Gas prices vs. diesel prices

[phreaqe]

yes i can when driving on the highway. the issue i have it i always hear people claim they get these unbelievably high mileages on VW TDI's, but then i cant find any source that backups up these high claims. Fuelly shows that the 2014 TDI Beetle gets 38.8, 2013 at 40.1. I had my boss claim he was getting like 50 on his jetta yet fuelly shows about 40 for the last few years of TDI jettas. i just have a hard time believing that people are getting what they claim when the data shows otherwise.

 

[skyking]

I don't drive that much highway. The key is manual transmissions. The DSG and auto both hurt.

 

[thedarkwolf]

My honest normal average mileage over a tank is 30mpg with my 04 jetta wagon TDI 5 speed auto. That sounds horrible for a TDI but my previous car was an 03 pontiac vibe, little smaller and around the same power, and I averaged around 22mpg with that. I do too many short trips to get good mileage unless maybe I had a hybrid. My 46mpg trip was in flat Ohio where most of the time the speed limit was 55-60 so it was about as good of a scenario as it gets. I normally get right around 40mpg on longer trips in hilly Wv.

I bought my TDI because I had never had a diesel and just wanted to play with one, didn't hurt that it came up for sale way cheaper than normal either. My jetta is a good sized car that is loaded with about everything you could get in 04 other than leather, has a really nice ride, decent power, gets good mileage, and it was cheap. It is a much nicer car than anything else that can get close to the same mileage for anywhere near what I paid. If it had a manual trans it would be perfect. Now if I were buying a much more expensive used or new car I would probably buy something else.

 

[phreaqe]

I don't drive that much highway. The key is manual transmissions. The DSG and auto both hurt.

Wrong. auto have gotten better economy for a while now.

 

[skyking]

That does not apply to the diesels, apparently.

 

[phreaqe]

Not according to what I can find, but maybe you can find some info that i am just missing. But that's not even the issue i as i see it. You say you are getting 47 MPG on average in mixed driving. The rating for the car is only 34 combined. Somehow you say you are getting 13 MPG higher then its rated for which i just have a hard time believing. Unless i am misunderstanding you and that 47 was only on the highway, then i would have an easier time believing it at its rated for 42 highway.

 

[skyking]

The epa ratings were way off.
Look at the reported mileage people have been getting with the beetle, for example:
It is not just me
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=browseList2&make=Volkswagen&model=New%20Beetle

Regarding the auto vs manual thing: Any model offered with a manual does better than the auto. Those are the epa estimates in the article.
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automob...diesel-cars-for-2014-and-2015.html/?a=viewall

In short, toss out the EPA numbers and check out fueleconomy.gov to get real world numbers. Note that the gas rigs are either matching the epa estimate, or worse.

 

[phreaqe]

The numbers i pulled were from the fuel economy.gov and Fuelly and even those don't come close the claims i hear being thrown out there by vw drivers. To me it comes across as a fish story. the numbers are slightly inflated because you want to impress people with your diesel purchase.

Also the manual vs auto thing must be a VW thing. The only ones in the ones that they specifically mention in the article you linked were vw's. Every other car i have seen has gotten better economy with the automatic then the manual for the last several years. that being said, even on the vw's it is only like 2-3 MPG tops which hardly much of a difference when you get up to the kind of mileage we are talking about.

I used to get excited by diesel engines, but then when i actually sat down and looked at it, the value was just not there for it for me.

 

[skyking]

It is not for a new car purchase. They all have too high a premium price. I drive old stuff so that changes things a bit. I have two MK IV beetles and a 96 dodge cummins truck. I doubt I have the price of one new car in all of them combined.

 

[cbrunny]

Diesel hasn't been cheaper than gasoline in years (not that I recall, anyway). It seems to spike just like gas does. I don't buy it though, so maybe I missed something. It used to be cheaper than 87, though.

Diesel has only been cheaper than gasoline for years in my area. So much so that I bought a diesel Cruze this September, right before the gas price collapse.

I did the math comparing an estimated fuel economy between the diesel and an equally equipped gas model. Even with the extra expense of the diesel engine, at the time the Diesel was $90/month cheaper to drive than the gas. At current prices I'm sure it's changed, but I'd be surprised if the difference was large enough to account for a full $90/month. This is factoring in car payments and fuel.

 

[Muadib]

Diesel has only been cheaper than gasoline for years in my area. So much so that I bought a diesel Cruze this September, right before the gas price collapse.

I did the math comparing an estimated fuel economy between the diesel and an equally equipped gas model. Even with the extra expense of the diesel engine, at the time the Diesel was $90/month cheaper to drive than the gas. At current prices I'm sure it's changed, but I'd be surprised if the difference was large enough to account for a full $90/month. This is factoring in car payments and fuel.

I just notice that you're in Canada. What's the price on a gallon of gas vs a gallon of diesel there? The wife just paid $2.05 for gas here, and diesel is still over $3.

 

[ChronoReverse]

In Vancouver it's $1.08 for RUG and $1.29 for diesel so the gap really opened up recently.

My DSG TDI runs significantly more efficient even with my mostly city driving compared to my old Matrix. Nonetheless, it's the much longer times between fueling up that I like the most.

 

[cbrunny]

I just notice that you're in Canada. What's the price on a gallon of gas vs a gallon of diesel there? The wife just paid $2.05 for gas here, and diesel is still over $3.

Right now regular is about 96.9c/l which is 3.67/gal. Diesel is ~119.9c/l which is 4.54/gal

 

[nerp]

I got my stage 5 tune in the beetle Monday, and a short tank (350 miles) with highway and some hooning yielded 47 MPG. I'll stick with the diesel.

Cool. My car has 300 hp and I average 31 mpg with mixed driving and I pay $2.10 for gas. I'll stick with the gas.