Best diesel engines? Best cars you find them in?

cantdecide

I don't like diesel cars - mainly because I've never been able to spend enough money on a good example of a good diesel car. Modern diesels scare me with long lists of expensive repairs- that's been my impression of them for the last 10+ years.

I have it in mind to change my car this year and I want to upgrade to an estate car - this is my favourite body style. But it has begun to dawn on me that between CO2 rules and the new insurance practices, there is going to be a huge shortage of decent 10ish year old larger petrol cars.

So I may have to get a modern, highly-strung diesel. I regard this as being fraught with danger From what I can see, there are lots of disastrous diesel engines (and gearboxes) out there. When there are so many cars using so many other manufacturers engines (it seems often in a variety of different variations of the same model), it's hard to figure out which makes and models are good and bad.

TL;DR - Which diesel engines are better than others and which are the best makes and models to find them in if you're a reluctant diesel owner?

porsche boy

The majority of issues with modern diesels are down to the cars being used continiously for short journeys and maintenance being put on the 'long finger'.

naughtysmurf

We've a diesel nearly 7 years & other than fuel & normal servicing costs, have spent €0.00

SBPhoto

I have been driving diesels engined cars for the last 10years and never had a problem outside of normal servicing. A lot of the issues are the way they are driven and maintained as porsche Boy said, This notion that diesel engines are troublesome are over exaggerated

Rattlehead_ie

As long as Diesels are serviced regularly as expected and as one poster already mentioned they aren't used for small short inner city/town runs diesels are solid.

I will never say a bad word about the Fords Duratorq diesels....touch wood. I have had company cars that had the sh1t driven out of them and have since stuck with the ones in my personal Focus, including the ST I have now. Not once have I had issues.

cantdecide

I look on sites like honest john and it seems that no matter what model you look at, the bad eggs are the diesels. I was with a friend of mine this evening who runs a car parts shop and he was agreeing with me 100% and said what I have said many times before - 'I wouldn't have a [older] modern diesel out of warranty'. I was talking with my uncle who is a lifelong mechanic and said the same thing too.

If I were in a position to buy a fresh car and mind it properly, I'd be happy but I speak from the point of view of someone buying a 10ish yo diesel. I have no proof of whether a car was poorly maintained (without good history) or if it had many short journeys.

sparksfly

Had 3 Octavias since 2008, all with 300,000+ KM when I traded them in after reasonably hard mixed driving. Absolutely zero repairs on all 3. Just routine servicing.
Now have a Seat Leon TDI. Much the same power unit. So far so good at 100,000KM. I would not touch petrol again.

ba_barabus

There are petrol estates available but it depends wgat you want and how much you are willing to spend.

I'll suggest the Toyota Auris Tourer Hybrid for now until we know more.

NIMAN

cantdecide wrote: »

Modern diesels scare me with long lists of expensive repairs- that's been my impression of them for the last 10+ years.

I think to be honest that the failings of modern diesels is not as prevalent as you might think.

Yes driving them loads of short journeys around town is bad for them, but the majority of people I know drive diesels and mostly around towns, and few have had major issues.

Yes some have had, and when things go wrong it tends to be a lot more expensive to repair than a petrol, but majority seem to have mostly trouble free motoring.

audiavantawx

AWX/AVF/AVB Vag PD Units
Really reliable block
Need to have correct services done and correct oil
Loads still in service with high milage
My own has 348,000 Awx
My last 290,000 Avb
Decent power/really good on fuel

byrnem31

I had a 2003 passat tdi. Everyone went on about how reliable they are. I regularly maintained my and mostly motorway mileage.

It was a money pit. Loads of issues with losing power, maf sensors etc. The electrics were rubbish too and door locks became seized. Window regulators often broke.

I know someone who has a 2007 one and they never had any issue with it, 300k miles on the clock.

Buying a diesel is a lottery though. Get a bad one and you'll know all about it. I went back to a jap petrol and although I use more fuel, it's well worth the peace of mind.

The amount of people I have met who have had problems with diesels would put me off going back to them. The mechanic I got to fix my passat advised me to stay away from modern diesels as they can be very troublesome.

audiavantawx

byrnem31 wrote: »

I had a 2003 passat tdi. Everyone went on about how reliable they are. I regularly maintained my and mostly motorway mileage.

It was a money pit. Loads of issues with losing power, maf sensors etc. The electrics were rubbish too and door locks became seized. Window regulators often broke.

I know someone who has a 2007 one and they never had any issue with it, 300k miles on the clock.

Buying a diesel is a lottery though. Get a bad one and you'll know all about it. I went back to a jap petrol and although I use more fuel, it's well worth the peace of mind.

The amount of people I have met who have had problems with diesels would put me off going back to them. The mechanic I got to fix my passat advised me to stay away from modern diesels as they can be very troublesome.

Yes i have heard that,sticky vanes on turbo,blocked egr,maf sensors,using the internet is a great way to figure out problems and save money,mechanics will just extract money from your pockets if you dont have any mechanical knowledge

Both the cars i have had never gave any issues other than services and timing belts

They have their flaws,water ingress through the pollen filter,blocked drain holes in the battery tray,the ccm sits in the floor on the passenger side which is were alot of the electrical issues come from.

