Petrol vs. Diesel?

Hey folks

General question here, its probably been asked before a million times but I'm new & lazy so I thought I'd ask anyway

Petrol landy's & Diesel landy's, obviously they both have their merits but what are the major differences?

Is the V8 version more economical these days since the price of diesel has rocketed?

& when your off roading & end up in a lake or likewise, will the V8 cut out on you since petrol engines dont water? Are the diesel's massively sluggish like every other diesel I've driven, or are they pretty much the same as the petrol versions (because of the car's design)?

i think you need to pull yer head out yer.....
doosuls these days are very bit as nippy as petrols and in some cases nippier.
for instance the vauxhall nova td from a few years back was quicker accelerating and had a faster top end than the nova gte of the same vintage. i could list a **** load more but you can put yer geetar down and go search fer yerself.
yes petrols will cut out if the lectrics get soaked but the bit that baffles me is "Is the V8 version more economical these days since the price of diesel has rocketed?"

i don't see why the price of one fuel will affect the consumption of an engine that uses a different type of fuel.
perhaps you can explain?

slob said:

i don't see why the price of one fuel will affect the consumption of an engine that uses a different type of fuel.
perhaps you can explain?

Click to expand...

eeeeer.... bugger! leave me alone! i'm tired cus i've been at work all day i mean, I just wondered if you needed to fill the diesel up as often as the petrol, or vice verse.

it depends on lots of things
if you have a doosul then you'll find you fill that up more, on the other hand if you have a petrol then you'll fill that one more.
but it really comes down to how much you use it and yer driving style.

V8 isn't going to get very many mpg - rangie classics used to get about 8 or so was it? Can't see a 90 or a 110 doing all that much better...

Meanwhile a 200tdi will get between 20 and 30 depending on how it's driven - even at 10p per litre more expensive there's no way it will close the gap in terms of fuel used / price difference.

I spoke to a bloke a while back with a P38 (4.2 I think) that had a lpg conversion - now that was about the same, he reckoned, as his fuel was about 1/2 the price of DERV.

Turbo diesel land 90/110's are pretty good on road, they're not as quick as yer average family saloon, but they're a darn sight faster and more fun than the bus. Any of the tdi's or a TD5 will happily chog down the motorway at 70 without sounding like they're falling to bits or having to slipstream lorries. AFAIK they never did a petrol turbo, but I'll bet there's a few 'aftermarket' ones about.

Can't speak for the NA diesels or the 2.5 petrol as the only one I drove was round a car park about 10 years ago.

Hope that helps,

I've got a Defender 2.5 petrol and find it's got enough go in it to prevent it getting in everyones way. I had a series diesel before and this is much quicker, but then again so is my pushbike!!