Petrol vs Diesel in the modern world

its a bit of a funny question-why is criticality a part of it?
And what "advances in technology" are you looking to fit to the Paj to make it like a diesel vehicle?
All the extras you listed do exactly the same thing on a petrol or diesel. And if your prepared to carry enough petrol why wouldnt it go anywhere that a diesel Paj would?

BUT and a big BUT, no matter what you fit to it, it'll never be a TOYOTA :-)

G'day,
Petrol vs Diesel. It's personal preference really.

Having owned both I will stick with Diesel because I like the low revs that a diesel produces it's max power & torque at. Thats because I do a lot of low range driving & I am not in any sort of hurry on the open road. Having said that the modern Diesel engines have much more "get up & go"on the road than those of yesteryear.

Cheers
Stu

I have owned a 2002 Paj Petrol and still own a 2007 Paj Diesel, doing 40000km pa. As stated above it's personal choice after considering the following

Diesel 25-30% superior fuel economy (we don't get cheap petrol in the bush that you get in the city, here Diesel is about 3c/L higher)
Diesel gives better range, but not an issue if your trips are short
Diesel noisy and a bit "rougher", especially Paj's
Diesel higher purchase price but higher resale?
Superior Torque from diesel, varies between vehicles and their engines eg Prado as an example has a better petrol but inferior diesel to Pajero.
Extra cost of diesel over petrol engined vehicles, again varies between vehicles

Me no way I would go back to a Petrol, just love that pulling power on cruise control at 100km hour when going up hills, let alone if towing.

Other members I have seen over time are adamant Petrol lovers, especially Patrols.

Pretty simple really Diesel gives you better mileage and better range, longest possible distance from a tank and is safer to carry in jerries than petrol. a 2004 petrol V6 Hilux gets around 350kms from one 60 litre tank, a 2005 Hilux Diesel gets around 650 kms from a 76 litre tank. Diesel vehicles also deliver better low down torque for 4WD driving.

I agree with others that say there is nothing critical about it - each has own advantages and its best to understand the different and make an informed choice.

It also is not a choice you cn make without consideration of the rest of the vehicle.

I choose the GU patrol platform for effectiveness in getting the job done and within this platform the petrol engine versions have much more power and torque bigger brakes better reliability etc etc.

Overall diesels use 1/3rd less fuel but who cares if theres nowhere you can't get to anyway.

The water crossing ability is a non issue and probably favours the petrol if both were drowned anyway and its things like repairability complexity etc that tend to count more and modern deisels are more complex and probably less reliable overall now as they run massively high pressures and temperatures and tend to require well controlled turbos to perform.

A critcial component in modern cars is a fuel pump , its a disaster if water gets into you diesels fuel system so you should be prepared and carry a spare.

But who carries a spare diesel fuel pump or injectors with can cost thousands.

My 4800 patrol spare fuel pump cost $129 inc gst and so I take one with me and it can even be fitted and made operational on the roadside.

Reality is Real, I said to a friend who had ran out of diesel as I towed him more than a kilometer to get his car restarted.

Boo,
If your Pajero is a good one, and does all you want, keep it and don't worry about it. I made a similar decision to keep my petrol L/cruiser because it was a very good car. I have been all the places you see on the maps, with friends in diesels, and have never had a problem. I carry a couple of jerries more than them, but empty them asap. No problem. ian

I vote for diesel, for the various reasons stated earlier (no need to retype them here!).

"graham B9 posted:

Both Nissan and Toyota manufacture much better vehicles for the American market and much cheaper as well. "

LOL, after going to Oz and driving a Troopy-based bushcamper, I came to the opposite conclusion!

The 4WD's sold here in the US are nice vehicles if they're primarily going to be used on good roads. It's obvious the manufacturers no longer expect thier 4WD vehicles will be bashed around in the boonies. They know the vast majority of them will never see the dirt.

On the other hand, when I was driving the bushcamper around the Outback, I felt like I was driving something that had been designed/constructed for that environment. I wish I could buy that vehicle here. JMHO!!

No argument about pricing, though. It seems to me that a lot of things, not only vehicles, are much more expensive in Oz than here. Especially when you consider the current $ exchange rate.

P.S. I've been trying to email you!

We've had various Landcruisers in the past, even a Hilux. went to a 4 door Jeep Wrangler (petrol) for something different, traded it in for a Landcruiser within a year.

Main reason for diesel is the extra fuel economy. Also if you have to carry it in Jerries it's not as volatile. We certainly had to carry jerries for the Jeep, driving into warmer climate they expand a lot and then make noses when they contract as the temp cools in the evenings (they were decent metal ones).

So diesel is just more economic and safer to carry. In saying that our second car is a small petrol hatchback, we thought that for a cheaper daily driver that doesn't have to carry extra fuel etc, the savings by going to diesel weren't as worthwhile, and the diesel cars on offer didn't seem as reliable (ie Mazda 3 compared to Volkswagen something or rather).

Also the Jeep wasn't that great on the 4x4 tracks...for someone who was used to driving diesels anyway. Was probably better after we changed the gear ratios, but still it was just way too thirsty even when not towing a trailer.

Hi BooBoo,

My vote is for a diesel for all the things mentioned above but mostly the torque a diesel has. That torque allows a relaxed drive.

Cheers Wilko