My local dealer is soon to run a 24hr test drive event ...
My Coupe is not going anywhere but I am considering a change to my daily driver which is 350CDi estate and it would seem rude not to take advantage of the dealers offer ....
With the E-Pace (baby SUV) still some way off, the obvious car to borrow is the F-Pace ... but which one, and with the rumours about diesel taxation, should I look to go back to petrol?
I know theres a few owners here already so maybe some real life experiences and thoughts on spec ...
Thanx, Paul
Storm Grey V6 coupe, fun, fast, popping and crackling with smiles all the way ... missed more than I expected!
1998 NSX 3.2 Targa manual
C43 AMG estate, lots of toys, like the F-Type but with 4 seats and far more stealthy but still with pops and crackles!
Personally I wouldn't touch diesel as by 2025 there is a move to ban them in Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens. There is also talk about banning them in London by 2025 due to pollution. If that is the case the residuals would be terrible. Steve.
V6S coupe, Italian Racing Red with Ivory interior.
Why? Not everyone needs access to London, Madrid and access restrictions to a few major cities isn't going to see the bottom drop out of values to a huge extent. What about all the delivery vans and lorries that keep these cities ticking?
This anti-diesel sentiment is bullsh*t. Just another Govt excuse to keep the motor industry going. I get older diesel pre-dpf but modern diesels are no problem.
As Clarkson said in GT this week, the U.K. produces just 5% excess electricity currently so we can't all go out and rush to buy electric vehicles. It would crash the already fragile system.
I drive a 1.5 litre diesel and get 75mpgs. There's no way If be keen to swap for a petrol for my daily commute as it would cost me at least 50% more.
Buying a brand new diesel now represents no issues at all and will cost a higher mileage user a lot less in the long run.
V6S ragtop, Salsa Red, 20" Cyclones, extended black leather performance interior with red stitching and the finest exhaust note in motoring history.
There was a program on telly (BBC4 I think) about the diesel engine last week, which put the whole thing into perspective. i.e. all delivery, construction and agricultural vehicles are diesel because they are so efficient, which isn't going to change. The best bit was the giant container ship powered by a 90 litre diesel with 30,000hp, making it cheaper to transport an item from the opposite side of the world than it costs to move something a few miles locally.
If you live in a city and use a car mostly for short journeys, then I can see an electric car charged ovenight makes sense. But as shown in last nights episode of the Grand Tour, even a hybrid is too much of a compromise as the public charging infrastucture seems pretty hopeless at the moment. Give it another 5 years or more and things might be different.
My next door neighbour has an XF with the same 3.0 diesel as the F pace, it's amazingly refined and just purrs very quietly at low revs . Friend at work has a 2.0 diesel F-Pace and has put 6,000 miles on the clock, he's very happy with it.
2019 SVR Coupe, Velocity Blue
Previous 2015 V6 340 Coupe IRR
There is a slow move by the government to de-incentivise diesel cars. It's not the fuel economy that is the issue; more the nitrogen dioxide and particulate emissions - and the public health link of these to early deaths is pretty well established.
And it's not just London; Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield are making noises to limit either motorway speeds on certain stretches or diesel vehicles into city centre so I respectfully disagree with Moz because modern diesel engines still release particulates and dioxides so it's a public health issue and therefore it is the government's business.
A close friend is a consultant in public health medicine and I trust his perspective - but hybrids are pricey and as Mick said the electric infrastructure and range isn't there yet.
What about petrol engine emissions? Take all diesels out of the equation and the increase in petrol emissions (a huge increase if all diesels became petrol overnight) would surely produce similar problems.
The suggestion was diesels would become worthless. I don't agree.
V6S ragtop, Salsa Red, 20" Cyclones, extended black leather performance interior with red stitching and the finest exhaust note in motoring history.
I have to admit that I a view that's similar to MOz. Science tests might be able to prove folk like us wrong, but when i'm out and about on my motorbike in heavy traffic, I have a very distinct view on what chokes me and that's buses, lorries, old transits and taxis and the like. 'Sort them out first', is my view on the subject....Also make the MOT as stringent as possible for the ordinary diesel cars to make them as clean as possible.
Call me an old cynic but if you need to buy more gallons of petrol P.A. to run an equivalent petrol car compared to a diesel one, then it seems pretty logical to me that the government would raise more tax that way.
...rant over....sorry...do carry on..
2014 V6s convertible Rhodium Silver with Propeller alloys & black interior.
Ditto, I wouldnt touch a diesel, the tide is definitely turning against them and i'm very glad of it, i lived partly in new york last year and was amazed how much cleaner the air was despite the even denser traffic.
