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Model specific boards => Golf mk5 => Topic started by: Mr Savage on 15 March 2012, 23:41

Title: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: Mr Savage on 15 March 2012, 23:41
Diesel vs Petrol always argued about between people on a daily basis i'm sure. So I decided (for some unknown reason) to work out how much extra the faster petrol actually sets you back compared to the diesel.

Comparison is a VW Golf GT 170 TDi vs VW Golf GTI Edition 30 (Mark 5) not a standard GTI as the running costs are apparantly pretty much the same?

VW Golf GT 170 TDi vs VW Golf GTI Edition 30

Fuel Cost

All Fuel are averages I see at the petrol stations I go to and drive past at the moment.

VW Golf GT 170 TDi

Diesel £1.43 - 45MPG (On Average Combined - According to fact sheets)

15,000 miles = £2168.44

VW Golf GTI Edition 30

Petrol £1.34 - 35MPG (On Average Combined according to fact sheets (correct me if wrong you Edition 30 owners)

15,000 miles = £2612.65

Fuel = +£444 for the GTI Edition 30 over the Diesel.

Road Tax

VW Golf GT 170 TDi = £190 (12 Months)

VW Golf GTI Edition 30 = £245 (12 Months)

Road Tax = +£55 for the GTI Edition 30.

Nothing more to be said here. Moving on!

Insurance 

VW Golf GT 170 TDi = £1461 (12 Months)

VW Golf GTI Edition 30 = £1824 (12 Months)

I could only work this out based on my insurance quotes, this is fully comprehensive and the cheapest quote I could get for either car, what can I say i'm under 25 :(

Insurance = +£363 for the GTI Edition 30.

Summary

Fuel = £444 Extra (Based on 15,000 miles)

Road Tax = £55 Extra

Insurance = £363 Extra

Total = £862+

So £862 more every year to run a Golf GTI Edition 30 over a Golf 170 TDI, isit worth it? People are welcome to bring up other factors! I'm guessing servicing ect should be around the same for both cars and when buying used the initial cost should also be very close.

Hope that's all useful for someone! :laugh:

Using the same calculations the GTI Edition 30 costs £1332 more to run than the Golf GT 140 TDi. Just incase you were interested! Feel free to argue any of the content!
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: Gene Hunt. on 16 March 2012, 08:42
I've got an 08 ED 30 & ''yes'' can be expensive to run but my milage is low so don't really worry about the cost etc. One thing tho is i would never change to diesel,never owned one in 20 odd years of driving & never will. :smiley:
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: ron bagley on 16 March 2012, 09:52
Great bit of work Mr S. Fascinating reading but I'm with Gene, wouldn't swap my ED 30 for diesel no matter what the cost!
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: Mr Savage on 16 March 2012, 10:44
I'm glad it proved interesting! Haha  :laugh: Definitely, can't blame you! If anything the increase in performance is worth it! I'll be using this to justify an upgrade in the future atleast :D
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: crimsonfin on 16 March 2012, 11:54
(from experience) for petrol i would knock about 10-15% off your mpg estimates.
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: dubber36 on 16 March 2012, 13:40
I have to say I also think your 35mpg figure for the ED30 is a bit optimistic. 28-30mpg would be nearer the mark.

Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: Gene Hunt. on 16 March 2012, 15:28
Quote from: dubber36 on 16 March 2012, 13:40
I have to say I also think your 35mpg figure for the ED30 is a bit optimistic. 28-30mpg would be nearer the mark.


...........about what i get from mine. Best ever was a 25 mile drive in constant traffic around 50 odd mph & trip computer was showing average of 34.6. Very boring drive tho :grin:
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: MK4_20VT on 16 March 2012, 16:27
My GT 170 diesel road tax is £165.00

why not look for a TDI 140, seems to be alot more around & I bet your insurance quote will be alot less.

When I went to insure my GT 170 the people on the phone would say to me  "thats the fast diesel golf" resulting in my costs going up £200 from my old MK4 GT130 to £500.  Alot of insurance places seem to be wise to the 170bhp diesels

Jay
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: bacillus on 16 March 2012, 23:54
From your pricing it appears that you want to use regular unleaded for the ed30. IMO you need to run it on 98/99 RON petrol and that's more expensive.
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: Mr Savage on 17 March 2012, 21:44
Quote from: MK4_20VT on 16 March 2012, 16:27
My GT 170 diesel road tax is £165.00

why not look for a TDI 140, seems to be alot more around & I bet your insurance quote will be alot less.

When I went to insure my GT 170 the people on the phone would say to me  "thats the fast diesel golf" resulting in my costs going up £200 from my old MK4 GT130 to £500.  Alot of insurance places seem to be wise to the 170bhp diesels

Jay

I just went off the statistics sheet online. Not sure why you pay less. Maybe the year? Yeah I already drive a 140 TDI I was just curious as to how much i'm saving :D Also went for it because 170 has a lot of extra expenses!


