Diesel Debate

[Louis-Alain Richard]

I think we all miss the strongest point of the modern diesel engine :
torque. If it was only money, we would all drive econoboxes. A new 10
000$CDN Hunydia Accent would be the best $ per km of any car on the market
now. But we want more than that penalty box, so diesel is the best way to go
if you want to combine real-life performance (stop and go, traffic, passing)
in a nicely equipped vehicle with some fuel efficiency. ROI is the old way
of thinking about diesel. 

I for one was convinced the first minute I spent in a modern diesel engine
vehicle : it was a large size 2005 Renault Laguna with the 150 hp 2,2
diesel, 6 speed. Big comfortable roomy car, and the torque of that engine
made the car move so efficiently, it was amazing. Don't get me wrong though
: a gas V6 Laguna is faster (more HP overall, wider power band) on paper,
but in real life, the difference is minimal and fuel economy is 30% better. 

But the biggest drawback of that modern diesel is $$$ : depoluting it cost
big bucks, (3 catalytic converters, 1 particulate trap, 1 two-stage EGR
circuit or 1 urea injection reactor). So for Audi, I am not sure there is
money left if all Q7 would go diesel instead of VR6 3,6. But we are at the
beginning of that trend, I hope it will catch.

Louis-Alain