Diesel or Petrol

[Brett_Sinclair]

Hi all

This is only my 2nd post so sorry if this is a stupid question but I would greatly appreciate your opinion. I am looking at buying a bongo and I wanted to go for the most economical engine, at first I assumed that the diesel would be the most economical but when I was reading the buying guide on here I saw:

Fuel consumption
A 2.5 diesel will do about 24 mpg around town and 32 mpg at a steady 65 mph. A 2.5 V6 petrol will do about 18mpg/30 mpg. A 2 litre petrol about 26mpg/35 mpg.

So it looks like the 2.0 litre petrol is more economical? (especially considering that petrol is usually cheaper than diesel?)

Does anyone know or have any experience/opinion of which is the most economical?

Thanks very much everyone

[g8dhe]

The figures vary a LOT, some reported figures are possibly suspect, you will find it will vary a lot depending on the type of driving and current state of the engine itself.
Without question 2l is the most economical, but if your happy with its performance then fine.
The V6 is probably the least economical but can do very well if maintained and has the best speed performance.
The diesel is not a lot different but fuel costs are higher.

[Brett_Sinclair]

That's great, thanks g8dhe

[haydn callow]

Best of all for economy would be 2.5 V6 petrol with a gas conversion…..I’ve had 2 of them and a 2.5 diesel ….however you have to consider the cost of the lpg conversion……..the v6 is fast powerful smooth and quiet. The diesel is very powerful but older and noisy not so smooth.
IMHO the 2 litre is underpowered.

[Bob]

As said, all depends on your use.

LPG Will be cheaper per mile, but do you do enough distance to recoup the capital cost? And it seems to be more difficult to find.

If 25/30 mpg is too low maybe a Bongo isn't the best vehicle.

Personally I focus on my annual fuel burn and save by walking/cycling/bus for local journeys, but 'horses for courses'.

[Brett_Sinclair]

Thanks, that is another good option, I will check to see how easy it is to find lpg in my area.

[BongoBongo123]

I have a diesel and am fairly happy with the fuel economy, for what it is (2.5D in a 2.2tonne brick shaped vehicle) very happy. It is better on long runs and around town than a 2.0l petrol car we used to own. I like my diesel additives currently using Archoil Advanced diesel synthesis. I get about 38-40mpg on a long consistent run at 50-55mph. I replace the consumables (oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter regularly) and keep the tyres pumped up, don't go heavy on acceleration and drive it like the vehicle it is, a cruiser. I see zero smoke when running even with a bit of welly on acceleration (a friend was behind me) it is by far less smoky than some diesels of just 10 years age, you see them all the time smoking like hell on acceleration, badly maintained and done galactic miles.

Others have also reported such mileage on long runs but many only seem to get 30-32mpg on a run. Around town expect much less 20-25mpg would be likely.

And as far as green credentials my view is that it is no where near as bad as made out to carefully drive a well maintained diesel that produces less C02 than a petrol and being so old keeping it running is avoiding a new C02 footprint from an electric/hybrid car. It's 26 years old, some buy a new car every 5 years, so you can say that has saved 5-6 carbon footprints of new vehicles. Extraction of Lithium and Cobalt for electric car batteries is not green in any way shape or form, it often destroys the water table in the places where the mines are.

Diesels do have some cooling problems associated with them that should not be ignored. Unless you replace every pipe on the van that will lurk in the back of your mind and whether it is 1-2-3-4-5 years later will do you over... I would go as far to say it is amost guaranteed there will be a cooling problem. Yes that can happen with any vehicle but not many vehicles leave you with a massive cylinder head (or worse if not vigilent) bill.

Imagine how much a electric camper will cost (and it is not even "green").. no change from £65,000.00 is a guess.. given a petrol diesel new can be £45,000.00 now.

[Brett_Sinclair]

That's interesting, thank you. I have read a lot on overheating on here, I didn't realise that it was more common in the diesel. Is it coolant leaking from perished hoses that is the common cause then?

[haydn callow]

Yes, old rubber/metal coolant pipes……if you fit a low coolant alarm it will almost certainly warn you before the Bongo boils over and probably cracks the cylinder head…our alarm was developed with the help of this forum…..many thousands fitted and many reports of overheating prevented.

[Brett_Sinclair]

Ok, that's good to know thanks

[Alkers]

That's interesting, thank you. I have read a lot on overheating on here, I didn't realise that it was more common in the diesel. Is it coolant leaking from perished hoses that is the common cause then?

It's not more common in the diesel, just the consequences of overheating are often more severe for the diesel than for the petrols.

[Bob]

Spot on.

These are olds vehicles and the rad/hoses/pump can dump coolant, although many behave for years.

With one of Haydn's alarms the key is stop and get it sorted, including a proper bleed. (Note the 2 ltr petrol doesn't require this.)

We've heard many a tale on here starting something like, “I knew there was a leak, but was only 5 miles from home…”, or, “The alarm sounded but I had to do the school run…”.

It's also vital to use a garage that understand the bleed method, far too many a tale along the lines of, “I've been working on cars for 27 years, no need to tell me my job…”.

Once you're aware you can enjoy many happy years of Bongoing.

[Brett_Sinclair]

Aha, got it, useful stuff, thanks all ...