Quote from: bacillus on 16 March 2012, 23:54
From your pricing it appears that you want to use regular unleaded for the ed30. IMO you need to run it on 98/99 RON petrol and that's more expensive.

That's a very valid point! But i'm guessing people might also want to run their TDI 170's on premium diesel too. I thought the MPG on the stats sheet seemed somewhat optimistic as it matched the GTI and seemed high for the power return. I just assumed it was more or less correct as I get the stated MPG for my 140 TDI in the real world.



Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: AlanD on 20 March 2012, 11:04
Worth every penny ;)
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: PenguinGTI on 20 March 2012, 11:54
Quote from: Mr Savage on 17 March 2012, 21:44
Quote from: MK4_20VT on 16 March 2012, 16:27
My GT 170 diesel road tax is £165.00

why not look for a TDI 140, seems to be alot more around & I bet your insurance quote will be alot less.

When I went to insure my GT 170 the people on the phone would say to me  "thats the fast diesel golf" resulting in my costs going up £200 from my old MK4 GT130 to £500.  Alot of insurance places seem to be wise to the 170bhp diesels

Jay

I just went off the statistics sheet online. Not sure why you pay less. Maybe the year? Yeah I already drive a 140 TDI I was just curious as to how much i'm saving :D Also went for it because 170 has a lot of extra expenses!


Quote from: bacillus on 16 March 2012, 23:54
From your pricing it appears that you want to use regular unleaded for the ed30. IMO you need to run it on 98/99 RON petrol and that's more expensive.

That's a very valid point! But i'm guessing people might also want to run their TDI 170's on premium diesel too. I thought the MPG on the stats sheet seemed somewhat optimistic as it matched the GTI and seemed high for the power return. I just assumed it was more or less correct as I get the stated MPG for my 140 TDI in the real world.


The 170 is the closest diesel to the petrol GTI. If he was to go for the 140 diesel then the comparison would be the 160 TSI lump.

Also, going by the stats is actually very fair, because even diesel's don't always get what the manufacturer's claim. Case in point the new MINI Countryman's are quoted at around 60mpg on the motorway, yet people have been struggling to better 50mpg. Of course how you drive it is going to affect the fuel consumption, but the statistics do serve as fair indicators of the two models' economy.

And regarding the quality of fuel, I run my GTI on Sainsbury's Super Unleaded, which is cheaper than the local Shell garage's standard unleaded. And don't forget that some folks run their diesel's on the higher octane dark pump too, and that's even more expensive.

All in all it's a relatively fair comparison that's been made.

But £800 a year isn't enough to get me out of a petrol GTI.
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: Mr Savage on 20 March 2012, 23:18
That's actually very true yes. The combined MPG of the 140 TDI is meant to be 51MPG and 60 for motorway but to be honest the best ive ever seen with pretty much pure motorway was 52MPG driving quite reasonably.

Don't get me wrong i'm not trying to say Diesel is superior to Petrol. I think that extra bit of cash gives you a lot in terms of performance and enjoyment. I don't think £800 roughly a year is that bad of a gap between the two!

Most importantly though, whatever you're driving, happy motoring! :)
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: Panthera on 22 March 2012, 19:36
Thats a very good comparison Mr S. 

Also bear in mind that his insurance quotes are for a under 25 year old. Also he may live a 'bad postcode area', have a point or two on his license, thus his quote will be higher than say someone who is older, say nearer 30-35, live in a 'nice postcode area' and have a clean long held license.   I am not for one minute saying that Mr S is in the aforementioned, but worth bearing in mind.
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: AlanD on 23 March 2012, 10:46
Oh yeah, totally ignore the insurance costs as they are so specific to an individual its pointless trying to compare.
Title: Re: Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?
Post by: Mr Savage on 23 March 2012, 21:55
Quote from: Panthera on 22 March 2012, 19:36
Thats a very good comparison Mr S. 

Also bear in mind that his insurance quotes are for a under 25 year old. Also he may live a 'bad postcode area', have a point or two on his license, thus his quote will be higher than say someone who is older, say nearer 30-35, live in a 'nice postcode area' and have a clean long held license.   I am not for one minute saying that Mr S is in the aforementioned, but worth bearing in mind.

Thank you very much! :) Haha :D I know what you mean yes but just to clarify! I have a clean license with no points, my postcode area isn't the best and I think it's mostly my age that drags it up. Sadly :cry:

Quote from: AlanD on 23 March 2012, 10:46
Oh yeah, totally ignore the insurance costs as they are so specific to an individual its pointless trying to compare.

Yeah it does vary greatly, and the only thing that will be roughly the same for all of us is the fuel and road tax, just thought i'd include it to get a rough idea of the increased cost (percentage wise) even or just as a general estimate. For the savings the diesel user has to put up with a noisy engine that some really dislike and a slightly slower 0-60. I think both are fantastic cars.