I've had the misfortune to pilot one of these for the last few days & I have to say it's the worst car I've ever driven!
I've read all the preconceived notions about diesel engines on here & elsewhere & have always taken them with a pinch of salt!
I've always thought that diesels can't be that bad!
This particular car is so slow, that it's positively dangerous!
I keep reading that VW make the best diesel engines blah blah blah, but it seems to me that it's not the diesel engine that is any good, just the turbocharger that is bolted onto it!
There is a reason why you never see Golf SDI's & I've fouund out the hard way!!!!
The sooner I get my non turbo petrol back, the better!!!!
Originally posted by Homer Simpson's girth: This particular car is so slow, that it's positively dangerous!
I appreciate you don't like it, but that statement is the biggest load of s**t I've seen in ages!
There are plenty of cars with the same 0-60 and loads more with even slower times - if you don't believe me go to the Manufactureres sites and check up the specs for the lowest powered car in each model range!
If you think 0-60 in around 17 secs is dangerous then you will have to ban all small/family cars from the early 70s and before, vintage cars, lorries, many vans, buses, I could go on and on and on!
I used to drive a Maestro D which has a lot worse figures than the Golf - its not difficult, you just have to adjust your driving.
I would add that I enjoy the power I have now, but don't have eny problem driving my other, slower, car (a 1.4 Polo - older version) - I just adjust my driving to suit, perhaps you need to do the same - then enjoy yourself when you get back in your own car!
I see what you're saying HSg, but I have to agree with b308, you just have to adjust your driving.
Diesels have differenent characteristics to petrol & it's just a question of knowing them& I say that as a petrol driver.
Btw what car do you normally drive?
____________________________ We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first Bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better....stronger..faster.....cue the cheesy 70's music!!!
Its not just about driving diesels, but that wouldn't help if you are used to petrol - look at the performance figures for a Fabia 1.2 or the lower powered 1.4 petrols, both are in the 15-20 second area, and if you are used to plenty of power they come as a bit of a shock, I know I've driven them as courtesy cars!
Nissan Micra 1.0 is another - it has no grunt at all, in any part of the rev range.
But that doen't make it dangerous, only the driver makes it dangerous, if they are trying to do something with it that its incapable of doing.
Nissan Micra 1.0 is another - it has no grunt at all, in any part of the rev range.
you obviously drove an imaginary micra.
why do people feel they need to lie to get a point across?
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SDI vw engines !!! should never get beyond their target - minicab drivers, who can benefit from its economy -- anyone who wants a car with ANY power should look elsewhere
why is it when I stand on my head that sometimes, just sometimes ......?
Different engines require different things to work and perform well. The average UK petrol engine needs petrol of a high quality that has been cleaned and is at least 91 RON, 95 RON most of the time. My diesel will run on the same diesel everywhere you go and will even accept cooking oil. Whats more the fuel I put in my car contains much more enrgy per litre than the petrol you might put in yours. Doesn't make the petrol engine bad.
Diesels need a turbo to work at their best, this doesn't make diesel engines bad... And it doesn't mean they're useless without a turbo. They're still more economical, and longer lasting...
I'm sorry to have to disagree with you B308, but a car as slow as that is dangerous. Years ago, all cars were equally slow. Now, a lot of cars on the roads are very fast - and therefore driving such a slow and underpowered car is hugely dangerous and annoying for other road users.
HSG, that's what we've always said - Diesels engines are fatally flawed, it's only the turbocharger that carries them along.
Oh and "fatally" means that someone dies as a result. Bit of artistic license is granted for the concept or object "dying" as well, but beyond that. Well it's just really using sensationalist words to try and prove your point. Bit sad really. As is giving grammar lessons on-line to someone you've never met I grant you, but we all have our bug-bears.
Nissan Micra 1.0 is another - it has no grunt at all, in any part of the rev range.
you obviously drove an imaginary micra.
why do people feel they need to lie to get a point across?
