[alphadawg]

Hi everyone

Seen a lot of posts about petrol vs diesel but mainly about economy/based on commuting distance.

I'd like to know how different the two feel to drive, that is the 2.0 Jdtm 175 TCT or the 1.4 MA 170 TCT.

I've get that you will have to work the petrol more than the diesel to feel the power, compared to the effortless torque pull feeling of a turbo diesel but how does this effect the Giulietta? Does the commonly slower throttle response on diesels make up for the time it takes to get the petrol to start screaming?

I guess simply I just want to know if one feels 'slower' than the other or if one is generally lacking something compared to the other.

I spend a lot of time in my car for work (20000mi in the last 6 months) but do a pretty even mix of motorway, round town and country road driving so both engines have their advantages and I'm completely undecided between the two.

I am trying to get a back to back test drive of the two but it's harder then it sounds and I'm not sure you always get the full picture from a test drive, plus I'm impatient :biglaugh:

What do you guys think?

 

[gtearl]

Simple maths above 10k get a diesel below get a petrol

 

[symon]

You cannot go wrong with either to be honest.

They are both great to drive. The diesel is generally cheaper to run but at the expense of a nice engine noise.

 

[symon]

One other thing, the limit on a remap for the 1.4 MA seems to be around 200bhp due to a restriction in the intake/turbo.

The 2.0 170 will remap to 215-220bhp without additional mods.

Something to think about if you want to tune at a later date.

 

[alphadawg]

The car will be a company car so running/fuel costs won't be an issue. It pretty much boils down to what's better to drive, the revvy sweet sounding petrol or the grunty diesel.

 

[lussoman]

The car will be a company car so running/fuel costs won't be an issue. It pretty much boils down to what's better to drive, the revvy sweet sounding petrol or the grunty diesel.

Why would you even consider a DERV then? Completely baffled

 

[symon]

The car will be a company car so running/fuel costs won't be an issue. It pretty much boils down to what's better to drive, the revvy sweet sounding petrol or the grunty diesel.

Will you not be stung on tax more on the petrol due to the higher CO2 output?

Best to drive depends on your preferences.

The petrol will be better on smaller twisty roads, but the diesel excels on Motorways.

For me the Petrol would probably have been the best choice, but I am still far from disapointed with the oil burner. I like the instant grunt without having to get the revs wound right up, although the 1.4MA is still very torquey for a small petrol.

It still goes well on twisty roads, but I do miss the revvy nature and aural experience of a Petrol.

Like I said you can't really go wrong with either, take a drive in both if you can.

 

[cannonballuk]

Will you not be stung on tax more on the petrol due to the higher CO2 output?

Best to drive depends on your preferences.

The petrol will be better on smaller twisty roads, but the diesel excels on Motorways.

For me the Petrol would probably have been the best choice, but I am still far from disapointed with the oil burner. I like the instant grunt without having to get the revs wound right up, although the 1.4MA is still very torquey for a small petrol.

It still goes well on twisty roads, but I do miss the revvy nature and aural experience of a Petrol.

Like I said you can't really go wrong with either, take a drive in both if you can.

The 2.0JTDM went very well on the twisty hills of the Pennines when tested.
I found the 1.4TB needed to be worked and in some hilly areas hard to get the best from it performance. For me the 2.0JTDM give a very good drive without having to work the engine, although like all diesels extra gear changes are needed due to their narrow power band compared to petrols.

As mentioned both are very capable engines and perhaps I got lazy after driving my 156 2.4JTD (remapped) for years, but for me the QV ticked the boxes I was wanting back then and now. I did all day test drives for each G model at the time, driving around the Pennies to Alston and back to Stockton-on-Tees dealership, before deciding on the QV.

 

[symon]

Was your 2.0 JTDM a 140 or 170?

the 170 has a wider power band than the 140. It will pull from about 1200rpm, right up to the limiter at around 4500rpm, which to me is quite a wide power band, especially for a Diesel.

My old Fiat coupe 16V Turbo had a power band from about 3000rpm to 5500rpm for instance.

The 140 seems to run out of steam earlier in the rev range, as it has a smaller turbo. But the boost does come in stronger lower down.

 

[alphadawg]

So took a test drive today in both, there both great to drive but I preferred the petrol engine definitely. I've been driving a lot of diesels recently and kinda got used to all the low down talk but I got the say the petrol engine is surprisingly torqey for a 1.4.

The diesel was still good though, the dealer described it as feeling 'savage' with all the torque. Honestly I thought it was pretty liner power delivery but the throttle response wasn't as sharp as the petrol.

Petrol was a lot more refined to drive, like a lot. As soon as I started it up I noticed the difference immediately from the diesel. Driving with the petrol it just felt like it suited the car better. A nice little freely revving engine, and the throttle response was instant in dynamic mode.

Petrol is definitely the way to go :thumbup: and it sounds awesome when you start revving the nuts off it :biglaugh: