Petrol or Diesel.Whats your choice?

[Chaddy]

Huge difference of opinion yesterday ( in the local of course,where else) as to whether it is best when buying a new car here in Cyprus to go for petrol or diesel. What would be your choice and the reason for it please.

[Paul]

I would go for diesel as we have one now.
Also petrol can evaporate from the tank in the heat here.
Diesel will not as it needs 60 degrees before is catches fire.
You also get better mileage, we are getting around 10 miles per liter just around Paphos and a lot more on a long run.
we have had 68mpg in the UK at 70mph with a loaded car!

[daveg]

Petrol..
Diesels don't like short runs...
Btw Fuel tanks are sealed, does not evaporate, unless fuel cap is loose.

[JimX]

For me "petrol" every time, had a couple of diesels 4x4s over my time here, hated both of them, at one time diesel engines motors were cheaper to run here on the island, but not now, also servicing I found far more expensive, if you want a large off road vehicle then maybe the only choice is to have a diesel, but a small run around PETROL!! every time for me.

I believe in years to come diesels will be finished, certainly the UK is looking to ban them eventually. Whatever you chose be safe out there.

[Devil]

Petrol hybrid. ~750 km between fills of 32-35 l. Hybrids don't like short runs, either, as the full economy kicks in only when the engine is hot. In winter, a 20 km two-way trip may reach 5-5.1 l/100 km (worst case).

[Chaddy]

Many thanks for your replies.Its 3 for petrol and 1 for diesel so far....Keep them coming in please

[trevnhil]

I too would go for petrol, although I have never had a diesel... I have a 1600cc petrol Qashqai now and use around 7lt per 100 km. Slightly more with the aircon on

[ApusApus]

In the past, my work involved driving all over the UK & I regularly racked up 40,000+ miles a year so diesel was my preferred choice. Now most of my driving in Cyprus is around Paphos & I only achieve 6-7,000 miles a year & I prefer petrol. One of the negatives for diesel cars trundling around town is the diesel particulate filter fitted these days which requires a degree of regular high speed driving to keep it unclogged. Otherwise, a nasty garage bill can await!


Shane

[Chaddy]

I too would go for petrol, although I have never had a diesel... I have a 1600cc petrol Qashqai now and use around 7lt per 100 km. Slightly more with the aircon on

driving

Trevnhill,thanks for your reply.You say that you are driving a 1600cc petrol Qashqai.Mmmmmm we have been to a Nissan dealers and they told us that they do not do a 1600cc in petrol only in diesel They mystery deepens.Would you mind informing where you bought your horseless carriage from,thanks.

[Anarita John]

Petrol here and diesel in UK. Our petrol Honda Jazz often achieves less than 5 litres per 100 km. At the moment it is reading 4.8 l per 100 km. We have a Golf SV in UK. 1600cc which is less than our previous Golf diesel which was 1900cc. We achieve over 70mpg on a long run and around 60 mpg around Llandudno. Our old Golf used to achieve fantastic mpg on a long run.

[trevnhil]

Our car is a 2009, 1598cc second hand private buy.. But in this 2018 review here.... http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/Nissan/QASHQAI

It says there IS a 1600cc petrol engine model....
" Elsewhere in the engine range Nissan offers a 128bhp 1.6-litre dCi diesel, a 1.2-litre DIG-T petrol and a 1.6-litre DIG-T petrol. The 1.6 dCi and 1.2 DIG-T units are offered with a choice of the standard 6-speed manual gearbox or the Xtronic auto – a CVT that shifts smoothly and keeps engine noise down. The 1.6-litre DIG-T offers 161bhp and is the Qashqai’s quickest engine with a 0-62mpg time of 9.1s.

Maybe they are just not imported to Cyprus and therefore not available here..

[Paul]

Petrol tanks do have vent pipes; if the tank was sealed then the fuel pump would create a vacuum in the tank.
It has been known for fuel tanks to collapse.
Also this would starve the engine of fuel.
Then you have the other way when the tank could build up pressure and release a cloud of petrol vapour when you open the filler cap.
I have seen both of these situations.
You have to replace the fuel with air as the fuel volume drops.

[cyprusmax47]

In my opinion it is important to decide first if you need a car only to drive to town or you want to discover the beauty of Cyprus and go sometimes little roads towards Troodos or even offroad to Akamas or riverbeds....

A SUV would be suitable then and as car batteries improved a lot in the last few years I would not go backwards but spend a bit more money on a hybrid car. Just today I have seen a nice Toyoto RAV4 hybrid, accelerating with amazing speed in front of me. Hybrids come with petrol and diesel engines, but I would prefer petrol. For pure electric cars, Cyprus needs to improve the infrastructure first, but then...

Max

[Devil]

Toyoto RAV4 hybrid, accelerating with amazing speed in front of me.

Of course, an electric motor can give a much higher starting torque than an IC engine. However, if you play with this a lot, you drain the battery and you're left with the mediocre performance of a somewhat under-powered petrol engine, which also has to recharge the battery. Most hybrid drivers quickly learn not to go to extremes and to drive perfectly normally (maybe to coast more as you approach red lights) to keep the battery well charged.

[Dominic]

Never been a factor for us. Don't care either way.

[emgee]

Will diesels be outlawed in several years time, hence no trade in value?

Alan

[trevnhil]

I think that will be a long time coming in Cyprus with all the 4x4's here

[ApusApus]

And don't discount Mazda's new petrol engine technology!

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-auto ... SKBN1CT368


Shane

[PaphosAL]

Interesting read, Shane- thanks! I've often wondered why Mazda didn't continue with their brilliant Rotary Engine concept...

Imagine if they did that next year, with a small range of 5 door family hatchbacks / SUVs, or a sexy 2 door sports car based on the MX5 model? With rotary petrol or diesel / turbo or super charged engines, perhaps with the added benefit of hybrid technology too?

They could become a force to be reckoned with in terms of global automotive sales...

AL