There are some seriously quick diesels out there at the moment. Which diesel engined car do you reckon is the most powerful / best value? If you had to buy a diesel for a commuting job that racks up 30,000 miles per year which one would you go for?
Max power: 150bhp @ 4000rpm
Max torque: 235lb ft @ 1900rpm
0 - 60mph: 8.6sec (claimed) Nearer to 7.8 in real life (VW don't want us to know how quick these things are.
Top Speed: 134mph (claimed)
40mpg with the foot flat to the floor all the time or 65mpg cruisin.
£300 remap and you shave 2 secs or so off the 0-60 and increase power to 190bhp! Not bad at all and the economy stays pretty much the same.
I have a Pug 406 2.2 HDi which dishes out 192bhp and 329 lbft torque with a bit of sympathetic ECU tuning. These are big numbers, especially the torque which is delivered in a steady stream from 1800rpm to nearly 4000 rpm. No other Modifications at all, just suggest you get used to shelling out for front tyres, discs and pads.
Needless to say, it goes like a bloody missile - mid range grunt ain't far short of a Boxster!
Thankfully only 2 kids - but the junk they cart around makes up for the other two, and the shopping!! I've learnt to make use a large chest freezer and buy whole beasts (cut and prepped, of course) from a couple of local farms. But I can get 'em home very very quickly
i know a guy thats a lexus salesman, had a go in a diesel gs model, cant remember any specifics but i couldnt knock it, pretty nice. i also had a go of ma uncles ford mondeo (2004) that got a 2litre turbo, really surprised wouldnt mind one at all. sure some of the big audi diesel models would be pretty good
Waynne, I'll happily promote a diesel tuning section. It's likely to take a bit of time to take off as diesel is a word that doesn't enter the heads of performance enthusiasts too often. It's a close call now as to whether you save much money with a diesel car but the tuning opportunities are superb.
My 2002 Pug 406 (2.2 HDi) dishes out 192bhp and 329 lbft torque after a sympathetic ECU remap with no other Modifications. That's more torque than a Jag XK8 can manage.
It truly flies, 50-70 takes about 3 seconds and the acceleration available in fifth gear at 100mph is sensational. 0-60, don't care much, but a half a dozen back-to-back runs with a calibrated speedo suggests about 7 to 7.5 seconds. That's with a full tank and a passenger using the timing equipment. That isn't going much lower without the extra load weight as the biggest issue is wheelspin - it can scrabble for grip in third in the wet
I can't find a petrol car under about 3.5 litres that has anywhere near that kind of shove. And I still get around 40mpg in mixed motoring.
A mate of mine let me drive his chipped golf and it was really powerful it just pulled so well from a standing start and I didnt really feel like I was driving a Diesel
well my astra 1.7tdi gets me to 70 pretty sharpish and is very economical around 45mpg plus on run i got to borth and back to birmingham for a £10 plus ive got the low tax as well.
Last edited by maddaveuk1 : 20-04-2008 at 08:03 PM.
Reason: missed a letter off
Lets hear it for Diesels. 
stream from 1800rpm to nearly 4000 rpm. No other Modifications at all, just suggest you get used to shelling out for front tyres, discs and pads.
Linear Mode
