Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

Anyone got any suggestions, as to what Diesel car, is big enough to rival the Commodore/falcon "norm" for the Aussie market. I dont mean 4WD either, as mostly they seem to have a bad ride, having such a high centre of gravity, especially for rear passengers. Is LPG really a viable option, seeing as the high cylinder running temp causes premature engine wear ?

Best I can come up with personally is a Peugeout 406 Station wagon.

I've got to say, not being an avid car buff, The economy of the diesel cars in the UK Astounded me, Bit of a revalation it was.

The Vauhall astra diesel that I hired, was just about as cheap to run in the UK, as my 6 cyl 99 falcon here, despite the fact that fuel is about 50 pct cheaper here. Yes I know the Astra diesel, is a much smaller car, Even with 'orrible traffic jams it was incredibly cheap to run

So anyone know of a Diesel sedan or station wagon that suits the aussie market, IE: plenty of room for 5, and fill the back with plenty of gear for say a camping weekend. Or would one have to resort to a trailer ?

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

A few points..

I drive a diesel 4wd (i know you dont want 4wd), and for 4wd i think diesel is definatly the only way to go. Im not quite so sure with cars however.

Firstly, diesel is about 15 - 20c more expensive than petrol, and that would negate any savings you make on kms.

Secondly, in a car you don't need the torque as you do in a 4wd.

LPG is definatly good, and cheaper to run, but has a few downsides. Firstly as you metion it does wear the seals more than normal petrol, but unless you intend to keep the car for much more than 100k kms, then i would'nt think its somthing to worry about. The biggest problem, unless you buy a car with dedicated space for it, is where you but the cylender.

I would say you are better off buying a petrol 4 cyl, instead of the big 6 you have now. Even a newer 6 would be more economical than the 99 version you have at the moment.

Have a look at the 4cyl subarus. Excellent cars (and no, i don't mean the sporty wrx).

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

The 4x4 Subaru sedan would be my first choice of car if it was for me.

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Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

Apparently, someone drove a 406 peugoet hdi turbo, from Rockhampton to Melbourne on one tank of fuel, = 67 litres, which is 1440 k's or something. Even at 15 pct more expensive on the comparsions between Diesel and Petrol that result seems to have some merit.

I'm just wondering if that relates to everyday driving though.


I'm going to check some diesels very throughly, over the next few weeks.

I could well just end up with a 4 Cylinder petrol though I guess.

Thanks for your responses guys.

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

Blimey that is pretty good. Thats 21ks per litre.

To give you an idea what we get...

My 4.2L patrol does about 900ks on 105L of diesel = 8ks per litre.
My wifes 1.8LToyota Corolla does about 600ks on 35L of petrol = 17ks per litre.

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

My 2.5TurboDiesel does at least 700k on 70l of disel = 10ks per litre

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Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

There is a big difference in the consumption of my Falcon, when it comes to around town, which I do mostly, v a trip up the bush. Around Town, I'm Lucky if i get 400 ks out of a tank, of about 70 litres, Whereas I beleive I could go close to 700 ks per tank on country driving. I used just over 2 tanks on My trip up the Gold coast last year.

Wouldn't it be great to do that trip on one tank of Diesel ;)


Rite wheres that Peugeout dealer, lol.

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

There is a lot of LPG at fuel stations (must be the legacy of having alternate fuel - ie barbecue gas canisters ;-) ).

Toyota do an alternate fuel - the prius ? something like that and there is a huge waiting list (well 4mths) for it because its soo cool .

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

The Vauxhall Astra 1.7 CDTi ECO Diesel model is rated at 64.2mpg or 4.4L/100km Not bad :)

You can get fuel consumption figures for all cars from www.greenhouse.gov.au/fuelguide/

Not many diesel options about, but for the same size petrol engined cars you can get quite a few rated at about 6L/100km

The 1997 Holden TR Astra 1.8 GL Auto. Hatch 4dr for example at 5.6L/100km
or
The 1996 Volkswagen Golf 1.9 Diesel Man Sedan 4dr came out at 4km/100L

The Best rated Ford Falcon was the:
1998 Ford AU Falcon Forte Auto.(F) Sedan 4dr at 6.8L/100Km
the worst
1987 Ford XF Falcon EFI Auto. Wagon 4dr at 10.5km/100L
Rated at the Highway Driving consumption.

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

The Volkswagen Audi SEAT? 1.9l diesel as used at that time was one of the best diesel units ever built.

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Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

That Diesel astra amazed me at first, 'specially when I first drove from MK to Prestatyn, The gauge only moved about 1/4, considering I was doing close to 90mph on the Midland express way, plus I managed to get stuck in M6 Jams. Well Lets just say it opened my eyes somewhat.

In fact my father said at the time, It's probably got a faulty gauge, LOL.

(no speeding tickets so far, fingers crossed)

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

Some cars have gauges that drop fast in the first 10 mins etc then take all year to actually show empty, don't they - shape of the tank?! yadda yadda .

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Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

I have read good reports on the X-Trail Diesel and are considering this as an option. Do you know if the diesel version is available in Aus as i couldn't find it on website.

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

I run ann X-Trail diesel in the UK at the moment and we are looking at getting the same when we arrive in OZ, no complaints at all.

Re: Diesel cars that suit Aussie.
 

Have a look at http://www.discountnewcars.com.au/Nissan/