The Sunday News
The moment I hear about UK car imports, my mind automatically shows me a picture of rusty, noisy Smokey old looking trash cans that have us believe when they say Africa is a junk yard. Diesel cars have many advantages and bigger disadvantages.
Many people would choose diesel engines over any other. With age however, they becomes a serious headache.
Diesel engines have an old reputation for being noisy, dirty and slow but that has changed overtime. If you were to choose between a petrol engine and diesel engine, what would you choose? If your negative opinion on diesel engines is based on a car you drove many years ago then it’s time to think again.
Diesel cars from the UK however, need a lot of inquiry before settling for a deal because the majority of them are old and full of problems and a lot of them come here instead of the junkyard. Its wiser not to buy very cheap diesel cars from the UK unless you want to become a roadside breakdown assistant and mechanic because that’s where you will spend most of your time.
Diesel engines, when carefully kept, are fuel economic. If you do not want frequent trips to the pump and save money overtime then you should get yourself that diesel lump. The experts say diesel engines can deliver 30% more fuel efficiency than petrol. The unfortunate part is that diesel cars are not common in Japan but the UK and UK doesn’t churn out the best used cars.
As of old, the idling rattle and noise from diesel engines was not a favourite for many. Newer Common Rail diesel engines however, make less noise and perform almost just as good as their petrol counterparts if not better. New generation common rail diesel engines are fuel efficient and more powerful.
When I say power I refer to hauling power. Diesel engines deliver more torque without breaking a sweat. You get more power at low rev count on a diesel engine and gone are the days where they used to be noisy and slow . . . try driving a new generation diesel, you will enjoy it.
Newer diesel engines can be just as fast as petrol. In theory they cannot be as fast though because petrol just burns like a wildfire out of control while diesel is subtle and not so crafty. Technological advances have seen improvements that put diesel engines almost at par with petrol engines. So it could be an option worth looking at.
Diesel engines also last long if maintained well. Diesel engines are generally low revving engines and so they tend to last longer because they produce more power at low engine speed.
They are made with stronger blocks and pistons because they have to withstand high compression levels. Generally, a diesel engine is made stronger than petrol, so another tick on the reasons why I’d choose a diesel-powered car.
There are a few things to keep in mind before choosing a diesel engine. Diesel engines are more expensive to maintain. The new generation common rail diesel engines are even more expensive to buy and to maintain. Another challenge for Zimbabweans is that machines to service common rail engines are not yet readily available so eventually it becomes a problem to maintain a car with common rail engine. Keep away from high mileage diesel engines.
They get expensive to maintain as they get older. Common rail systems are easily affected by contaminated or poor quality fuel. You need to make sure you have good quality fuel going into your car everytime.
Components like common rail diesel injectors are expensive to replace and to service.
Some players are slowly breaking into the field to offer the service at a cheaper rate but generally do not expect it to be cheap to service or replace these injectors.
In a nutshell, routine diesel engine maintenance may cost almost the same as petrol engines but it can be potentially more expensive to repair a diesel should something go wrong like fuel contamination for example.
Common rail diesel engines now have a lot of refinements and offer some driving pleasure with a minimum budget. You get to enjoy more power, less fuel consumption, less noise and reduced soot.
Forget the old rattling soot coughing diesel engines, they have been refined and are just a breeze to drive especially if you drive on the highway a lot.
The only catch is that you need a good service plan for your diesel car or else in no time they start rattling, smoking and simply a big headache. So if your pockets are deep enough yes, I’d advise on the diesel but if not, a small petrol engine will be good enough.
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