Diesel or Petrol

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone from Sydney Australia.

I'm a new member to this forum and have been reading the posts. I am about to place an order for the RCZ and need to make a decision on whether to buy a Diesel or a Petrol model.

Unfortunately there appears to be no Diesel models in Australia so I can't test drive one. I've driven both the 115kw and 147kw Petrol versions and was going to buy the 147kw manual model when a number of my work mates suggested the Diesel option. They all had great things to say about modern Diesels and said that once I own a Diesel I won't go back to Petrol. My current car is a 3.6 litre Holden Calais (I think it's sold under the Vauxhall label in the UK) so the RCZ is quite a drop in HP. My biggest worry is the lost of power on hills when driving in the countryside and I believe this is where the Diesel excels but Ive also heard from reviews that it's heavier and doesn't handle as well or feel as sporty as the Petrol versions.

I would appreciate any advice from those of you who have test driven both models and can proved an opinion on the comparative drivability and performance. If I buy a Diesel untested, it will be as my Dealer called it "a leap of faith".

Many thanks for any advice you can give me.

RCZooM
Sydney, Australia

 

[Anonymous]

I drove the 156 and 200. The Diesel wasn't even on my list, because it was dearer and all the reviews said that it didn't handle as well because of the extra weight.
Thing is, I think the fuel economy is fantastic for a coupe (if you haven't got a heavy right foot).

 

[Anonymous]

I have driven all three types of RCZ. At that time my car was the 407 Coupe 2.7 HDI and I felt very comfortable with the dieselengine in that Coupe. But for the RCZ I like more a petrol engine and espacially the THP 200. The stock chassis suspension and the performance of the THP 200 are much better and better fitting to a sport coupe like the RCZ. A single drop of bitterness is the really notable higher fuel consumption.
But you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear and from chipping come chips.

doc

 

[Joske]

I was i doubt about de HDi or the THP200. But here in Belgium there's no THP200 available for testdrive. Went for the diesel because in the long term it's the cheaper choice over here.

 

[Anonymous]

Could have had any of the 3 models but felt the diesel was the better car as far as real world driving was concerned i.e in gear acceleration between 20-70, a point mentioned by a number of magazines during reviews of the RCZ. Having said that each to their own as we all look for different things in our cars. :thumbup:

 

[Anonymous]

Think, if I would live in GB and not in Germany I would have choiced the diesel too. There are a lot of motorways wthout a speed limit over here.

doc

 

[Anonymous]

Drove both the diesel and the 200bhp petrol.

I reckon from A to B the diesel is nearly as quick, and the extra torque means overtaking is a breeze.

I went for the diesel in the end (I do about 25k miles per year and am getting 55mpg which is nice)

I have to say though the 200bhp doesn't half sound nice.

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for all your replies.

It appears the diesel is the most popular choice for general driving and fuel economy and I expected that might be the case. I do around 25k per year so compared to my current 3.6 litre engine which struggles to do 10l/100km (about 28mpg) on the highway, even the petrol RCZ is going to cut my fuel bill almost in half. My only issue now is can I get a diesel to Australia in time for the end of my current lease (eo April). Also there are only a few RCZs shipped to Australia each month and so far not none diesel so mine would be the only diesel RCZ in the country.

I'll be putting my order in within the next week or so, so I'll let you know how I go with regard to getting access to a diesel in time. If it's not possible then it's the 200hp model for sure.

Once again, thank you for your help.

Cheers :beer:

RCZooM

 

[Anonymous]

It´s our pleasure if we might be helpful!


doc

 

[Anonymous]

If your going to see a saving by going to the smaller petrol anyway i would be sorely tempted to go with that.

The DERV and the Petrol exchange punch for punch on even ground 95% of the time.

However, there will be that 5% time where the petrol will make the better dance partner than the DERV.
Couple that with the fact that the Petrol is cheaper to purchase and the case for buying a new DERV gets a little less inticing.

If savings is your game get the 156 over the 200. It saves a cool £2500 here so id imagine its more there! and if you REALLY want more power down the line a simple ECU tune can safely increase boost on the turbo, giving a more efficient running and bringing the power up to nearer 190Bhp yet with more Torque than the standard 200.

