Petrol versus diesel

Okay........... I'm bracing myself here............ gonna get rough..............

I've got both. Diesel is a bastard to start on cold mornings, but got heaps of grunt.

Petrol is nice & smooth, and when ya fill it up at the bowser, ya don't get oily mitts!

Cheers

Useless information Wolf

If you are going to do a lot of off road and towing and long distance travelling than a diesel is the best.

I'll second that,Diesel for outback travel.Infact i'd go for a diesel everytime.The new modern diesels nearly match petrols power anyway.

Diesel if travelling into the deep outback where petrol is not available otherwise petrol wins by a country mile but there are numerous diesel diehards who will not agree. Diesel is for large trucks or cars in countries where fuel is expensive.

hard question with to many answers.
diesal easier to get out back if your doing heaps.
diesal a little more economical.diesal more torque for towing.
but then theres the down side
more to buy originally
dearer to service
way dearer for parts

We are now in our second 4wd. For us the decision was made on traveling range, with up to a 1000 k’s per tank filling traveling long distances is easy. Another advantage is (so I was told) that if we travel long distances and have to take spare fuel, diesel can be stored legally in the car while petrol as to be carried outside on a roof rack or trailer.
That’s how we would describe it:
Petrol: smooth driving, high fuel consumption, less service (oil changes)
Diesel: strong, significantly less fuel consumption, more services (oil changes)
Our decision was twice for diesel – we simply prefer it.

I am going to set the cat amongst the pidgeons here. Petrol/lpg is the way to go IMHO. The oilers need TLC all their life and foget the fact diesels will last 500 000 k. Hav e you ever had a car that yoy ahve donn 500 000k in? I have'nt. Petrol = more power. (2 or 3 times as much) Servicing is cheaper cos u can get away with with a service every 15k. And when you do a trip like the simpson you will be on the way home and they will still be at MT Dare wondering where u got 2.

Diesels are far better for crawling down steep slopes and are better on water crossings IMO.

Our Nissan Turbo-Dsl has the pick up of car - beats my old commodore any day. Like a modern car, have to keep watching and bringing it back to 110 kms/hr. Deisel motors last longer, and my husband knows more about how to fix them than with petrols, which helped us choose deisel for going outback.

Newie I have both I use a petrol cruiser for Paddock work as it has more grunt and fuel cons. is similar and my previous wagon was petrol gas and for most of the time it is fine, but it does make out back travel more difficult, as fitting extra fuel tanks with a gas tank is not always possibly.
I now use a deisel wagon and it makes a great long distance cruiser, so it is a personal choice as to what you wish to do.
Outback travelling long distances around oz go the deisel, Around the populated areas and for towing and general use go the petrol, or dual fuel.

Had both diesel jackaroo, pajero gq patrol on gas/petrol now terracan petrol and going to the desert with it. The main problem with diesel is the price to repair the engine if it breaks cost is very high needs to be serviced on time cost alot more to service Petrol/gas limits distanced traveled Petrol is available throughout most of the outback these days but am looking at puting a second tank in the terracan where the spare wheel goes and then put a tyre carrier on the back will then have arange of about 160ltrs of petrol. Diesel motors more prone to water damage if water gets into the motor but petrol will start after awhile if it gets wet wd40 usally fixes the problem any way. Diesel if it breaks down out in the out back and its a toyo or patrol you will most likely get it fixed Terracan I dont think so
So it boils down to what you are going to do with the 4x4 I still preferer the petrol arfter speaking to eric who also seems to like the petrol

BOTH::::
As long as it is a 4bee

My opinion is that diesel is the only way to go if you are going to use the vehicle as a 4WD. One person mentioned that diesels have higher torque. This is true when comparing same sized engines. The most important fact that hasn't been mentioned though is that diesels produce their maximum torque at something like half the revs of their petrol counterparts. This is the major reason for their fuel consumption under load being significantly lower than for the same vehicle with a petrol engine. This in turn gives greater range especially in rugged conditions. I crossed the Simpson in a diesel Prado and was still on the first of two 90 litre tanks when I arrived in Birdsville. I filled at Oodnadatta. No LPG there by the way. Travelling companions in a petrol Landcruiser and petrol Patrol had to carry many jerry cans of fuel. Two others driving diesel Discoveries used a similar amount to me, but did have to carry fuel as their vehicles carry less in their tanks.
I've never had starting problems with either my 4WD or my Isuzu NPR400 and I think that the person who cited poor starting as a negative aspect of running diesel has another problem. The additional cost of servicing also needs to be analysed. An additional oil change each 5,000km costs less than $100 even if done professionally. I save that amount in reduced fuel costs after about 2,000km. This is based on a saving of 5l/100km. Diesel Landcruisers are significantly dearer than petrol and are very scarce on the used market. Diesel Prados are the same price as the petrol version and in high demand with a 3-4 month wait and very few on the used market. I do hope this rather long winded eply has been of some help to you all.

