Diesel vs Petrol - advise

[SAC1]

OPC Swindon [part of the Dick Lovett Group as is Tewkesbury] has the same advert running.

Also see www.dicklovett.co.uk/porsche/why-sell-t ... stonheads/

[Dandock]

could it be that they've nothing new to sell or order!

[bennachie]

Petrol, end of...............


Besides, Porsche have seen the light and put the die into diesel

[Rab J]

could it be that they've nothing new to sell or order!

It must be a nightmare for these big OPCs that have been built up at considerable cost over the last ten years to sell diesel SUVs by the dozen. With the demise of the Porsche diesel the vast majority of their new customers will be off back to BMW or Audi for their next car. The idea of a 20mpg vehicle is simply a none starter for anyone accustomed to a 30+ mpg.

[Wing Commander]

But the superior retention of value of say a petrol Macan over a diesel Audi or BMW could neutralise the inferior fuel efficiency of the petrol car.

[johnd]

But the superior retention of value of say a petrol Macan over a diesel Audi or BMW could neutralise the inferior fuel efficiency of the petrol car.

But that surely does depend hugely on how much discount you achieve when buying new from BMW etc. Discounts in the 10-20% range, occasionally even more eg for run-out models, are often achievable except maybe on the more specialist or bespoke models.

[gasgas1]

why would you not wont a diesel macan doing 0-60 in a similar time to the petrol with all the handling benefits of a Porsche, but turning out average 43 mpg driving at the speed limit

[Macman]

Porsche is a performance brand and the Diesel engine doesn’t really lend itself to performance driving. Its power and torque delivery can be very high, but they’re not as linear as a petrol engine’s and are delivered in a relatively small rev range. I guess that’s why diesels are rarely seen on race tracks, with the notable exception of Audi at Le Mans. However every type of EV and hybrid is raced these days.
Porsche still aspires to be a sports car brand even though it’s making SUVs, but they are SUVs which handle better than any other, even on a race track where Land Rovers and F Paces are completely out of their depth. Porsche is maybe shifting itself back towards the sports car end of the market by ditching diesels and going for hybrids (like F1) and EVs (like Formula E).
Personally I love the sound of a petrol ICE with a sports exhaust and the Macan S and C63 AMG Merc are the best sounding road cars out there and I’ve got one now before it’s too late!

[goron59]

why would you not wont a diesel macan doing 0-60 in a similar time to the petrol with all the handling benefits of a Porsche, but turning out average 43 mpg driving at the speed limit

The internet and general knowledge is awash with reasons for this, so I'll offer my $0.02.

Diesel engines are low revving and deliver most torque at a very narrow band in those low revs, so therefore have high power output at lower revs, and [especially with turbocharging] means easy power delivery without having to rev out.

Having a high top-end, revving out, increasing power (remember power is effectively a product of torque and revs) as you rev, is exciting; if gives a stronger emotional connection between car and driver.

Diesel has none of this.
And to be fair, heavily turbocharged petrol engines suffer a bit too, but to a lesser extent.

Then you have the general association of diesel with agricultural machinery and heavy good vehicles, which does nothing for the feeling of being in a car of sporty heritage.

And the feeling that "ordinary" people like diesels because uk.gov told them to and enticed them with company car tax benefits... something else that flies in the face of exciting motoring.

And this doesn't even touch on the recent scandals, horrible noise diesels make, having to kill performance with DPFs (that break) and having to add pig piss.

Even if you're fixated on 0-60 as the be-all and end-all of performance, they're still slow.

So to me, at any rate, diesel is good if you need to move a large heavy vehicle, possibly tow something, and don't really care about driving, sporty heritage, or fuel costs/tax are a big part of your life. Fit those criteria? Diesel is awesome.

[Deleted User 1874]

Also there are the cold start, short trip issues with diesel. The sound of a rattly diesel firing up on a cold morning is not exactly inspiring! It was a few years ago now (c. 2014), but last time I test drove a diesel Porsche (Cayenne), the engine was the least exciting part of the package by a country mile. Decided not to buy one on that basis and couldn't face a gas guzzling petrol monster of an SUV either. For us EVs have solved two major issues in one hit and Porsche appear to have taken notice of the potential for EVs and hybrids to effectively replace diesel in their future line-up.