Which is 'greener'? Petrol or diesel?

[mr_cellophane]

The diesel in my car is red

 

[Archie_tect]

Does it taste of grapes?

 

[GilesM]

No car is exactly green, so go for what you like, you're going to be spending quite a bit of time in it, it won't be much fun if you don't like driving it, and as also mentioned, make sure you can get the right number of bikes in it.

 

[mybike]

I work with air quality experts and they tell me all the research shows this isn't really true: diesels continue to perform very poorly in the urban environment as they are the dominant source of particulates and NOx, both of which are bad for our health, and cause premature deaths in our cities. The Euro emissions standards have little or no relation to reality, and contacts at the VCA tell me manufacturers are well versed in the art of engine tuning to beat the test (in fact they do it through computer simulation).

Petrol performs much better in this respect, but claims of efficiency for the latest engines are wide of the mark: driving like a vicar in slippers, I managed to coax 40mpg round town, and 50mpg on the motorway out of the latest ecoboost Fiesta - it's supposed to do 65mpg.

My CMax (I've only had a few weeks) Ecoboost 125bhp I've achieved 37mpg which includes a trip to the North Wales coast. From my records it looks similar to my 1.6L Focus although we didn't have to fill up as early as expected. We shall see what further experience brings.

 

[stuee147]

my old series 3 landrover with its 2 1/4 ltr diesel enging was the clenest running enging iv ever had and the MOT inspecter in the village i lived in said my landy had the best emishions of any car he had tested, but then again i used to run it on 100% veg oil lol

 

[Drago]

If you are waiting behind any modern petrol-engined car in the dark and your headlights happen to be shining down the exhaust pipes you'll notice that the steel inside is absolutely spotless. It wasn't always so!

The exhaust on the Wife's Toyota Pious isn't like that.

I get 33 mpg from a 3 tonne truck, so I would be a bit underwhelmed with a Frod Ecoboost.

 

[User482]

my old series 3 landrover with its 2 1/4 ltr diesel enging was the clenest running enging iv ever had and the MOT inspecter in the village i lived in said my landy had the best emishions of any car he had tested, but then again i used to run it on 100% veg oil lol

The MOT does not test for fine particulates or NOx, both of which are significant contributors to poor urban air quality. The only test performed is visible smoke from a warm engine.

 

[subaqua]

I presume your car is only used for agricultural purposes?

I had a car that ran on red diesel, it wasn't used for agricultural purposes, and had red in it at all times. it probably doesn't exist now
all legally without defrauding the taxman

 

[young Ed]

Pfft. Thats about 3 hours running for my company vehicle (if being driven economically).

i am almost sure i remember somewhere or another that you're a lorry driver? in which case that doesn't surprise me along with about 8 mpdg

A proper square Land Rover is the greenest vehicle on the planet because they can be repaired and refurbished ad infinitum using parts taken off other Land Rovers, with no need to throw them away.

indeed, when i'm 17 i plan to get a land rover series 2 (1958-1961) so 55-58 years old and i reckon with a full nut and bolt restoration once maybe twice it should still be with me when i pop my clogs most modern cars probably don't last 20 or even 15 years before they get scrapped

I had a car that ran on red diesel, it wasn't used for agricultural purposes, and had red in it at all times. it probably doesn't exist now
all legally without defrauding the taxman

don't know what it was but now red is strictly for ag use only and then it's only for tractors, telescopic handlers and mowing machines etc and limited use vehicles (no tax, no mot but limited to 1.5km from your home farm. you can get the DVLA to licence any vehicle like this so you can legally have a fiat 500 running on red!)

either that or your vehicle always run on red was only used in the fields!
Cheers Ed

 

[subaqua]

it was used on a factory site that was mahoosive. vehicle wasn't registered with DVLA as was built on the site but not able to be sold to the public as it was a fooky oopy . perfectly safe to drive about on the factory roads.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

'11' plate Skoda Octavia 1.6tdi estate here

£30 VED, cheap to insure,
50-55MPG 'knocking about' (SWMBO gets less, as she's lead-footed, & revs it too much)
75MPG on steady-state motorway trips

Yes, & a bike fits in (as does a 3-seater settee!!)

The trip-readout, pictured, was after a M1 drive to East Midlands Airport

 

[Smokin Joe]

I had a car that ran on red diesel, it wasn't used for agricultural purposes, and had red in it at all times. it probably doesn't exist now
all legally without defrauding the taxman

When I worked for a London Borough all the fuel at the depot was red to stop people filling their own vehicles with it.

 

[Piemaster]

i am almost sure i remember somewhere or another that you're a lorry driver? in which case that doesn't surprise me along with about 8 mpdg

It's a bit bigger than a lorry. Though it does door to door deliveries (sort of - port to oil rig)

 

[Piemaster]

When I worked for a London Borough all the fuel at the depot was red to stop people filling their own vehicles with it.

The red dyed stuff doesn't have duty paid on it.In Norway they dye it green.

 

[young Ed]

When I worked for a London Borough all the fuel at the depot was red to stop people filling their own vehicles with it.

was the fuel for the council tractors and mowers etc?

not sure about council but i think i might have heard somewhere that the police, ambulance and fire at least don't pay tax on their white diesel so effectively red tax free but just not dyed red. although this might be utter tosh but i'm pretty sure someone told me that, although not everything one is told is true!
Cheers Ed