It was the older "blob" shaped one (about 6/7 years ago), it wasn't imaginary, and I don't lie to make a point - please retract that statement, Maroon.
Nox, as for your comment, its what I expected, you really do need to get away from the "speed" fixation you seem to have - as i said all HGVs/PSVs are slower, as are plenty of other cars, PETROL included - are you going to ban the lot just because you can't cope with a slower vehicle?!
Originally posted by B Greenaway: Oh and "fatally" means that someone dies as a result. Bit of artistic license is granted for the concept or object "dying" as well, but beyond that. Well it's just really using sensationalist words to try and prove your point. Bit sad really. As is giving grammar lessons on-line to someone you've never met I grant you, but we all have our bug-bears.
Here is a google search for the term "Fatally flawed"
It will bring up a huge list, one of the top of which is an example of the BBC using it. A little like saying, "I'm starving". They aren't actually starving in the medical sense, but they are extremely hungry.
In my view, VAG's diesels are a long way short of the best. I've driven numerous diesel Golfs (especially the 130bhp tdi) abd whilst the bigger ones have grunt, they never let you forget what you're in. The non-turbo always feels slow cos it's so damn horrible on throttle.
------------------------------ 35% constitutes neither a majority nor a mandate
Originally posted by B Greenaway: Oh and "fatally" means that someone dies as a result. Bit of artistic license is granted for the concept or object "dying" as well, but beyond that. Well it's just really using sensationalist words to try and prove your point. Bit sad really. As is giving grammar lessons on-line to someone you've never met I grant you, but we all have our bug-bears.
Here is a google search for the term "Fatally flawed"
It will bring up a huge list, one of the top of which is an example of the BBC using it. A little like saying, "I'm starving". They aren't actually starving in the medical sense, but they are extremely hungry.
Canadians.
Typical of someone trying to justify themselves when they have said something which is grossly innacurate and indefensible.
Also typical of the comments made by Noxide (and Palmira if he sees this thread) when discussing anything related to diesel.
The "S" in SDi in any VW/Skoda/SEAT designation stands for "SLOW!". The Golf IV 1.9 SDi musters up a pathetic 68 bhp, its only good for maximum fuel economy but nothing much else. The TDi versions are much better.
If the SDi engines were really dangerously slow, then there would be piles of smashed Octavia minicabs littering our city centres. There aren't, though, and I have to say, I've been ferried home in many at 2am at quite alarming speeds!
I've mentioned this elsewhere before, but if a slow vehicle really is inherently dangerous purely because of its lack of speed, then HGV, JCB and bus drivers must all quake in fear when they start every shift. It's not them who are dangerous, though, it's the impatient morons who tailgate them or who overtake them when it's not safe to do so. If someone finds themselves constantly in situations where they keep having to speed their way out of trouble, then I'm afraid they shouldn't be on the road.
The SDi is the cheapest way to offer economical, reliable and durable motoring for users such as minicab drivers, delivery vehicles and lesser company cars. It might be amusing to slag off a minicab driver, but they wouldn't buy these things in their thousands if those three criteria weren't exactly what they got. Believe it or not, such things are more important to some people than outright speed...
64 bhp in a car that weighs 1 and a half tons is never good. Cheap to insure though - you never go fast enough to crash!
Still, the 0-60 is not too bad. There are far slower cars (my old non-turbo d fiesta for one). That did have a dangerous gap in the acceleration from start. After 10,000 miles I found out that this was due to a frayed throttle cable.......
Example of when a car this slow is dangerous. You come to a "Stop" sign at a "Giveway" junction, waiting to turn on to a busy dual carriageway. There is sometimes a short "slip road" but often there is none. You have to pull straight out in to traffic coming at you at 70, 80mph+.
It will take you over 20 seconds to get up to speed. Count that amount of time in you head, and imagine having to pull out into a reasonably busy Dual Carriage way. Imagine waiting that amount of time to get up to the speed of the rest of the traffic.
Dangerous to other road users and should be banned for health and safety reasons.
