Which one do I get, diesel or petrol engine?

Hi Baraza,

I’ve been a keen reader of your articles in the Nation. Time and again, you caution motorists from buying diesel engines where there’s an alternative to have a petrol engine due to the fuel quality in Kenya.

Now, I’m in Europe at the moment and was wondering if you would advise me to go for a petrol or diesel engine saloon. Besides the fuel, what other considerations should I bear in mind? Assume the saloon specs are identical, same brand, same engine capacity, same year of manufacture.

Regards,

David

Hi David,

My admonitions against purchasing puny power plants propelled by pungent polycarbonates of hydrogen, also known as diesel, do not just stem from localised difficulties with matters of fuel quality, there is a lot more to it.

The experts on diesel engines are few and far between, and these, you will find, tend to work on older, simpler and larger capacity tech, they rarely do convincing work on small units of the type Europeans tend to like.

Now that you are in Europe, I’m sure you may have noticed their love affair with the diesel engine has reached the disillusionment stage where one discovers that the object of their desire farts in bed and doesn’t clean up after themselves. What was meant to be a dream come true ended up as yet another holiday romance and the reality check is being cashed as we speak.

Shady and sleazy metaphors notwithstanding, diesel engines are very quickly losing their appeal.

Extremely sensitive

And rightly so, if my opinion is worth the paper it is printed on. Diesel engines are extremely sensitive, not just to fuel type, but also oil grade and service intervals, which are woefully short compared to petrol engines.

You will find a vast majority of them are downsized and turbocharged, with very high boost pressures which brings with it a whole slew of other problems such as over spooling (when the turbo spins too fast) at high altitude due to lower air density and this kills the turbo. Turbos are expensive.

High boost pressures also means power and torque are delivered in discrete burps that make smooth driving a pain, especially if you have a manual transmission. You have to be a real maestro behind the wheel to drive a manual transmission turbodiesel with any semblance of oily professionalism – I can, but I don’t want to – which is why I recommend automatic gearboxes if you want to go the diesel way.

Not everybody will understand power curves and torque curves and boost thresholds and turbo lag, and a lot of people don’t want to anyway, because they bought a car for its convenience, not to be taken back to college to get a degree in Automotive Engineering and Internal Combustion.

I also buy cars to enjoy them, and torquey as diesel engines may be, they just are not enjoyable for someone who has turned driving from a menial task into an art form. The rev ceiling is low, so you are always changing gear, the power band is narrow so you get a short burst of speed before it vanishes.

Smells funny

Diesel smells funny. The engine blocks are extremely heavy, in the next issue of MPA Magazine, I highlight one of the issues I found in the new Land Rover Discovery whereby the diesel powered version is more uncomfortable than the petrol one because I suspect they didn’t optimise the air suspension to deal with the extra weight of a derv-driven posho mill under the bonnet.

Diesel engines also don’t sound very good: yes the 1VD V8 engine in the Toyota Land Cruiser does have a stereotypical V8 rumble to it and the most subtle of turbo whines, but this is overshadowed by the equally stereotypical diesel clatter like someone hopped up on cocaine is having their way with an old typewriter, and because of the low rev ceiling, that V8 rumble will never really crescendo into the kind of deep-chested, full-voice roaring V8 thunder that one gets winding up a petrol equivalent well north of 6000 rpm. I have driven a twin-turbo 5.5 litre V8 petrol car with 577 horsepower in the shape and form of an AMG Mercedes and I will work hard and sacrifice sleep just for the noise that came out of that bonnet and exhaust alone. The rest of the car can go hang. You don’t get this with a diesel.

Less subjectively, diesel engines live shorter lives. Yes, I know trucks and buses usually do up to about 3 million kilometres before retirement, and yes, I know German taxi drivers have the kind of mileages on their odometers that would be easier to write down in light years rather than miles, but generally, petrol engines cover more mileage before they die, for passenger cars and disregarding those overachieving Germans.

Speaking of Germans, I have 340,000km on my BMW’s clock, from a two-and-a-half litre straight six petrol and the song from that straight six is so smooth, so flawless, so sublime, it deserves a recording contract at Universal Records, or Shady/Aftermath or whoever is signing up crooners at the moment. If it was a diesel, well... I don’t think I’d own it in the first place, let alone brag about the mileage. Check the people setting high mileage records in passenger cars the world over... almost all of them are running petrol engines.

So, no. If I was motoring in Europe I wouldn’t be pushing a diesel saloon, I’d go for petrol. Europe is the home of Mercedes and BMW and Audi and Alfa Romeo and Jaguar. You’ve never heard of a diesel M5, have you? Or a diesel E63... or a diesel RS6... or a diesel Giulia Quadrifoglio. Or a diesel XE Project 8. There is a reason. Diesel is for ships and factories, cars for people who appreciate cars run on petrol.

*****

Other considerations? I’d go hybrid. They’re getting really good nowadays, their performance is at par with supercars from a mere 20 years ago, they are more efficient than diesels and well, change is inevitable. If money is not a consideration, allow me to name-drop something from my all-time favourite car manufacturer, the Porsche Taycan...

****

My Nissan won’t stop jerking, what could it be ailing from?

Hallo Baraza JM

I owe you a vote if you wish to vie for a political position. I long for Wednesdays to read your column, though sometimes the English… punguza kizungu jamaa. Been following you since 2010. I own an automatic AD VAN 2008 HR15 which jerks, but the jerking reduces as gear shifts from high gear to lower gear and by the time it engages gear number four you can’t feel it. From 1 to 2 is worse. I have changed the mountings but the problem persists, does it require to change the gear box or some parts? I’ve had this problem for a year now.

Thanks for good work.

Kirochi

Hi Kirochi,

There is some trash talk in there about you driving a Wingroad with the Aromat taken out, but I won’t stoop that low. Please check the levels and quality of your transmission fluid, as well as your TCM (the computer that controls your gearbox).

As for politics... it will be a long wait before you can vote for Baraza JM. That is not my forte and at my age, it will never be.

The English, on the other hand, will continue to be disbursed, with ever-increasing complexity on random Wednesdays, so you may have some catching up to do. Ten years on, we are showing no signs of stopping, so keep it Car Clinic, keep it Daily Nation. We will not disappoint.