Owning a diesel auto - how it feels?

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Mon 22 Feb 2010 11:16
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - movilogo
I have always owned petrol and manual cars so far. Now thinking of buying a diesel auto as my next car. I have driven auto/diesel occassionally though (hire car etc).

Not decided on specific car yet, but Kia Cee'd seems to be a good candidate (AFAIK, it is a normal auto - not DSG)


Other than remembering to fill correct fuel in the car, what other things I need to do differently compared to manual/petrol cars?

Is there any habit which is good/ok for petrol/manual but bad for diesel/auto?

I was going thru Kia Cee'd manual, where I found the advise that after heavy load on engine (eg. motorway driving) one needs to leave the engine running for 1 minute before switching it off (to cool the turbo). I find it bit awkward TBH. It also mentions that engine can be started only after "glow plug" symbol disappears from dash after turning key on.

How an auto feels to drive on snowy weather? Do I still leave on D or put in 2 or L mode? Do I need to put in 2 or L while going up/down hill?

Though my usage will be mostly long trips but on some occassions, the car will run less than 5 miles on a single trip (i.e weekend shopping etc.) Will that be harmful for the engine?

Any other advise?




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Mon 22 Feb 2010 11:34
When I asked BMW about "simmering" the turbos on my 335d, I was told it wasn't necessary as they wer - Andy P
When I asked BMW about "simmering" the turbos on my 335d, I was told it wasn't necessary as they were fitted with an electric coolant pump that continued to operate after the engine was switched off, thus preventing oil carbonizing in the bearings.

To date, the glowplug symbol has only appeared twice, both times when the temperature was below -10°C. Otherwise it's just a case on inserting the keyfob and pressing the start button.

In the last snow we had, I had no problems at all with the auto box - I put it in drive and left it well alone (all it has is DNRP - no special snow settings or anything). Pulling away was just a case of letting it move without touching the accelerator then gradually adding power. The DSC did come on but only occasionally.

Short trips shouldn't be an issue - I regularly start mine up just to drive it into the garage and nothing has gone amiss in nearly 12 months.

I still occasionally try to change gear in the manual style, but overall I found it very easy to transition to an auto, even after nearly 30 years of manuals.

Edited by Andy P on 22/02/2010 at 11:38

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Mon 22 Feb 2010 11:43
>>How an auto feels to drive on snowy weather? Do I still leave on D or put in 2 or L mode? Do I nee - gmac
>>How an auto feels to drive on snowy weather? Do I still leave on D or put in 2 or L mode? Do I need to put in 2 or L while going up/down hill?

These are the conditions which show automated manuals to be the worst of both worlds. No clutch control for a manual take-off, no creep like a conventional auto. All you have is select 2nd and let the electronics sort it out.
If a full auto then check what the manual says some have winter modes others not.

Though my usage will be mostly long trips but on some occassions, the car will run less than 5 miles on a single trip (i.e weekend shopping etc.) Will that be harmful for the engine?


Mostly long trips will be fine.
Find out what sort of diesel particle filter it has, is it with additive or not ?
With additive appears to be better for frequent short journeys though not totally infallible.

Edited by gmac on 22/02/2010 at 11:44

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Mon 22 Feb 2010 12:18
>> These are the conditions which show automated manuals to be the worst of both worlds. No clutch - Alanovich
These are the conditions which show automated manuals to be the worst of both worlds. No clutch control for a manual take-off, no creep like a conventional auto.


Have to take issue with this from the point of view of VAG DSG 'boxes. Cars with these do creep. Driving in snowy conditions is not a problem, our diesel Touran has been fine this winter, with the added bonus of the winter driving button.

I now also have a 2002 diesel auto Golf with the older TC/tiptronic auto 'box. The DSG is better in my humble opinion in terms of smoothness and useability. Definately a step forwards.

Edited by Alanovich on 22/02/2010 at 12:19

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Mon 22 Feb 2010 11:51
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - daveyjp
My last 3 cars have been diesel autos. Two A3s with DSG, an X type with tiptronic box.

I've also driven Audis with CVTs, larger 6 cylinder Jags with 6 speed TC autos and recently a Mondeo 2.0TDCi auto.

My first tip would be to get a good test drive in what you are interested in. Some diesel autos are very sluggish on take off (the Mondeo and Audi CVTs being examples). This can make driving them round town hard work as you can't set off quickly. Some are noisy in the cabin at certain speeds and have a drone which is annoying (Mondeo).

Also check the change points between gears. The Mondeo changed from 3rd to 4th at about 29 mph - a pain in 30mph limits as it hunted between 3rd and 4th. The X type changes at about 33 mph which is ideal for our limits.

Just because it's auto doesn't mean you don't touch the gearstick. I often use sport mode down inclines with low limits as it allows engine braking and means I'm not sat on the brakes. On very steep roads don't be afraid to lock up in lower gears - I use 2nd on some downhill streets as it maintains 30mph very well.

Only time I simmer is when I stop at service stations - most motorway trips require additional miles on lower speed roads so no need to simmer the turbo.

Glow plug light may not be on for long. Many new diesels pre heat the glowplugs when you unlock the car. The light going out takes no longer than it takes to put your seatbelt on. Get in, turn key to warm glow plugs, seat belt on and start. In very cold weather I've found it better to cycle the glow plugs a couple of times on the X type. This will be checked under warranty as I don't think it should need this.

Snowy weather - in the X type I use manual changes. It allows you to choose 2nd gear for starts on snow, the Mondeo didn't permit this. Going downhill it means I can chose 1st and let the car go downhill on it's own with engine braking limiting the car to about 5mph.

Find a good combination of engine and gearbox and diesel auto is a very relaxing driving experience as the confines of a narrow diesel torque band aren't the same issue as a manual where you need to change from 1st to second very quickly.

