The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/10/15 21:35, bert wrote:
In article , Vir
Campestris writes
On 05/10/2015 15:02, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
At one time diesel cars were slow. Modern engine management means
they are
now little different to petrol - but still have an MPG advantage in
slow
moving traffic. The lower VED simply being icing on the cake.

My limited experience of modern diesels is that while they feel much
the same as petrol for a bit you soon realise

- That's because you're driving them on the power band, not the torque
band. Try to drop a gear and nothing happens
- In any case there's horrible turbo lag
- and to round it off the power band is really narrow.

Perhaps some are better than the couple I've tried.

Andy
I think there are. Try a BMW 520 M Sport twin turbo.

+1.
The most horrible turbodiesel is the ford unit in the Mondeo and IIRC
the Transit. And later Freelanders.

The BMW 2 litre in the earlier Freelander is so much better. Very little
lag and torque is smooth and well maintained up to 4500 rpm, which is
where it tops out.

Skoda diesel also good - is that the VW unit?

I believe the jaguar diesel is also very well sorted.

Variable geometry turbos eliminate the need for twin turbos, and reduce
lag considerably, and there are plenty of tricks you can play to keep
torque flat through a much broader rev band.

However for best results twin turbos are still in vogue/.


When did you last drive a Transit? Our motor home has the 140bhp Duratorq
engine. Very nice drive.

Tim