Petrol versus Diesel

DIESEL!!!

Diesel, hands down every time for this type of touring.

If you're touring around Australia then you wont mind loping along at 100kmh, and even a nonturbo diesel will do that, a turbo'd one will be that much better.

Diesel more expensive to purchase but better resale also, mileage isnt even comparable, diesel wins out there as well as fuel availability in some more remote parts of Oz. If you're going to stick to Highway 1 you can do that in a Falcon wagon. Get a diesel Falc if you can too ;)

If you want to get there eventually, get a diesel.

If you like to drive, get a petrol.

Petrol: more power and torque, but uses more fuel, as it should.

In the long run a petrol is cheaper; lower purchase price (and accordingly lower finance costs). Cheaper to service. Cheaper to repair.

If you like driving a bus, go diesel. If you like to drive a car, get a petrol.

Have a serious look at the power and torque outputs of comparitive vehicles; it tells a tale.

Cheers,

Jim

Hey get real Jimbo!

Paj 3.5 P 303nm torque
" 3.2d 373nm
Jeep 4.0P 295
2.7dt400
LC4.7P 410
4.2td 430
and the daddy of them all:
VW 4.2P 410nm
4.9td 750nm

Sure the petrols have more high speed power but only at higher revs & the fuel difference over big kms is most significant. Maintenance to me seemed to be lower on lower tech TD than petrols but now high tech may have changed that.

To each his own I guess.

Thnaks for clarifying why my diesel pajero (2.8l) is faster tham my old petrol pajero (2.6l). It isn't the disel at all, even though it has 20kw and 100nm more.
Must be something else. My diesel is'nt faster on take off either, that is why the petrol ones don't catch me until they have 4000 rpm or more on the tacho, and why they are one gear lower up hills. :-)

Will have to look for that magical petrol motor that makes the difference. :-).

Funny about petrols getting 100km less per tank.

And I don't even have a funny electrical box to tell the engine what to do.
(Theo at birdsville reckons half of the breakdowns in the Simpson are computer chips going on holiday as well.)

Love these debates about petrol versus diesel. Almost as black and white as nissan versus that other make.

Diesel is more expensive at the moment in the big cities, about the same in the country.

Read an article that bosch suggest that 80kw/litre will standard diesel outputs in about 5 years. Yes, 240kw from 3 litres. What is the max torque figure from the 4 something litre diesel VW toureg, 750nm? Can't be a diesel. Must be a petrol!
Diesels don't produce power, or do they?

Depends entirely on the type of car you are looking at. eg: a petrol V8 Discovery will use nearly twice as much fuel as a TD5 but the new petrol Prado isn't far behind the turbo diesel. For the big trips (Canning) a diesel doesn't need to carry as much which can be a problem for some petrols. (Where do you put 300Litres?)
I have an non turboed cruiser which although is slow at times will go everywhere a petrol will. If the bank account allows, a turbo diesel probably makes the best outback touring vehicle. If you do go for petrol the only thing to watch out for is that a few Aboriginal communities no longer sell it because of sniffing.
Cheers Craig.............
HZJ105

John,

Sorry, we have hijacked your thread by exchanging our various opinions.

I suggest this. Drive a petrol and a diesel equivalent of the same vehicle to compare. Do some things like nail it at 80 km/h to see how long it would overtake in each vehicle, use a stopwatch if necessary. See which responds better in traffic (this is where you will spend a lot of time).

The argument about torque is largely immaterial. It is a combination of power and torque that relates to performance and driveabilty.

Work out your overall cost to determine which is cheaper to run (purchase price, finance costs, servicing, repairs, cost of fuel, depreciation etc). You'll find there's not much in it; on the numbers I've done petrols usually work out a little cheaper overall, but others may disagree. There isn't a significant saving either way.

Good Luck,

Jim.

john
I assume you will be considering a large vehicle for your trip around Aust in order to cart the inevitable odds and ends we feel we must take. These weigh 2000-2500kg empty. Loaded and fueled easily over 3000kg. A considerable amount of torque is required to shift this weight. It is the delivery of high torque at low revs that is a major factor in the better fuel efficiecy/driveability of a diesel. Offroading and increasing weight amplifys this advantage (almost anything that moves a considerable weight has a diesel engine).
I have a friend who has a 4.2 petrol gq, about 2400kg empty. The previous owner converted to gas, replacing the main the main tank with a gas cylinder, in an effort to reduce his fuel bill. The sub tank has been replaced with an 80 ltr petrol unit. Due to the thirst of the vehicle, the absence of gas in remote areas and reduced availability of unleaded, he feels restricted in the trips he can plan unless he removes the gas for these trips and puts a large main fuel tank back in. The fuel bill is going to be a major cost on your trip and when considering your choice of vehicle gas is not a viable option if heading of the blacktop.

For starters you have not said if you are looking new or second hand, Wheather you are toeing and what your power expectations are. I have driven nothing but normally aspirated diesal tojos for years now and I am very happy with the way my 80 series goes but you would consider it a slug by some standards. my 2c worth is diesal for there reliability, and economy but at the end of the day the reason why this post will generate plenty of followups is coz it is a personell choice so you will have to drive both.

Stanno,

I have a petrol cruiser and it does suck more than a diesel.

I've done the Gibb Road and up to Mitchell Plateau/Kalumburu and never had a problem with petrol supply. My 250L gets me 1200 - 1300kms where as a diesel in the equivalent may do about 2000kms - a fairly big difference but I've to find a more challenging place in Australia to drive 1200kms without finding fuel.

Even the Canning Stock Route do petrol/diesel dumps on it if you book them.
Diesel more expensive to maintain but must be to ensure that you get maximum mileage.

I'm putting a diesel in my cruiser when the time arrives because when it comes down to it I think the diesel cruiser is 17L/100km compared to 20L/100km for a petrol.

Regards