That costs about £300 - £500 here.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Figo.

In Australia there is no difference in price between the three engines (go figure). It's down to choice not price. I can buy the diesel manual for the same price as the 200hp petrol manual or the 156hp petrol auto.

For that reason my choice was mainly between the 200hp petrol and the diesel. Coming down from a 3.6 litre V6 the 156hp is just a bit too underpowered for me. The 200hp petrol was my initial choice but friends convinced me that diesels shouldn't be dismissed. I'm unlikely to be pushing it to the limit in corners very often so the extra weight might not even be an issue for me. As this will be a leased car, the extra fuel savings with the diesel model became of interest as a way to offset the higher lease payments as this car is a bit more expensive than my last one but my final calculations today indicates the 200hp petrol still has sufficient fuel savings to be economical for me.

I won't be able to order until mid next week so I still have a few more days to ponder my choice. I've also been told the Australian allocation for April is all booked up so I may have to wait till May for my car unless there is one with my spec sitting at a dealer somewhere else in Australia in April.

Thanks again

RCZooM

 

[Anonymous]

Hi RCZooM and welcome to the forum from a fellow aussie (in Perth). I ordered my RCZ (200THP) in September (the day after the Australian launch which happened to be in Perth!!) and get my hands on it tomorrow. I suspect that you may be in for a long wait if you haven't ordered yet. The only way you'll get one by April is to buy a demo and that will be a petrol model I think (although I have seen oz road tests of the diesel so I think there are some here. A key for me was the lovely growl the 200 THP makes when you give it a bit of stick and 40+ mpg is ok for me (compared to what I've got out of my 3.5 L TJ Magna)> By the way, I don't think you'll find the RCZ at all tardy in the country

 

[Anonymous]

Hi aussiercz

Thanks for the welcome and how is your new toy? I'm guessing it's as good as you expected.

I ordered my RCZ this week and was allocated one from the Australian allocation of the February production which I'm told should arrive in April or early May. I ordered through Trivett who are a relatively large dealership here and I gather their allocation is slightly bigger than some other dealers. Certainly they were the only dealership with cars I could test drive. Most dealerships only seem to have a showroom car and some said Customers had ordered without a test drive. Having said that there seems to be a few dealerships around Australia advertising the RCZ from stock. I could have bought mine from stock but not in Pearl or to my spec. I'm also told they are selling well in NSW and WA but not in Victoria or SA.

My current lease expires in late April so that was my timing. Let's hope the dealersship is being truthful about the arrival schedule.

Keep us updated on your new purchase.

Cheers

RCZooM

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Mate,
Sweet another aussie here. I went for the 200 petrol as i plan to really give her a work out. Got it in black , white interior , directional headlights , JBL upgrade , 19 inch wheels , have already bought a blowoff valve and alpine GPS to install on delivery , around end of april. Still have not seen one on the road in melbourne yet.

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds nice.

I thought about getting the directional lights option but decided I probably wouldnt get to take advantage of them considering the additional cost. As for GPS Im using a protable Garmin unit right now so I'll just transfer it to the RCZ.

When did you order yours?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi aussiercz

Thanks for the welcome and how is your new toy? I'm guessing it's as good as you expected.

I ordered my RCZ this week and was allocated one from the Australian allocation of the February production which I'm told should arrive in April or early May. I ordered through Trivett who are a relatively large dealership here and I gather their allocation is slightly bigger than some other dealers. Certainly they were the only dealership with cars I could test drive. Most dealerships only seem to have a showroom car and some said Customers had ordered without a test drive. Having said that there seems to be a few dealerships around Australia advertising the RCZ from stock. I could have bought mine from stock but not in Pearl or to my spec. I'm also told they are selling well in NSW and WA but not in Victoria or SA.

My current lease expires in late April so that was my timing. Let's hope the dealersship is being truthful about the arrival schedule.

Keep us updated on your new purchase.

Cheers

RCZooM

Hi RCZooM. The new toy is fantastic. In the four months since I test drove the demo, I had forgotten how beautiful the growl on the 200 THP is.