I drive a1992 V6 3.2 petrol Jackaroo and on the open road runs as good for fuel if not better than my brothers 2.8 tdi Patrol( both unladen). With driving offroad I used 18.1l/100k and the Patrol came in at 16.3l/100k so I have to admit if you need economy, diesel is the way to go but you end up paying more for the diesel at the pump.
I personally would not drive anything else but a petrol as it is what I prefer. better pickup and smoother accelaration and better to overtake with.

My Jackaroo has 231500 kays on the clock and still drives like new. With the small amount of revs at 100 kph(2700rpm) the motor is not reving a lot so the wear on the motor is reduced and will last half a million kays like diesel cars. this is my OPINION not fact but I hope to prove it with this car.

As for servicing the vehicle. You are spending big dollars on purchasing a vehicle and the vehicle still needs to be maintained so the cost of servicing may be more but that comes with owning a heavy duty vehicle which is capable of lasting the distance.

Good luck with your purchase. I am a fan of petrol and would gladly recommend it.

Sparkie(IE not Y) ;-)

Go for the petrol if you want. I mean it's nearly as good as a diesel.
Diesel is cheaper at the pump, more redialy avaliable out back, better compression for down hill crawls. All this has been mentioned above, but what I like is the torque curve of a deisel. Look how low it is as compared to a petrol.

Advantages of petrol : cleaner, more power, quieter, a few cents cheaper at the bowser, cheaper initial purchase price (varies between makes and models), less likely to 'hydraulic' when drowned, your mechanic knows how to work on them ;-)

Advantages of diesel : more torque low down, availability, less flammable, better range for same volume of fuel

Me personally : wouldn't dream of buying a petrol 4WD for touring work again(although I have one of each). The Disco TD5 has a 20,000km service interval which I find unobtrusive. With new vehicles repairs etc don't seem to be an issue.

Hi, I know that this info is not particularly close to your question but may help someone else who is looking at an older vehicle. I have owned both petrol and diesel GQ patrols and find that the diesel in 4.2 form uses about half the fuel of a 4.2 petrol in general day to day running.
Obvoiusly there are tradeoffs in power etc but i have always got to where the petrols have in a diesel even if up a high sandhill i have to go round instead of over .
In my thinking it doesnt take long for the diesel to become more econmical to run given the difference in fuel consumption.
By the way the petrol was a carby version.
Hope this is helpfull.

I recently gone through this process for 4 months and it drove me nuts. I'll give you an honest opinion and i ended up with a petrol Patrol.

It all depends on the type of petrol. When you consider a hugh Patrol or L/Cruiser, their Kw and Nm output is sometimes better than Diesels. If on the other hand when you look at something smaller, than you need to weight up your driving needs and carrying capacity to power output of the vehicle.

Diesel last longer is a bit of crap, not without maintenance. If you maintain a Petrol motor, it too will last longer. Question you have to ask is would you still be driving the 4WD when it has 400000-500000km on it? how confident would you be at taking a vehicle with that many km's on it out on a trip. I know some people do, but personally i wouldn't. I'll prefer a newer vehicle.

RACQ completed tests not to long ago and found a Petrol 4WD works out to be cheaper to maintain than a diesel over a period of 4 years or longer. I did some figures and you need to be honest and consider everything, I too found a diesel to be more expensive to run.

I can budget extra cost for fuel every fortnight, that's easy. If things go wrong, no more expensive to repair than a falcon or commodore. Diesel, what you save in diesel (and the real gain is the range of the vehicle, no cheaper at the bowser) you better invest it somewhere and hope it grows for you. Parts are expensive and if you want the diesel running with max power and torque, you'll need extra money to clean/de-sulphur the engine every 100000-150000km. I'm sure there was an article last year about a L/C getting cleaned and dynoed.

I get fuel injectors removed and cleaned for $30 each every 100000km.

My buddy just paid $1400 for an injector pump on his diesel and another paid $1600 for an injector for his TD5. All including labour of course. These low sulphur diesel are going to cause problems and the gov's fix is to produce diesel conditioners and it's costing them heaps at the bowser.

Not so cheap now, is it.

My previous car was a Pajero using 16.5L/100k. My Patrol now uses 17.5L/100k.
I have carrying capacity, towing capacity, power and torque, cheap running cost, spares everywhere, and any mech can get me moving home if required. The main prob with petrol is the range of the car. long range tanks will soon fix that. How often do diesels go out west with out extra fuel?

Another mate in a 3.0 Td Patrol uses 14L/100k. and he is paranoid about his car dying somewhere with the probs in the series II.

I swore i was going to buy a 4.2Td Patrol or Lc after my Pajero. After a bit of logical research, I was crazy not to buy a Petrol.

