Happy with Diesel Economy?

[zebby]

Hey all,

wondering if those who bought a Diesel, which seems to be most of you, happy with economy of the Mondeo?. Seeing that diesel is at $156.9 and even higher in some places, has it been worth it.

Anyone one had it serviced, and how much did it cost?

Cheers

[scribbly]

Absolutely. 6.6l/100KM so far and counting on going downward for trip to Temora in June. Bye bye Territory at 12.2L per 100km.
As to the cost I thought there was a post somewhere else that gave the standard costs for servicing - about $330 or so.

[Turbodiesel]

The cost of diesel at the moment absolutely sucks, "Hey look at all these people buying diesel cars now, we better up the price".

It's usually around $1.60 now, more than 20c more than petrol. There isn't any diesel economy benefits at the moment, especially if you consider the premium you pay for the car.

[ajay1940]

I think there should be an inquiry into the price of diesel. The refining cost should be lower than petrol.
I was in New Zealand in November. Petrol 95 octane $NZ 1.80/litre
diesel $NZ 1.30/litre everyday, everywhere.

[scribbly]

Originally Posted by ajay1940

I think there should be an inquiry into the price of diesel. The refining cost should be lower than petrol.
I was in New Zealand in November. Petrol 95 octane $NZ 1.80/litre
diesel $NZ 1.30/litre everyday, everywhere.

Ajay, I thought the same about NZ until it was pointed out to me by a NZ taxi driver over there that diesel users in NZ have to pay an additional tax to the govt. They have to nominate how many thousand kays they intend to do and then pay the tax based on that amount.
Secondly, I believe the diesel comes out of the same barrel as the petrol. When they 'crack' the oil you get petrol on one side and diesel on the other. A palm oil is added to the diesel to make it more friendly to modern engines - thus the premium over and above unleaded. 20 cents extra is a bit excessive for palm oil but I've heard that palm oil is expensive as well.

[brucel]

Just returned from a trip to Hervey Bay (ex Sydney). Travelled 3350km with an average fuel consumption of 6.6L/100km. Best consumption was from Coomera to Hervey Bay at 5.5L/100km (~360km). More than happy with the fuel consumption, not so with the price of diesel. Diesel is usually around 15% dearer than 91 octane petrol. Around town I use 30% less fuel than my old magna, highway use around 15% less so still better off. Anyway, you buy the diesel for the torque, less fuel use is a bonus!

[Falcon Coupe]

I paid $1.61.9 today, it's obscene, we buy pay extra for these cars to save money so they jack it up. :

[jared79]

Just be glad the dollar is strong, listening to the radio today and they where speaking to guy from some motoring company. He said if the dollar was around 75c to the US. Diesel would be over $2 a Ltr. He also gave a reason Diesel is dearer, which was mainly due to the demand for it, because it's harder to get as it's used for more than just cars overseas like China. Do the demand is high. Plus apparently Caltex have been having trouble at one of their refineries. Which means stock is low. Don't know how true it is. But it may explain it a bit better.

[TheColonel]

Yeah they have had unscheduled maintenance at one of their Sydney plants and they reckon it's going to get tough down there diesel wise...

[Dusty1]

I'm fairly happy with the economy. I drive about 5 kms to work and then home again, and the reading is about 10l/100 kms. On the highway that drops a lot, but in stop start, where I do most of my driving it is way less than in my Falcon. I got the diesel believing that here at work, I'd be out on the road a bit. That hasn't come off, so I will be paying a lot more in FBT, as I won't get up to 25K this year.

[Superoo]

Just passed a Shell servo selling diesel for 167.9. ULP was at 139.9.
Mobil had diesel at 161.9.

At this rate, it isn't worth having the diesel if your main objective was cost savings.

