Hi all. Finally after months of saving/scrimping I am ready to take the plunge.

I am in love with all things E46 and it comes down to the age old argument.....Petrol or Diesel??? I have personally never owned a diesel but regularly drive diesel golfs/focus with my job. I find myself torn between performance/driver satisfaction and the big one, during this financial climate (as my boss puts it ;) ) ECONOMY.

Any advice on choosing between the two and any opinions on stuff like engine noise (diesel) and thirst (petrol) etc etc....would be greatly appreciated. I'll end this essay now!

Thanks guys!

I ranted about this on facebook recently so being lazy,copy and paste.

So Buying a new diesel car is cheaper than running your old petrol? I do 25000 miles a year, at an average of 33mpg, petrol is £1.29 which makes my total fuel bill approx £4199, A diesel doing 50mpg at £1.40 a litre is £3010, In order to gain this £1189 per year saving I would have to buy a diesel, and for arguments sake us my type of car as an example a 7 year old similar spec BMW would cost me ...£10k which would take about 8 and half years to pay off the initial expenditure, and that’s before we take deprecation into account, where my current cars owe me nothing due as it has lost all its money and has done 300k with me.

So next time you see and advert that says you will save money by buying a new car, do the sums first

petrol for the engine noise and power.diesel for fuel economy....

my 2.5 litre e46 is a killer on petrol.lol

Hi Matt, Basically works on your budget and what you prefer, other things to take in to consideration is servicing cost etc, annual mileage, best thing to do is take a test drive in both models, good luck. :D

You all know my view on this so unless you are a taxi , bus or lorry driver there is only one choice PETROL !!!!!!!!!

ahmen to that!

petrol all the way .............. econmy is for ppl who hate there cars

BMW e46 320d 50mpg spend £300 on re-map 0-60 in 7.5 seconds

BMW e46 323 27mpg 0-60 in 7.7 seconds

4 Cylinder easier to work on/cheaper to service

Diesel more reliable and cheaper to run if you do high milage

Diesel will do higher mileage

Simple math TBH

Im a petrolhead 100%,atho if I dont get an M3 next I'll be getting a 330d coupe :)

Petrol... is a must. This fuel eco thingy is a mith.. I was getting 44mpg the other day in my 2.8... which is better then my brothers 1.2 corsa..

Fair enough i was driving it like a saint,, when you boot it i get about 10mpg but at least i have fun doing it lol

Petrol... is a must. This fuel eco thingy is a mith.. I was getting 44mpg the other day in my 2.8... which is better then my brothers 1.2 corsa..

Fair enough i was driving it like a saint,, when you boot it i get about 10mpg but at least i have fun doing it lol

But to get anywhere in a 1.2 Corsa you have to rev the nuts off it, hence the low MPG

BMW e46 320d 50mpg spend £300 on re-map 0-60 in 7.5 seconds

BMW e46 323 27mpg 0-60 in 7.7 seconds

4 Cylinder easier to work on/cheaper to service

Diesel more reliable and cheaper to run if you do high mileage

Diesel will do higher mileage

Simple math TBH

Petrol`s don’t swallow their swirl flaps(can be removed for £200),

do not have any turbo problems

Do not have injector problems

You will buy a better spec/year/mileage petrol car for the same money as a diesel, and I would argue the mileage thing, some many variables when it comes to reliability. Look after the car, it will look after you.

Diesel have come a huge way in the last 10 years, however in my eyes 4 cylinder diesel are just too loud for my liking.

However it is each to their own

got to be petrol all the way mate sod the atmosphere and money pinching live life with a smile not a frown :D

Did anyone mention the differences in the price of road tax? ;)

IMO the only thing letting a derv down is the noise.

2ltd Diesel compared to a 2.2l petrol

Diesel is faster, more economical, less tax.

120k and I still have the original turbo, yes I forked out £1400 for a swirl flap being sucked in, but I could have prevented this for £30 with a blanking plate.

All engines have there faults, but IMO a diesel is a no brainer with the windows up!

Bla bla bla bla PETROL :-)

Ask Jeremy Clarkson ;)

Ask Jeremy Clarkson ;)

The main difference between petrol and diesel is you can drink petrol neat over ice but with diesel you need a mixer to hide the bitter taste !!!

Also..

After you have watched the JC who hate diesels Vid I posted..

Could you also take note of the lack of intelligence from the petrol drivers.

Clever people drive diesels..

:P

Good vid that only thing I wasn't sure of was it raining or was the poor visibility the smoke from the diesel exhaust !!!

Good vid that only thing I wasn't sure of was it raining or was the poor visibility the smoke from the diesel exhaust !!!

Who cares about smoke when its in the face of a 330ci behind a 335d??

Who cares about smoke when its in the face of a 330ci behind a 335d??

Lol it's that sort of attitudes that give us responsible BMW drivers a bad name haha !!

Lol it's that sort of attitudes that give us responsible BMW drivers a bad name haha !!

You may have read my Facebook satus the other day Chris

I suppose I am the driver that gives BMW drivers that bad name lol..

Hold on...I remember you taking me for a blast in the bus once...WHAT SPEED LIMIT ;) :P

No comment !!

Apart from you couldn't do that in a diesel X5 :-)