I love my petrol TI Patrol. brilliant to drive on highway and in the city. lots of power. And you can pick up a second hand Patrol ST4500 for $30 000 because the dealers keep spinning the myth of expensive running costs. BS

It's your call.

I read an article in a $WD mag acouple of months ago comparing anew LC100 petrol v diesel for running costs. The petrol cam out infront after about 90000 ks from memory when purchase price, depreciation, fuel and maintenace costs were factored in.

A recent 3 week trip in Simpson deseret by16 4wd's... the Toyota Lcool group showed the v6 prado petrol only used slightly more fuel than the desiel unit,so by time you paying extra servicing cost for desiel...nothing in it.
On the tracks, the v6 prado auto was only unit to drive up on over big red in one go.All others had numerious attempts and some just could not get up it The v6 prado petrol auto simply powered through dunes and salt flats while others plugged away behind.
prado 120 have 180 lt tanks.
Check out Lcool 120 site at yahoo for the facts
People are not seeing that technology has changed, and seem stuck on desiel.
Regards
Joe

Newie,
having read all of the above it is apparent that if you are a w-nker then petrol is the way to go

More confused than ever? We are in the same market and have the same questions. After reading all the answers I think there are only a few valid reasons to consider diesel. Better down hills off road in holding the car back but then life is not all downhill. Better fuel consumption per tank load of fuel, ie go further without filling up.
All other arguments are purely IMHO. The present cheaper cost of diesel is negated by higher service costs and high costs of repairs. Diesel is historically higher in price than petrol in NSW and there is no reason why cheaper diesel is a flash in the pan so to speak. You can fit an additional tank to increase the range for petrol but then you are using more fuel to carry the extra fuel. Like chasing your tail. When people say diesel is more readily available I am not sure this is correct. For the odd time in the future when we might find a trek where petrol is scarce we might have to carry extra petrol. Why go to diesel just because you may have to carry extra petrol once in a blue moon. Deep water crossings may be a problem for petrol motors. Somehow I am not so sure about this. We do not have a snorkel and have crossed up to 700mm deep with a blind over the front. I gerni wash my engine regularly and it has never failed to start after doing so. If the engine is going to get inundated with so much water it will stop it I would suggest that the drivers water crossing technique is poor or a crossing should not be attempted. I did have a diesel driver offer to tow me across a river if it got too deep. So always take a friend with diesel vehicle as a backup.
I am still confused so it is going to come down to ???? how good the salesperson is and I have to admit I am a pushover to smooth talking.
Richard (Leonie would not have a clue what we have been talking about.)

You buggers.

I am flat out trying to decide if I should buy a 78 series diesel troopy or a !00 series diesel and then I started thinking about the TD 100 series but the IFS has me worried. Having owned and driven ONLY diesels for the last 20 years I hadn't allocated any brain power to a petrol vehicle.

Now you buggers start this thread... Thankyou very much.

Look at all of the variations I have to contend with now.!!!!!!

Go the power & go the economy you all have your views but I will throw " another log on the fire "
Most manufacturers charge more for diesel turbo than petrol
Toyota Prado GXL Turbo Diesel & Petrol same price
Go & have an Oh What A Feeling look today & see which one is available for you to pay for today & take home tonight
It will not be a diesel turbo that will be a 15-18 weks wait
When you get that petrol so easy today @ " other end " when you want to dispose of it will bite you in the bum it will not sell today like a Turbo diesel but take 15 - 18 weeks.
BOTH SAME PRICE TODAY
2yo 40000k Diesel Turbo $40-$45000
2yo petrol $30000 would be plenty for it
4wds like trucks have big chassis, they need diesel torque to pull it & no Japanese 6cyl petrol will ever be like an Australian 6 cyl Falcon/Holden torque it will be like a Japanese Toyota Crown, yes & all you LPG/Petrol combo lovers put weight on it & use it & you will use full capability of both fuel mediums & still be looking for next bowser.
In our business we never get 1 yo Turbo Diesel Private owners wanting to go Petrol & Trade in, the same cannot be said for Petrol buyers wanting to go to Diesel update & when you tell them the trade in price of their Petrol 4wd they all go " Oh " but are not alarmed as they know already & as I say to them just because you were that silly does not mean the next buyer is going to be,
Think retention & you will soon decide, & keep bottle of lemon based hand cleaner under bonnet & smell of diesel on hands not a problem & re wife cannot fill a diesel it will use so little she will not have to, it can last couple weeks till Dad the interstate away a lot truckie gets home, it does not need filling every couple hours like a petrol in a truck !

To save " Newie " looking @ all this dribble,
someone who is more computer literate than I am,
put up a tally/ vote count forum & ask the Question
WHICH WOULD YOU BUY PETROL OR DIESEL TURBO
& that would be a quick fix & IF I was a betting man I would be putting my $ on Diesel in this scenario but who knows until we give it a go.

Bl...dy hell! ..... my eyes are sore!

Thought it would never end.

BTW
Diesel wins!