The best way to save money on fuel

Tag : plastic chassis

TWO years ago we compared four small diesel passenger cars under$30,000. That was about all the market had to offer.
Now, there are 26 diesel models just in the small car category (notincluding luxury small cars) from manufacturers in Germany, France,Japan, Korea and the Czech Republic.
In 2006, diesels were only starting to become popular in Australia,following on from an enormous growth spurt in Europe.
Back then Audi had put diesels on the performance map, too, with ahistoric LMP1 win in the Le Mans 24-Hour endurance race.
But back then diesel cost about $1.33 a litre, which was only10¢, or 8 per cent, more than unleaded fuel.
When we took three diesels for an economy test run recently throughthe border ranges, diesel cost $1.77 a litre, which was 20¢more than unleaded fuel at the same servo or 13 per cent more.
Suddenly the financial attraction of diesel cars is looking alittle shaky.
One of the most common questions we are asked is why is diesel somuch more expensive than unleaded petrol.
After all, even though it takes more oil to make a litre of dieselthan a litre of petrol, it costs less to produce because there isless refining and fewer additives are required.
The answer for the price differential is not simple and we don'tprofess to know the full reasons.
However, the simple economic principle of supply and demand is anobvious contributor.
Over the past few years, diesel cars have become more popular,increasing demand for diesel fuel.
In Europe, diesel costs less than unleaded petrol, but that pricegap is narrowing because of the increasing demand for diesel fuel.
In Australia, we not only feel the price impact of European dieselcar demand but also Asia's use of diesel for industry.
And with more people switching to diesel cars in Australia, weshould prepare for the price differential to increase even furtheras oil companies seek to improve profits, although several punditsare predicting a slight drop in price in Asia when a large newrefinery opens in India in the coming months.
So is a diesel car the answer to the rising price of fuel? Mostdiesel cars are between 20 to 30 per cent more economical thantheir petrol counterparts. However, diesel cars can cost severalthousand dollars more than their petrol rivals, although not all ofthat extra costs is for the more technologically advanced dieselengine. Most manufacturers add extra specification to their dieselmodels.
If fuel economy is 20 per cent better in a diesel, then the averagesaving on fuel is about $1.20 per 100km. So to recoup an extra$1000 price premium on a diesel car, you would have to drive about80,000km before the savings started to have any effect. It shouldbe noted that the fuel price differential is not so great whencompared with premium fuel costs and most luxury small cars thesedays run on 95 or 98 RON.
And if you are taking a long-term view of the economical cost ofmotoring, you should take into consideration that resale values fordiesels are slightly higher than petrol models.
However, if diesel fuel prices keep escalating the way they have inthe past two years, the attractiveness of second-hand diesel carscould decrease along with resale values.
But fuel economy and cost savings are not the only advantages ofdiesel.
There are other significant reasons why diesel cars are anattractive proposition.
If you are concerned about the environment, then you will votediesel as it uses fewer of the Earth's limited fossil fuels andbelches out less CO2, and so long as it comes with a particulatefilter, less carbon.
Drivers also will enjoy the dynamics of a diesel car which has moretorque, so there is faster acceleration off the line and forovertaking, which makes it safer.
Diesel cars also don't baulk at heavy loads or hills and don'trequire as much gear shifting as petrol models, so lazy drivers arerewarded with easy performance.
There is also the convenience of not having to visit a fuel stationas often, however that may be negated by having to queue up for thelimited number of diesel pumps and having to grapple with the oilyenvirons.
Diesel car sales are still increasing about 50 per cent on top of a63 per cent increase last year.
Despite this growth in diesel sales and the obvious massive profitsthat oil companies are raking in, there has been no perceptibleimprovement in service station facilities.
In 2006, we found most stations had diesel pumps. However, some hadjust high-flow diesel pumps for trucks and big 4WDs, and most haddirty, oily areas around the pump with little access to papertowels and no free plastic gloves to keep the smelly stuff off yourhands and clothes.
Little has changed. When we went to fill up for our test at a largehighway servo, there was one high-flow and two normal pumps fordiesel. The high-flow nozzle fitted the Hyundai i30 and VW Polo,but not the Astra.
And the pumps were so greasy, they left oil marks on our clothes.There also were no more paper towels than usual and no plasticgloves.
In Europe, many of the diesel pumps have a plastic shroud aroundthe handles so the fuel doesn't drip on your clothes or hands, andthey keep the diesel pump area clean.
If service stations are going to profit from diesel customers theyshould also start looking after them with cleaner dieselfacilities.
Other considerations for prospective buyers are maintenance costs.Diesel cars have more torque, so they put more stress ontransmissions which are usually uprated to cope.
While diesel engines tend to chug on for a long time, you wouldhave to be concerned about the long life of transmissioncomponents. Also, the servicing costs can vary from petrol models.
Diesels may be all the rage at the moment but they certainlyrequire prospective buyers to do plenty of homework.
VW Polo
DIESEL cars continue to grow in sales. In 2005, only 5302 privatediesel passenger cars were sold in Australia.
That doubled in 2006, increased to 17,215 last year and in thefirst five months of this year 9515 have been sold, up 43.4 percent on last year and almost double those sold in the whole of2005.
The sales boom has slowed a little in the past year, but it isstill growing solidly.
One of the reasons for the growth is the number of diesel modelsavailable.
There is now a substantial number of models on the market to choosefrom, ranging from light cars in the low $20,000s up to luxury SUVscosting more than $100,000.
Since most people buy diesels for the perceived advantages of fueleconomy and are therefore mindful of financial matters, we chosethree cars at the bottom end to test.
