It depends largely upon your driving style and whether or not you drive on crowded roads. Petrol engines are very efficient when cruising at contant speeds and should obtain ~90% of quoted figures. However, constant use of the accelerator pedal (when stuck in traffic, stop/start at lights etc) hurts petrol efficiency much more than diesel cars. If most of your journeys are on open roads then the petrol will be better for you. If you drive around town the diesel will likely win.

 

Personally, if I lived within a country where overall petrol/diesel prices were so similar I would always chose the petrol/TSI. The TSI is simply much more refined and performs more like a real sports car should.

Is petrol really half as much again than diesel in NZ?

 

Even a petrol head like me would think of using a diesel car with those differences. 

 

have a look at this:-

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/golf/65835/volkswagen-golf-gti-vs-gtd-video-review

 

Driving the cars and just enjoying them the Petrol VW GTI, same chasis and engine as the petrol VRS was doing 37 mpg, the diesel GTD did about 46 mpg from memory.

 

This is typical of what you hear.  Drive them spirited and the petrol will dip a bit from manufacturers figures, try and keep up with the petrol in the diesel and difference is huge between manufacturers figures and what you actually get.

 

Running costs seem quiet similar for your mielage so go with which own feels to siut your driving style.

The NZ Government have an interesting money grab policy whereby users of diesel vehicles are penalised to the point where diesel has no real advatage over petrol. Sure, the base diesel price of diesel is much cheaper but they then have to pay RUC (Road User Charge).

 

Read more here.

The NZ Government have an interesting money grab policy whereby users of diesel vehicles are penalised to the point where diesel has no real advatage over petrol. Sure, the base diesel price of diesel is much cheaper but they then have to pay RUC (Road User Charge).

 

Read more here.

 

Being someone who worked for the UK Tax authorities for a decade, now getting paid three times as much in private industry on helping companies minimize taxation, what NZ is doing is similar to what the UK does.  Tax authorities, in general, will try and raise as much revenue as possible using the most tax efficient means whilst also looking after their crony friends and donors.

 

So making diesel cheaper, to help the farmers etc, whilst nailing the purchase of diesel vehicles is one way of doing it but not in my view the best way.  In the UK, which is very unusually compared to most countries, does not tax diesel less than petrol so diesel in the UK is usually about 4% more expensive than petrol.  To facilitate Farmers the government allows marked diesel, called Red diesel, to be sold excise duty free to farmers, construction etc.   

 

UK diesel cars are also taxed about an extra 15% on their taxable Benefit in Kind one because they seem to get away with it and secondly an excuse about extra pollution of PM10 particles and the like.

 

Tax policy in most countries is used but is a weak and blunt instrument, IMO, that Governments are often afraid to use fully as they are always looking to the next election.

 

 With a melting Arctic and Antarctic and climate change you would think there would be a better policy to replace old cars with the new ones that are some 20% more efficient than a decade or so but the tax policies of NZ and UK not particularly help this other than the vehicle scrapage scheme which did give a size-able boost to buy more fuel efficient cars. 

 

The OP's running cost are quite small compared to purchase price so just seems to but what is best car for the driving. 

Thanks for the feedback guys. Based on previous cars I've had, 3 turbo Subarus, and I always got better than the quoted figures in those and these modern petrol motors are even more efficient and torquey low down it should be easy to do again.

There is still the $2000 difference in purchase price to overcome too and if the petrol has similar service intervals then It's not looking good for the diesel option.

2nd hand diesels aren't so popular for resale here either so just a matter of a test drive now....$47000 for petrol VRS manual with pretty much the full spec list included. Makes $59000 entry (DSG only here) for a Golf GTI with no Xenons or leather look rediculous!

Gee I wish the VRS was AWD though. It's handy sometimes.

Edited 22 September, 201312 yr by snala

Thanks for the feedback guys. Based on previous cars I've had, 3 turbo Subarus, and I always got better than the quoted figures in those and these modern petrol motors are even more efficient and torquey low down it should be easy to do again.

There is still the $2000 difference in purchase price to overcome too and if the petrol has similar service intervals then It's not looking good for the diesel option.

2nd hand diesels aren't so popular for resale here either so just a matter of a test drive now....$47000 for petrol VRS manual with pretty much the full spec list included. Makes $59000 entry (DSG only here) for a Golf GTI with no Xenons or leather look rediculous!

Gee I wish the VRS was AWD though. It's handy sometimes.

Cannot imagine you would like the diesel VRS if you are use to Subarus.

 

The same 20% price difference that there is in the NZ applies here as the Euro currency is so strong and the Czech Republic still has its own currency hence VAG can maintain the price difference.

 

Four wheel drive is missed when the weather is bad.  Our winters seem to be getting worse of recent and I have equipped our Fabia VRS with winters and looking to do the same on the Octavia VRS.

 

With the Octavia having the most rear wheel weight bias of all the Golf chasis'd vehicles and it is very noticeable the change in the vehicle dynamics in the sub 7C temperature we put up with between November and February especially when carrying luggage and passengers at which the Oct 2 and 3 are so good at hence the UK police buy so many of them, and for the value of course.