Over the last few months, many car manufacturers have dropped the diesel engine from their lineups. In fact, some car brands have stopped using the diesel engine altogether. The reason is mainly due to harder and harder emissions tests which diesel cars are struggling to pass. The diesel fuel in the last decade has had the worst reputation and attention mainly due to scandals by big brands such as VW. With electric cars slowly taking over, the days of the diesel engine are highly limited and we expect that a large percentage of car manufacturers will not be using diesel engines by 2025. The diesel engine was meant to be the next best thing back two decades ago. The UK Prime Minister Tony Blair urged people to buy diesel cars back when he was in power as they were considered as better cars for the environment. Diesel burns a lot cleaner than petrol as it reacts with oxygen via pressure. It is a lot less flammable than petrol and does not burn as fast whatsoever. In fact, if you threw a match into a diesel puddle, it would simply go out. Diesel does have huge setbacks though such as they leave behind more soot and microparticulate. But new diesel cars come with filters that aim to block out most of the microparticulate and soot particles, making some of these diesel cars cleaner than their petrol equivalents. Diesel is a lot thicker than petrol. Crude oil needs to be heated at temperatures of over 220 degrees Celcius, which is much higher than paraffin and petrol. When used in a car it emits less Co2 than its petrol equivalent too. Diesel engines though have been the forefront of every environmental campaign and with so many vehicles driving around today that are powered by diesel; organisations want a change. With buses, trucks, trains, taxis and cars going petrol, hybrid or electric it is pushing space out of the market for the humble diesel engine. Diesel is also said to account for the fuel which causes the most amount of smog. If you have seen some older diesel cars you will see what I mean in that they do emit some horrible smells. You may see even black soot coming out of the exhaust. This is part of the reaction of diesel which takes place. A popular cult who follows this is coal rollers who purposely programme their cars ECU and remove any filters to emit black soot.
Why Diesel Cars Still Make Sense Today
Diesel cars still make a lot of 0f sense to buy today. Yes, their life is on a tight line but in fact because of all these emissions regulations on diesel cars it has made them a lot greener and cleaner. Nowadays there are many diesel cars that do better gas mileage than petrol cars. Diesel is growing ever more expensive yet it is still cheaper than petrol in most areas and because most diesel cars have a better MPG you will save a lot more money on the equivalent powered diesel car compared to the equivalent petrol car. Diesel is also perfect for SUVs and trucks. The torque is there in the mid-range meaning a diesel car is faster than its petrol equivalent with the same weight, size and power.
To make things simple, a Golf TDI 2.0 is faster in the mid ranges such as 60 to 100 than the equivalent powered and sized Golf 1.4 TSI. The mid-range power can also be explained as overtaking power. Power and speed when you are already rolling. Also a diesel SUV or truck can also pull more than its petrol equivalent due to torque. Torque pulls weight and is essentially the engines pulling power. A high torque output means you can tow a lot more.
High torque is essential for large heavy vehicles otherwise they feel too slow, that is why diesel is mainly preferred. Diesel again burns a lot slower and a lot cleaner making it so much more economical. A 6.6 V8 diesel is probably more economical and better on gas than a 2.0 petrol. Diesel vehicles are also perfect if you do long highway journeys. Again gas is cheaper and the engine runs a lot smoother. Also, diesel engines tend to be much more reliable than its petrol equivalent because they burn a lot slower and they have fewer parts.
Why Diesel Engines Needs to Die…..or not
The world is evolving quite fast. Diesel cars and trucks have been at the forefront of scandals over the years. How do we know if modern diesel cars and trucks are as clean as manufacturers say they are? Diesel engines emit more Nitrous oxide tan petrol cars due to their reaction. Diesel engines can only be so clean and as they get older they tend to emit more Nitrous oxide. Plus with electric and hybrid powertrains coming in which provide more torque than the diesel engine, it removes the whole point of using diesel for torque in trucks, SUVs, buses, etc.
For a consumer with tax and diesel prices, a diesel car may soon become a huge burden. Electric and hybrid cars are getting all the help from the government. Help diesel vehicles once got. There are hardly any diesel passenger trains any more and cargo trains are also turning to electricity. Diesel fumes can be toxic to our health as it is found the particulates can reach to the bottom of the lungs. That causes breathing issues. Yet here’s the catch. Tests clearly show that some diesel cars are close to making no Nitrous oxides.
BMW has stopped many diesel engines in their lineups due to the fact that they are unlikely to pass the latest Euro 6 emissions tests. Porsche has stopped using diesel engines altogether.
European emissions tests are killing diesel cars. Yet is it really for the benefit? 6000 jobs at Jaguar Landrover were lost in 2018 because of the decreasing demand for diesel cars. The majority of their cars were diesel. Since the VW emissions scandal, the Euro emissions tests have been so vigorous and so highly against diesel cars. The diesel engine right now is the cleanest it has ever been, yet governments want to kill it. Years and years of investment gone. It may come to in the future that diesel was, in fact, the cleanest fuel as let’s be honest here. Electric cars take up more energy to make than a diesel car would probably ever use. Electric cars use finite expensive resources. Electric cars are also way too expensive.
Diesel is dying simply to satisfy emissions tests. They may be super clean but does the Euro emissions see this? Do governments or media see this? What they see of modern diesel cars/trucks are vehicles on their last legs and are doing their every bit to kill them.