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Auto Express Car Reviews
Dan Strong's column
Rising fuel costs are sounding the death knell for the diesel.
11th May 2008
Number one - the diesel engine is dead. Thanks to high fuel costs, tough-to-meet emissions targets and growing competition for scarce fossil fuel resources, the engine once championed for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness is finished. Number two: you are what you eat. And in the case of the oil-burning powerplant, which chomps through a by-product of long-since-extinct dinosaurs… Well, you get the drift.
Granted, small hybrid diesels such as the Chevy Volt might prove me wrong. Due to arrive in two or three years, it aims to combine a tiny engine with a big electric motor to provide huge fuel economy. But whether such cars will be the solution remains to be seen. I was told by a senior scientist at BP that these drivetrains are even more complex to build than hybrid petrol set-ups. And as the exhaust temperature is low, the electric motor’s zero emissions are negated by the fact that the pollutants expelled by the fossil fuel unit actually increase. Interestingly, Peugeot and Citroen have said they will not persevere with plans for small electric/diesel cars…
Anyway, Britain’s drivers need answers now, not in an uncertain future. I stuck £73 worth of diesel in the tank of a 2.0-litre Ford S-MAX on a recent round trip, and it wasn’t even fancy super-fuel I was pouring down the filler. I don’t mind admitting that spending £1.25 per litre was a huge shock – and it was 15p per litre more than unleaded. Covering about 20,000 miles annually, I can look forward to spending £350 a year more than I would for a petrol car – and a total of £2,840 on diesel.
If you are buying a vehicle right now, in the short term it’s not going to get any cheaper, either. I spoke to someone recently who suggested diesel could soon rise by 50 per cent, nudging £2 a litre. That’s because sea-faring super-tankers which currently use heavy fuel oil could be forced to burn a diesel mix to cut sulphur emissions. The plans, under debate at the moment, could be introduced next year.
So what are car makers going to do about it? As you read this, we’ll be among the first journalists to get behind the wheel of a vehicle that could help to provide the answer. The Mercedes F700 Concept, which debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, is interesting because its DiesOtto engine seems to address many of the problems I’ve mentioned.
Effectively, it runs like a diesel, but burns regular – and cheaper – petrol. Its name is derived from those of Rudolf Diesel and Nicholas Otto who, say the Germans, invented the petrol motor (the French disagree). Because the engine uses petrol, it can also run as cleanly as a hybrid.
It promises to be powerful, too. Early data released by Mercedes suggests the unit will be around 1.8 litres, yet produce 240bhp.
It’s thought these figures could be deliberately conservative. So that sounds like the perfect answer then, doesn’t it? All we need to do is save up and buy a Merc.
Or perhaps not just yet. According to one engineer from a rival company I spoke to, the technology will deliver all the performance in a very narrow powerband, compromising refinement and driveability. This issue is inherent in the design, so it can’t be engineered out. Then, of course, there’s the price. But if you are put off by the cost of a Merc, consider this. One insider has also promised me that the technology is also under development at Ford…
Current fuel prices will be a distant memory by the end of this year, but at least there is one thing we can all look forward to: buying a cheap, ultra-efficient engine. Let’s just hope it’s in a car that’s great to drive. We’ll let you know more within the next couple of weeks.
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| Diesel isn’t going to get any cheaper. It was suggested to me recently that prices may soon rise by 50 per cent, and nudge £2 a litre | |
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Granted, small hybrid diesels such as the Chevy Volt might prove me wrong. Due to arrive in two or three years, it aims to combine a tiny engine with a big electric motor to provide huge fuel economy. But whether such cars will be the solution remains to be seen. I was told by a senior scientist at BP that these drivetrains are even more complex to build than hybrid petrol set-ups. And as the exhaust temperature is low, the electric motor’s zero emissions are negated by the fact that the pollutants expelled by the fossil fuel unit actually increase. Interestingly, Peugeot and Citroen have said they will not persevere with plans for small electric/diesel cars…
Anyway, Britain’s drivers need answers now, not in an uncertain future. I stuck £73 worth of diesel in the tank of a 2.0-litre Ford S-MAX on a recent round trip, and it wasn’t even fancy super-fuel I was pouring down the filler. I don’t mind admitting that spending £1.25 per litre was a huge shock – and it was 15p per litre more than unleaded. Covering about 20,000 miles annually, I can look forward to spending £350 a year more than I would for a petrol car – and a total of £2,840 on diesel.
If you are buying a vehicle right now, in the short term it’s not going to get any cheaper, either. I spoke to someone recently who suggested diesel could soon rise by 50 per cent, nudging £2 a litre. That’s because sea-faring super-tankers which currently use heavy fuel oil could be forced to burn a diesel mix to cut sulphur emissions. The plans, under debate at the moment, could be introduced next year.
So what are car makers going to do about it? As you read this, we’ll be among the first journalists to get behind the wheel of a vehicle that could help to provide the answer. The Mercedes F700 Concept, which debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, is interesting because its DiesOtto engine seems to address many of the problems I’ve mentioned.
Effectively, it runs like a diesel, but burns regular – and cheaper – petrol. Its name is derived from those of Rudolf Diesel and Nicholas Otto who, say the Germans, invented the petrol motor (the French disagree). Because the engine uses petrol, it can also run as cleanly as a hybrid.
It promises to be powerful, too. Early data released by Mercedes suggests the unit will be around 1.8 litres, yet produce 240bhp.
It’s thought these figures could be deliberately conservative. So that sounds like the perfect answer then, doesn’t it? All we need to do is save up and buy a Merc.
Or perhaps not just yet. According to one engineer from a rival company I spoke to, the technology will deliver all the performance in a very narrow powerband, compromising refinement and driveability. This issue is inherent in the design, so it can’t be engineered out. Then, of course, there’s the price. But if you are put off by the cost of a Merc, consider this. One insider has also promised me that the technology is also under development at Ford…
Current fuel prices will be a distant memory by the end of this year, but at least there is one thing we can all look forward to: buying a cheap, ultra-efficient engine. Let’s just hope it’s in a car that’s great to drive. We’ll let you know more within the next couple of weeks.
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