[Katoomba]

Heard on the radio today that the reason for dearer diesel prices is down to:

1. We don't refine diesel in Oz and

2. Diesel is taxed at a higher rate which was aimed at truckies to help cover damage to roads.

Until the government realises the number of diesel cars now being sold in Australia (of course, maybe they don't want to), diesel price may not drop to that, or below, petrol.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by Katoomba

Heard on the radio today that the reason for dearer diesel prices is down to:

1. We don't refine diesel in Oz and

2. Diesel is taxed at a higher rate which was aimed at truckies to help cover damage to roads.

Until the government realises the number of diesel cars now being sold in Australia (of course, maybe they don't want to), diesel price may not drop to that, or below, petrol.

The price is an utter rort , I use bio anyway and have sufficient stored for months but considering the local stinky is basically a lower distillate than petrol it should be much cheaper although I heard 5 years ao only 5% of cars were on stinky , now around 17 to 18 % so there is the driving force over the rise
( my bio costs less than 30c a litre IF I pay the tax

[Turbodiesel]

Filled up with diesel today at $1.70, ULP was $1.40... Absolutely ridiculous, 30c more than petrol!

It used to be 10-15c more at the most when I got my car which was only August 2007.

[XtRmn8]

Noticed last night while driving past a BP servo here in WA that Diesel was 25c more then ULP! That is just crazy. So much for lower running cost if you get a diesel.

If prices stay like this, it will not help the sale of diesel cars.

[RJO89]

Originally Posted by Katoomba

Heard on the radio today that the reason for dearer diesel prices is down to:

1. We don't refine diesel in Oz and

2. Diesel is taxed at a higher rate which was aimed at truckies to help cover damage to roads.

Until the government realises the number of diesel cars now being sold in Australia (of course, maybe they don't want to), diesel price may not drop to that, or below, petrol.

That's crap. Diesel is refined from raw crude oil, which is brought in from predominantly the Gippsland area (oil rigs near offshore victoria). Crude oil is then distillated according to boiling points, which results in a whole bunch of different oils which include what eventually turns into gas, what eventually turns into petrol and diesel. So for them to say that it's not refined in Australia is crap. The Exxon Mobil refinery in Altona actually produces 50% of all oil use in Australia, of which 50% is shipped from Gippsland. It's not as if when they mine oil it comes out neatly labelled from the ocean!!!

[RATT]

8.5/100km around town and happy with that.

[Abacus]

Even at $1.60 per litre a diesel Mondeo will still cost less in fuel than a petrol Falcon. You have to look at your mileage and work out whether your mileage justifies the decision.

I'd guess the diesel Mondeo will hold its value way better than a Falcon, so the total cost of ownership would probably still favour the Mondeo. The proof will be in trade in allowances over the next 18 months or so.

[Dusty1]

I was in Colac (Western Victoria) two weeks ago, and diesel was $1.549, and unleaded was $1.549. In Melbourne (Hawthorn East) diesel was at least 20c more expensive that diesel.

How does that work?

[apstar]

Originally Posted by Abacus

Even at $1.60 per litre a diesel Mondeo will still cost less in fuel than a petrol Falcon. You have to look at your mileage and work out whether your mileage justifies the decision.

I'd guess the diesel Mondeo will hold its value way better than a Falcon, so the total cost of ownership would probably still favour the Mondeo. The proof will be in trade in allowances over the next 18 months or so.

Assuming of course there's another Mondeo model to trade up to if at all !

apstar

[Abacus]

I think some of you guys need to read this:

DIRT Diesel FAQ

It addresses questions such as:

- How much diesel is produced in Australia?

- What is the level of Australian demand for diesel?

- How much diesel does Australia export and import?

- How do international prices influence Australian prices?

- Why can diesel be more expensive than petrol?

- What are the reasons for the city / country prices differential for diesel?

- Price Comparisons with other countries

It's too long to quote at length, but I would not the following extracts:

Australia has 7 petroleum refineries that produce diesel. These refineries are located in Queensland (2), New South Wales (2), Victoria (2), and Western Australia (1). These are owned by three multinational petroleum companies (BP, Shell and ExxonMobil) and a fourth company (Caltex) which is jointly owned by a multinational petroleum company and local shareholders.