Most manufacturers offer diesels in high specification, arguingthat such customers are more educated about the advantages of thefuel and want more from their cars.
However, VW's Polo is a real bargain-basement model targeted atthose who want honest and economical transportation.
And as the cheapest diesel on the market, we decided to include itin our testing.
We also chose the Astra diesel because of its popularity, and thenew Hyundai i30 diesel automatic as one of the most recentadditions to the oil-burner market.
VW POLO
First-up, this is built to a price and subsequently it misses outon extras such as electronic stability control and its associatedbraking programs such as anti-lock brakes, something which isalmost standard on every car. Therefore, it is very minimalisticand is frugal in what it offers.
It's very much a no-frills offering, such as no audio controls onthe steering wheel.
Some of the luxuries that are expected on entry-level cars are notthere, and there is hardly anything on the options list.
As a mode of transport and a lifestyle conveyance, there is nothingwrong with the Polo.
It has a perky little motor, although it's a bit noisy and coarse,but there is plenty of useable torque in the right place in the revband.
The ride is OK, perhaps a bit jittery but don't forget this is ashort wheelbase.
There is also a fair bit of suspension noise to join the abundantwind noise that had us thinking a door or window was open athighway speeds.
The ergonomics are strong with nicely positioned controls at auser-friendly height.
Inside, the cabin is simple, clear and uncluttered. There'sreasonable storage space for a small car.
Handling is lively with crisp turn-in, a little steering kickbackbut plenty of feel for what is going on at each corner of the car.
That's just as well as there is no traction control available.
The brakes are a little on the soft side.
The test car was fitted with Continental EcoContact tyres which areclaimed to increase fuel economy by about 5 per cent.
The EcoContact features a "Flat Belt Concept" with alarger contact area between tyre and road, and less deflection ofthe rolling tyre when in use.
This causes the tyre to have a uniform wear pattern over the wholetread, reduce noise by 21 per cent while still offering good ridecomfort and reduce braking distances on wet roads.
HYUNDAI i30 CRDi
This is our current Carsguide Car of the Year. So what is all thefuss about?
Well, it's about style, form, function and good value for money. Itis a well-balanced chassis, strong engine and a tidy auto box whichis a bit slow to respond on shifts, particularly downshifting andwhile it lacks a sequential function it does the job capably.
It has fabulous brake pedal modulation with a reassuring bite whenneeded and excellent fuel consumption which maintains levels below7litres/100km even when it is asked for a spirited run.
The ride is plush but not floaty while the steering is slow onturn-in and a little doughy around the centre.
However, the car behaved itself well on the lumpy country roads wedrove. Handling may not be up to the Europeans just yet, but thestyling sure is. Some may say that the key lines are a straightripoff from BMW's 1-series, but that is a compliment. The cabin isquite stylish, up there with the best Hyundai has produced forAustralia over the past 20 years.
There are outstanding cabin ergonomics, and a lot of claritybetween the audio system and the aircon controls.
There are some buttons such as the trip and ESP which are hiddenbehind the steering wheel and could have been better located butthat is nit-picking.
In Australia, boot space has been reduced a little for a falsefloor to accommodate a full-size spare.
Quiet inside, this is simply Hyundai's best effort in themass-market hatchback segment where it has caught and sailed pastsome significant opposition.
HOLDEN ASTRA
This has been around for a few years now and still sells well onAstra's and Holden's good names.
It is not just an honest diesel toiler but also quite a livelyperformer.
The engine can rattle at idle but it performs smartly in themid-range. Down low it is a little soft.
Progress is ably assisted by a lightning-fast six-speed autosequential gearbox. It's quite a delight to use in the tight andtwisty stuff, responding immediately to your needs.
However, the transmission tends to hunt and fish for gears oncontours.
Brakes seemed a bit on the touchy side with a hard pedal. Unlessyou have a light touch, you can easily activate the ABS on bumpyroads in a spirited drive.
At least it's reassuring that they work.
When it is asked for quick changes of direction the front end feelsheavy and it can be a little tardy to turn in.
The Astra diesel has reasonable levels of equipment and offerssound comfort for occupants and good vision all round.
There are two areas which let the Astra team down big time.
One is ergonomics and the other is the fuel filler.
The centre console is far too vertical (needs more angle), theaircon controls are too low and that click-and-scroll function onthe steering wheel takes a fair bit of getting used to.
The fuel filler will only take the smaller nozzle so forget tryingto use the bigger truck bowsers which are too big to feed into thefuel tank opening.
Under-revvers over-achieve
THERE is something about driving a diesel that makes you want toconserve fuel.
We pushed the diesels fairly hard on test, but that was on purpose.Normally you tend to stroke a diesel along smoothly andeconomically.
You change gears less frequently, changing up sooner and downlater.
That's fine; the gearboxes are made stronger to take the torque andthe engines thrive on low revs that would have a petrol carknocking.
At 100km/h in top gear the Astra was turning over at a leisurely1750 rpm; the Polo a tad under 2000 rpm and the Hyundai 2200 rpm.
As might be expected, the Polo returned the best fuel figuresthanks to the manual gearbox and its light weight, with the othertwo using equal amounts of fuel.
The Hyundai's 300cc smaller capacity was offset by the fact it wasspinning a little faster than the two 1.9-litre engines at a givenspeed in top gear, and the fact it was the heaviest diesel.
Fuel and trip computers show the diesels came into their own (muchlike petrol engines do) when cruising at or just below the speedlimit on flat roads, sipping as little as 3.5 litres at 100km/h.
Disciplined drivers will see more benefit from a switch to dieselthan leadfoots who will be enticed by the urge a diesel deliversfrom low in the rev range.