So, after the VW diesel scandal I begin to re-think fuel economy and emission.
My family converted from all diesel-fueled car fleet to all petrol-fueled car fleet in 2004. The elders cited excessive vibration, soot, and noxious fumes as the reason to keep us healthier. We chose to spend more replacing batteries and spark plugs instead.
But like many people in mid-2000s witnessing the advancement of European diesels, I was thinking that diesel is the future, and US is wrong. Europe is leading the way with its clean high-powered diesels. But then, I sampled bad ones. The Chevy Captiva (Opel Antara) Italian diesel is particularly smelly. It generates very putrid, yet smokeless exhaust gas. I thought it was okay, but I was choking. Then Mitsubishi's 2.5 litre. It also emits similar fume, despite better quality fuels being used.
Then, we have this bullshit eco petrol engines, like Honda jazz's 1.5 litre, doing 7-8 litre / 100 km on average of very dense traffic conditions. However, since it was sold in Indonesia, the emission rating is downgraded to Euro 2 spec. It is noticeably smelly, but not as bad as the previous diesel ones.
DLFReporter once said that his 1.9 litre VW is doing 7-8 l / 100 km on a normal day. So, I get a new car, the new Mazda with SkyActiv things in it. It has more power and does about the same fuel consumption rate (with the help of start-stop function), but performed miraculous 4.7 l /100 km on toll roads (highway). It is a Euro 6 spec one, so its exhaust gas is supposed to be cleaner than this city's "breathable" air. I am quite content with sticking to petrol engines. It is not as torque-y as diesel engines (therefore fun), but at least it is smoother and for now, cleaner.
Are any of you there in Europe still attached to diesel for environmental sake? I heard the French are deciding whether to ban diesels or not. Some are admitting that it was a rather hasty decision to tackle global warming.