• Most of Australia’s refineries are old and small by international standards, particularly compared with competing refineries in the Asia-Pacific region. For example, the combined capacity of all of Australia’s refineries is less than the capacity of some single new refineries which have recently come on line in this region. Despite this, fuel supplied in the market is dominated by fuel refined in Australia from local or imported crude.

• Refinery production, in terms of proportions of petrol, diesel and other products that can be produced, is essentially fixed. This reflects the design of the equipment in place. For Australian refineries, the relative proportions are roughly 46 per cent petrol, 29 per cent diesel and 14 per cent jet fuel, with the remainder comprising minor products such as LPG, fuel oil and lubricants.

• In 2006-07, Australian refineries produced 11,055 megalitres of automotive diesel. Around 35 per cent of refinery input was from domestic oil sources, with Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Brunei providing 91 per cent of the imports.

Australian crudes tend to be lighter and sweeter than most world crude oils, which leads to generally higher prices for Australian crudes. Different crude oils have different inherent yields of products and Australian crudes for instance, do not exactly match the products demanded in Australia. Australian LPG matches 9 per cent of Australian demand, petrol
(39 per cent), jet fuel (11 per cent), diesel (33 per cent) and fuel oil (3 per cent).

In addition, Australian crudes are not suitable for producing the heavier products such as bitumen, lubricating oils and greases. These heavier products account for approximately 5 per cent of refinery output.

Australian refineries are able to process Australian crude oils but such an approach would lead to a sub-optimal economic outcome in terms of raising the price of the crude oil input but not being able to raise the price of the final product. The outcome is also sub-optimal in that the heavier products could not be produced and the overall refinery output would decrease to around 70 per cent of its current production levels which would not meet market demand.

Also, petrol and diesel cost similar amounts to produce. However, in Europe diesel attracts a much lower excise rate that petrol. In Australia both fuels attract the same excise rate (38.143cpl at 1 July 2007).

[PoweredByCNG]

The diesel that you buy today is different from the diesel of yesterday. The requirement for low-sulfur diesel in today's low-emissions engines has meant that production costs for diesel fuel has sky-rocketed.

Regards,
Dave

[GSR]

I remember when deisel was actually 10-15c a litre cheaper than petrol. It wasnt that long ago was it?.

[Abacus]

Originally Posted by GSR

I remember when deisel was actually 10-15c a litre cheaper than petrol. It wasnt that long ago was it?.

That was pre-2003. Since then, as Dave said in the post above yours, it's had to be low sulfur, and consequently it is more expensive to produce.

[PedroinTas]

As a sign of things to come, NW Coast of Tas has Petrol at $1.60.9 and Diesel at $1.79.9 today. Still not going to stop me buying a TDCI though.

[ivorya]

Do the calcs boyz/garlz. You'll always get better $/km in a diesel than that of a petrol engine with todays prices.

[monkeyboy666]

Wher I live today unleaded was 1.47/litre and diesel had shot up to 1.75.. (Wheres that angry face icon...? )

Still though, going on the published fuel consumption figures of 7.3 litres/100km for the TDCi and 9.5litres/100km for the petrol Mondeo, even though theres a 28 cent price difference in favour of the petrol one, going by these figures to travel 1000km costs $123 in the TDCi, and $139 dollars in the zetec, so we're still in front, diesel guys!

[LRsedan]

My xr5 mondeo does 8.5L / 100. Highway and city combined travel to and from work.

Sink the pedal in, it does about 10L / 100 if you're really havin' fun.

Not bad.

[ian b]

Same here for the XR5, although I rely on calculation rather than the on board computer.

I managed to display a DTE 0f 1200km coming down the GWH from the Blue Mountains.

Maybe the computer is too sensitive to the real time consumption. I would prefer that it calculated DTE on the average consumption rather than the real time figure.

It brightens a dull journey though!!!!!

[monkeyboy666]

The official TDCi figures seem conservative too, I sit on 5.8l/100km (calculated - not relying on the trip meter) which means that the costs I did above are on the high side, I just wanted to keep it official! Still way less than my neighbours petrol V8 Landcruiser, he was whinging about how much it cost him to fill back when petrol was not even a buck a litre...