Diesel or Petrol

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dtoro01

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Jun 14, 2017
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BMW 3 series
Hi guys,

For the first time I'm looking to buy a Merc, specifically I am looking for a 2011-2012 E class Estate (W212).
Question is do I go for petrol or diesel (previously I've only owned petrol cars). I've read articles about the topic and so far I know that if you're doing at least 12000 miles per year, mostly motorways, buy a diesel. However I also read that the particulate filter gets into temperature after 30-50 mins. My situation is that I commute to work everyday. Distance to work is 19 miles on the motorway. It takes me about 20-25 minutes everyday, which means that depending on usage, my annual mileage ranges from around 10k to 15k. Is it worth going for a diesel or a petrol is the better solution?

Thanks
 
Based on your description it seems a Diesel car will be appropriate - HOWEVER given that Diesel has uncertain future in the UK I would avoid it.

Or, if you do decide on a Diesel engined car, I would suggest that you only consider Euro 6 engines.
 
I'm going petrol next for both cars. Difference in Fuel consumption costs for us is low so it's not a factor.

Should have done it years ago.


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I'm going petrol next for both cars. Difference in Fuel consumption costs for us is low so it's not a factor.

Should have done it years ago.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Just a quick calculation comparing my previous SQ5 (3.0 diesel) with my current car and doing 12,000 miles per year works out around £600 more in fuel costs per year. Basis of calculation is SQ5 33.6 MPG, current car 26.6 MPG - Average miles per gallon.
 
Do you do any driving into city centres as this is where diesel cars are likely to have restrictions or charges punt on them. If yes, then a Euro 6 (called Bluetec I think?) is the far better option.
 
Do you do any driving into city centres as this is where diesel cars are likely to have restrictions or charges punt on them. If yes, then a Euro 6 (called Bluetec I think?) is the far better option.

Not sure that Euro 6 diesel will be the saviour that diesel is looking for, yes its cleaner etc.. but sooner or later the Government will clamp down on them as well. Only saying.....
 
Iv just bought a late 2011 E350 CDI Sport. I do no more than 7k per annum and don't drive into cities. All the media coverage about diesels hasn't put me off. I love the grunt and excellent mpg. Their is very little choice when it comes to Mercedes petrol engined cars..
 
Petrol or Euro 6 diesel. Too much political pressure on pre Euro 6 diesel. Our other car is a Euro 5 VW Golf TDI. It's already had the post emissions scandal recall work done. Only a matter of time before we'll not be allowed to drive into a city centre with it.
 
212 with a petrol engine that ISN'T an AMG? Dream on...

Hen dentistry springs to mind
 
As long as you give it some beans on a regular basis which you probably do on the motorway already the car should be fine.

As a matter of fact, i only use mine for short school run per day but i take it on the motorway every saturday and i don't hang about, the car seems happy and healthy.

For a big car like that, unless it's a big petrol engine, it will feel quite sluggish on pickup, diesel would be better on that situation.
 
There are petrol examples for sure, but the choice is woeful sadly.

When I was looking at a W218 CLS before I chose my car, I found 49,587,612 diesels and 3 petrols - one being a CLS400.

You can't be fussy.

In fact, I would have bought a CLS63 to get the right spec even though that was not what I wanted.
 
Autotrader at the moment (not the only place to look btw) is showing 160 E-Class Estates for 20011-12:

Petrol = 4 (2 of those are E63s)
Hybrid = 2
Diesel = 154

So if you are even slightly particular about colour and spec, you are going to be very lucky to not end up with a diesel.
 
Just a quick calculation comparing my previous SQ5 (3.0 diesel) with my current car and doing 12,000 miles per year works out around £600 more in fuel costs per year. Basis of calculation is SQ5 33.6 MPG, current car 26.6 MPG - Average miles per gallon.


And on mine the difference between the GTD and R will be about £400 pa. So it's an easy sell.
 
Petrol or Euro 6 diesel. Too much political pressure on pre Euro 6 diesel. Our other car is a Euro 5 VW Golf TDI. It's already had the post emissions scandal recall work done. Only a matter of time before we'll not be allowed to drive into a city centre with it.

Sorry for mini hijack, but any problems since the 'fix', EGR valve-wise?

Asking because OE VW spares, at least for the 1.6, which Mrs Baxlin has, are unobtainable in the U.K., and have been since at least February. Reason? According to the local RAC man and local dealer, it's the sheer number of failures post-'fix'. We've had to fit a pattern part, so hopefully it'll be OK, the fix has not been done, and nor will it, based on general concensus.....

As I said, apologies for hijacking thread.
 
Ours is the 2.0 litre 140PS version which does not require new injectors as part of the 'fix'. The EGR valve assembly got clogged up and was replaced under warranty before the emissions scandal hit the news. We've had no issues following the recall work, though I think it produces slightly less low down torque. I've not seen (or looked for) an official description of what VW do, but suspect they remap the EGR and fuelling maps, possibly tweek the boost map too.
 

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