The rest of the car will fall apart before the engine ever gives up

When i purchased my cars they both had full service historys from new so i knew that at least they had been looked after to a certain degree

thierry14

audiavantawx wrote: »

AWX/AVF/AVB Vag PD Units
Really reliable block
Need to have correct services done and correct oil
Loads still in service with high milage
My own has 348,000 Awx
My last 290,000 Avb
Decent power/really good on fuel

Maybe the block

But turbo/intercooler/dmf and many many other things can give issues

Doesn't happen with most N/A petrols

1.9tdi 130 is a good engine but needs tlc ( have one with over 350km on it)

Had a Honda petrol before it and it didn't need that tlc, it was so strong I'd say I wasting my time servicing it, just oil topped up would do it, amazing engine

Electric motors will be the same, no tlc needed, cant wait

audiavantawx

Yes I know what u are saying,them parts give trouble on most cars,it's all down to the driver too,most people don't know how to drive a diesel,they like hard driving.

hence I said the word block.Once correct oil is used they should keep on going

Honda petrols are reliable I know that but you can't go 1300 kms on a tank of juice

Their ideal for short trips,had a petrol Nissan before.1.4 almera.great engine but I spent more time in the garage getting it filled with juice

I guess it's just the car you need for your own lifestyle
I drive high miles,petrol is no good to me

selectamatic

2009 - 2010 e60 bmw 525d touring

Very good and strong m57 6 cylinder diesel. No timing chain issues and very responsive to mods.

Can be got with good strong auto boxes or manuals.

Captain Slow IRL

Another vote for a BMW engine - M47 2.0 litre is a workhorse that'll give minimal trouble and troublesome swirl flaps are easily removed.

selectamatic

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

Another vote for a BMW engine - M47 2.0 litre is a workhorse that'll give minimal trouble and troublesome swirl flaps are easily removed.

Have an m47 here with 175k miles on the clock that has never seen anything other than oil and a filter. Original everything else except for changing the turbo filter to a vortex style one and the swirl flaps great engine.

The op won't get one up in the years though the last of them was 06 the successor the n47 is best avoided.

micks_address

Honda 1.6 diesel. Peach of an engine. 120 bhp and near on 70mpg..

Agricola

e46 320d here. Engine got an annual service at main dealer since it was new. When I bought it, I got rid of the swirl flaps and apart from that outlay, haven't had a single issue in 2 years of ownership. Very solid engine if maintained.

ofcork

2L avensis diesel have it 3 years no bother only for being a bit agricultural.

chicorytip

ofcork wrote:

2L avensis diesel have it 3 years no bother only for being a bit agricultural.

Toyota can lay claim to making the most reliable diesel engines - 2.0 Avensis and 1.4 Auris / Corolla.

Leonard Hofstadter

chicorytip wrote: »

Toyota can lay claim to making the most reliable diesel engines - 2.0 Avensis and 1.4 Auris / Corolla.

I can second that - my Dad's 2010 Mk3 2.0 D-4D Avensis is on 196,000 miles and it's still on the original clutch, gearbox, turbo and best of all, DMF and DPF.

It does get driven in town during the week but most weekends it does 100+ mile drives on motorways and out the country - so it's all about how they're driven, but Toyota diesels are definitely less prone to DMF and DPF problems than other diesels.

ofcork

That's good to know I have 139k on my 12 so good for a while yet��

Fann Linn

Any recommendations for a diesel variant for the Mondeo range 2009/2013.

orm0nd

captainspeed wrote: »

I can second that - my Dad's 2010 Mk3 2.0 D-4D Avensis is on 196,000 miles and it's still on the original clutch, gearbox, turbo and best of all, DMF and DPF.

It does get driven in town during the week but most weekends it does 100+ mile drives on motorways and out the country - so it's all about how they're driven, but Toyota diesels are definitely less prone to DMF and DPF problems than other diesels.[/quote

cantdecide

What about the French marques? Are they as robust as the others?

_Brian

I would generally say Diesels are grand. But I’m hitting a hard spot t the moment and problems are expensive.

Last year 2009 Tiguan, 180k and dpf/egr problems hit.

2010 Mondeo has just had dpf issues and expect it to cost €600

Both doing 35k plus km a year with long “brisk” motorway drives few times a week. Both cars maintained to high standards.

In fairness in three years it’s the only problem the Mondeo has had, but the Tiguan has been a bit disappointing in its maintenance costs.

Reventon93

I'm gonna put in a shout in for my Fiat multijet engine in my 9-3. Rocksolid, and any mechanic i know praises them.I've spent nothing on repairs and only money on general maintenance

JJJJNR

Golf mk5 2.0 tdi
Engine code bkd

Can do huge mileage with just servicing, (engine is in a3, octavia, and seat Leon.) non dpf also very good engine.

cantdecide

Reventon93 wrote: »

I'm gonna put in a shout in for my Fiat multijet engine in my 9-3. Rocksolid, and any mechanic i know praises them.I've spent nothing on repairs and only money on general maintenance

Actually, my dad has a 2008 1.3 multijet Doblo from new and it has something like 300k km. It's needed a clutch and injector seals and that's it. I love Italian cars. I currently have a petrol '08 Bravo.