petrol/diesel (I know, sorry..)

[tjh]

Hi,

prospective used Multispace buyer here. Having eliminated the Family Pack option after some helpful advice here (and the fact that I couldn’t find one anyway , I’m now wrestling with the old petrol v diesel dilemma.

We’ve had a diesel - an elderly Fabia - for the last 8 years and it’s been great (the engine, that is - wish I could say the same for the rest of it). But with DPF filters etc, I think our usage might be asking for trouble; around 10k miles a year, and quite a lot of journeys of around 9-10 miles. Then again, at this moment Autotrader is showing a total of 5 petrol Berlingos in the whole of the UK.

Anybody here with that sort of usage?

Supplementary question, probably more idle interest than anything else: are the Airdream autos more prone to DPF issues? Presumably the system keeps the revs down to maximise fuel economy, which in turn might be expected to bring on regen problems??

thanks,
Tim H

[3rensho]

My driving mirrors yours quite closely and I have had no problems with my diesel at all. DPF light has never come on - was actually wondering if there is one. I give it a run every two weeks at over 100 km/hr for about 15 min and that seems to take care of burning it off. My mileage from the on board computer shows 50.4 mpg but mileage calculated from the last two fill ups calculates as 55.4. I fill up the same every time. Right to the top so I can see fuel standing in the pipe.

[ntm1275]

My 2010 110hp XTR has a DPF and I normally do two journeys per day during the week - 8 miles to work and then 8 miles home again

At the weekend, we normally go off somewhere with the dogs and do probably at least 40+ miles

I've never had a DPF issues in the one and a half years I've had it

If you can go for a run every couple of weeks and take it above 40mph for at least 15 or so minutes, this apparently is all that is needed to keep the DPF clear

The time when you can run in to problems is when it gets used as a Taxi or a town runabout and only ever do short journeys

[rm008]

I have the 90hp petrol which I bought specifically as I wanted a petrol engined Berlingo. Didn't want one of the HDi's as my usage means it's hardly ever I get the engine properly warmed up, which really means about 15-20 miles or so minimum per trip. My mileage is app. 6000 a year made up of mostly short urban trips (1-5 miles) twice a day both times on a cold engine. Hardly ever go on a motorway, maybe twice a year or so to the coast. A modern diesel with DPF, EGR and all those other nightmare three-letter potential money pits would have been absurd in my case.

The engine itself is very nice - smooth, quiet, no vibrations and perfectly quick enough. Far far nicer than the slow old 1.9D I had in the van . Obviously economy isn't as good (not really a consideration at my mileage), and the road tax more expensive - the only downsides - but for me it's the ideal Berlingo.

[tjh]

If you can go for a run every couple of weeks and take it above 40mph for at least 15 or so minutes, this apparently is all that is needed to keep the DPF clear

Yes, that's the trouble. We just about manage that most of the time... but the idea that I might have to shoot off down the dual carriageway periodically on a completely pointless journey, just to keep the car happy, isn't too attractive. OTOH, as I mentioned, there are practically no 2nd-hand petrol Berlingos to be had. That really isn't a problem I'd anticipated  

Anyway, thanks to you and 3rensho for the info.

[tjh]

A modern diesel with DPF, EGR and all those other nightmare three-letter potential money pits would have been absurd in my case.

Yes, that's very much how I'm beginning to feel! And increasingly puzzled by the continued dominance of diesel. Maybe we light users are more unusual than I thought. It'll be hard to say goodbye to the ~60mpg we still get from the Fabia, mind.

[ron]

I've have a 1.6 HDi & do 6,000m a year.It's not really cost effective due to the higher purchase price difference but I like the more relaxed driving style & the fact that I can do long runs on a single tank.It's horses for courses really.

[ntm1275]

After reading this thread, I started wondering what the actual running cost were between different models, so I compiled a small Excel spreadsheet to roughly work out the costs

The spreadsheet is only looking at Road Tax and Fuel Costs and does not take in to account the purchase price or anything else and is based on the 2014 models, but you can edit the figures to suit yourself

I got the figures from this web site

The speadsheet can be edited from Miles Per Year to CO2 and can be changed to suit your own Berlingo Model

The Ranking for Overall Cost is based on the Combined MPG figures (Green = Best to Red = Worst)

Just thought someone an anal as myself might be interested

Just hope I've done the calculations correctly or otherwise I'm going to look a right tit

  Berlingo Running Costs.xlsx (Size: 13.9 KB / Downloads: 6)

[rm008]

Not just for the DPF issues, I also avoided the HDi due to the well reported oilway starvation problem which leads to a failed turbo which breaks up causing other damage. The savings in fuel / road tax can easily be wiped out by just one large expensive repair bill. It's not just the threat of that but the likelihood the vehicle would be off road for who knows how long (self employed here) - assuming I could find a garage willing and trustworthy to do such work since you don't JUST replace the turbo as many have to discover it goes again in no time... All considered, and with the other complexities, modern diesels are too much for me personally so it was to be the simple (comparatively) petrol.

[tjh]

After reading this thread, I started wondering what the actual running cost were between different models, so I compiled a small Excel spreadsheet to roughly work out the costs

...

Just thought someone an anal as myself might be interested

That would appear to be me then... Thanks for this!

Just hope I've done the calculations correctly or otherwise I'm going to look a right tit

I did some much less sophisticated and comprehensive estimates with a calculator, and got numbers not entirely unlike those. I was surprised at the efficiency of the 115 diesel - didn't realise it would do so well.