Comments on: Nissan & Honda Going Diesel

By: S

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:44:00 +0000

I like diesel powered cars and 4wds and i have had 3 diesel 4wds with manual 5 speed gearboxes and they were mitsubishi pajero’s and the diesel motors are great because of the taque of the engine and i found the turbo diesel with a 4 cylinder motor was easer to drive then a v6 petrol manual to drive when i got into a v6 manual 4wd it took me 6 months for me to learn how to drive a v6 petrol manual because of the taque range up in the higher revs range with the diesel it was so easy to drive with a slower revving engine and that was after i got my licence and they are great on engine breaking down hills and mountains without using the breaks and my current 4wd is the turbo diesel toyota prado with a automatic transmission the engine is a 3 litre 4 cylinder engine and the engine breaking is fantasic and i have driven my perrents 5.5 litre v8 mecedes and when going down hills or the mountains and when i go down the gears to hold the car back and it was revving at around 3000rpm to 4500 rpm and i would taque them into same car with a turbo diesel engine and i would like to see honda bring turbo diesel engines in there cars in australia and i would buy a turbo diesel over a hybrid petrol car any day and i have herd that the batterys in a hybrid car is any where up to $7000 i would trade it in before the batterys need to be replaced or i would see if it could be replaced under insurance

By: Neo Utopia

Neo Utopia — Sat, 02 May 2009 10:55:01 +0000

Honda Europe offer a very refinning diesel engine, so why on earth does Honda Australia not offer the same engine for the civic or accord here?

By: nigel ward

nigel ward — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:56:02 +0000

Coming back to Australia in six months ,cannot believe Honda Accord diesel is not available ,looks like much of the same for the Subaru.At 50 plus mpg can Australians afford to be without,especially as performace is comparable if not better than petrol cars.Guess I will have to import or drive to wherever and ship over.

By: Duck

Duck — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:49:56 +0000

I meant Honda and Nissan (because Dualis is Nissan)

By: Duck

Duck — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:49:03 +0000

This has nothing to do with diesel Hondas, but the Dualis’s headlights scare me!

By: Steve V

Steve V — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:16:32 +0000

Sure it may take many thousands of km to recoup your initial outlay for a diesel but on a weekly basis, I can tell you that you really notice the savings and you soon forget the initial outlay.
I’ve owned a Santa Fe diesel now for 9 months, being the first diesel I have ever owned. Trading from an EL falcon, I now only fill up once a fortnight (1000 km) instead of once a week in the falcon and you really notice the extra cash in your pocket. Sport cars, yes stick with high octane petrol but for the family mover, diesel is the answer.

By: Reckless1

Reckless1 — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 07:10:41 +0000

Steve, you may be correct about recouping costs a long way down the road, but if Aussies cared about paying a high price initally to have a higher retained value, they wouldn’t by Toyotas.

The only negative i see with the diesels, is the staggering repair costs if you get a batch of crappy fuel which can (and does) destroy pumps and injectors.

There are, as you say many positives.

Japanese manufacturers have been reluctant to embrace car diesels because they only have old diesel technology availabe (eg Isuzu, one of the very best – but not for car engines) and to get the new technology they have had to get into bed with their competition, the Europeans.

That must be a bitter pill for them to have to swallow, but if they hadn’t future sales in Europe would have been severely affected. Some are still dragging their heels (Toyota) and not offering the full monty of Euro VI technology preferring to offer their customers ageing Euro III and IV stuff instead. I’m not saying it’s bad stuff, but it is nowhere near the best.

Just have a look at the engine in the Touareg V10 which has been around for a long time versus the “new” Toyota V8 diesel in the LC200. The Toyota has nothing like the output of the old VW engine.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 05:54:25 +0000

I love diesel engines due to ther huge torque and low end grunt. But savings don’t really occur until after 7-10 years of ownership. A lot of people don’t keep their cars that long, so the value is thrown out the window. Unless they do a heck of a lot of kilometers.

Sure resale vaule might be okay, but unfortunately Australia is one country where diesel costs more to make than petrol due to the extra refining in order for the fuel to work safely in moderm diesel engines and not pollute the air so much (read, pollute it in a different way).

There was a time when diesel was “dirty”. It was cheap due to lack of refinement. These days it’s the same if not more refined than petrol. Hence the higher asking price for fuel.

I’m still flying the turbo diesel flag though…

Steve

By: Steve V

Steve V — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:46:15 +0000

And before you non believers start whining about the extra initial cost involved when going diesel instead of petrol, look at resale value. Diesel easily recoups those costs at the other end and you’ve saved yourself a stack of dough in the mean time refueling nearly half as often.

By: Steve V

Steve V — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:38:46 +0000

Finally, some Japense manufacturers are recognising the torque and fuel consumption advantages of diesel passenger (and sports??) cars, even over hybrids. And which manufacturer keeps falling behind…wake up to yourself TOYOTA.
The only people that doen’t recognise the advantages of modern diesel engines are those who aren’t driving them.
Lets hope Nissan and Honda have the smarts to bring them to Oz.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:57:23 +0000

Diesel and VTEC, VTAC yo????!?