Many diesel autos change to 2nd almost as soon as the car is rolling if not much gas is used (X type and DSG) and first is only used for an extended period when starting on inclines or for more rapid starts.

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Mon 15 Mar 2010 21:29
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - maximus

I've had a couple of petrol autos and had no problems with getting going. My latest car is a citroen c5 diesel auto. Car is good but the only time it gives me cause for concern is when trying to negotiate a roundabout. There is just a moments delay as you try to pull out in front of an approaching car, this is particularly disturbing on mini roundabouts. You can get over this by putting the car into 'sports' mode, but I find the engine revs and I then need to turn it off after each r'bout.

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Mon 15 Mar 2010 22:02
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - Avant

Diesel autos will never be at their best when starting from rest - simply because on a manual you usually kick off at about 1,500 rpm to avoid stalling, whereas an auto has so start from idling. The much-valued torque of a diesel comes in only at above 1,500 rpm.

The other thing to check on a test drive is whether you can put up with the quality of the noise. Some 4-cylinder diesel autos (notably the unlamented Mercedes B200 that I had two cars ago) make a droning sound that you may or may not be able to put up with.

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Tue 16 Mar 2010 11:34
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - Andy P

That's probably true of low power diesels, but mine generates around 330Nm of torque at 1000rpm - pulling off isn't a problem and it'll quite happily crawl along without touching the accelerator, even up a slight incline.

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Mon 22 Mar 2010 15:17
owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - disbeliever

i have just bought my first diesel automatic chevrolet cruze 2.0Lt no problems so far drives just as well as apetrol from starting from rest. heater warms up very quickly before engine temp reaches its limit. as i do quite a few short journeys i am concerned re the DPF but i managed to get the garage to gurantee the filter against clogging up for 3 years. otherwise i woud not have bought the car. MPG not so good for the first 300 miles mixed motoring only 29,4 but display now shows 32.6 mpg in town.

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Tue 16 Mar 2010 09:38
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - TheOilBurner

From experience, my S80 D5 auto was as good as, if not better than most petrol autos I've had.

It certainly had a lot of pick up from low speed, no problems on approach to roundabouts and awesome fuel ec***my on a run.

Great for changing lanes on motorways too, slight right foot and you're away.

Why did I sell it again?? :(

Edited by TheOilBurner on 16/03/2010 at 09:39

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Tue 16 Mar 2010 18:09
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - disbeliever

I have for the past two weeks been driving a Chevrolet Cruze Diesel 2.0 LT auto.. The car drives very well indeed with no problems so far but I am concerned re the DPF which on some cars can be troublesome . However I am disappointed with the fuel consumption over 300 miles of mixed motoring Town & M1 I only got 29.4 mpg.. My previous car was a petrol Dodge Caliber SXT CVT consumption 22/24 mpg in Town on very long runs 30 mpg.

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Tue 16 Mar 2010 19:44
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - Alby Back

I'm using a Qashqai 2.0 diesel auto at present. It is very smooth and makes a pleasant enough sound. It could ( almost ) be accused of sounding and feeling quite "sporty" if that doesn't read too preposterously......Hunts up and down the box a bit around 40 mph if trying to maintain that speed but otherwise it's very good.

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Wed 17 Mar 2010 10:33
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - disbeliever

Please quote fuel consumption figures thanks

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Wed 17 Mar 2010 10:35
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - disbeliever

Humph Please quote MPG thanks

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Wed 17 Mar 2010 10:55
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - Bagpuss
My BMW 530d automatic achieves around 38 - 42mpg except when I really clog it on the autobahn when the economy drops to around 35mpg. I find this very impressive for a big heavy estate car.

Performance is excellent too, the engine has a surprisingly wide rev band for a diesel. With the gearbox in sport mode it changes up later and the engine sound is almost reminiscent of a 530i.
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Wed 17 Mar 2010 19:52
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - Alby Back

@ disbeliever - I'm getting around 39.5 mpg. Mainly long runs though. I should think it would fare worse as a domestic runabout.

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Wed 17 Mar 2010 23:26
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - Avant

Welcome back, Humph. I'm optimistic that more and more people like you and me will post on more than one forum without there being any cause for conflict.

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Thu 18 Mar 2010 07:53
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - Happy Blue!

brand new diesels (auto or manual) take up to 10,000 miles to fully bed in and get the best fuel consumption.

Give the car a bit of welly in the approved HJ manner (see FAQs) to achieve a good running in of an engine.

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Thu 18 Mar 2010 09:10
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - gordonbennet
I notice some Diesel auto's have terrible lag when pulling away from cold, usually and obviously given the recent trend for 1.6 engines in quite heavy cars.
Though once on the move these cars are ok if not road rockets but then they were bought for economy and low emissions so the buyers got excatly what they paid for.

Get up to 2 litre+ D,s and they are much better, the most surprising ones i find are BMW's, they take off at a remarkable rate from rest, including the standard 318D.

Overall as long as you don't underestimate your power requirements i think Diesel auto's are superb....

as long as their not automated manuals of course.;)
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Thu 18 Mar 2010 12:34
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - Andy P
That's why I bought a 335d. After being thrown around in my friend's 535d Touring, I decided that this particular engine offered the best all-round "compromise" - lots of power with decent fuel consumption. It's like chocolate that makes you thin.
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Thu 18 Mar 2010 21:58
Owning a diesel auto - how it feels? - Avant

I was guessing that you had a high-powered BMW from your reply to my earlier post. Agreed - with that sort of power, especially in the lighter bod of a 3-series, there wopn;t be a problem. The Audi 3.0 V6 TDI is good too, but not quite as quick off the mark as a BMW.

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