1.4L turbo Gas vs DIESEL What to Buy?

"PilotMan" (Pilotman) 01/24/2014 at 17:03 • Filed to: None

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I'm looking for a very long term commuter/gas saver that seats five (two adults/three punky children), a car that gives me no problems and is damn cheap to operate. I'm considering the Chevy Cruze since I'll be fixing it past warranty and GM parts are cheap and easy to find. This comparison is based on 400 miles a week and driving the car for a total of 250,000 miles, which Cruze would be the better buy? –(without figuring interest, maintenance costs)

Local fuel prices are $3.26 for premium and diesel is $3.80 ($.54)

Used Ecos are available, for example a 2013 used Eco with a 6-speed manual and 20,000 miles is approximately $16,000. A new Eco is about $22,000.

Ecos are rated for 28/42MPG with a 1.4L turbo making 138HP/148'-Ibs

Annual Fuel cost based on 38 MPG (mostly freeway) would be $1,081

With no additional service costs, the Eco would be

Used: $.155 cents per mile($38,750)

New: $.174 cents per mile ($43,500)

(purchase price/fuel costs/250,000)

Diesel Cruzes are only available new, selling for about $25,000.

Diesels are rated for 148 hp and 258 ft-lbs of torque!

Mileage is 27/46, with probably a more realistic mpg rating. I should be able to pull off an average of 45 mpg.

Annual Fuel Costs would be $1,418.66

New: $.18 cents per mile

Total Cost: $46,000 (purchase price/fuel costs/250,000)

Sadly, diesels are only available as automatics.

The question is, is an extra 100ft-Ibs of torque worth $487 more a year, or $1.33 a day?

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 17:07

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Of course it is.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 17:08

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With that large a difference in diesel prices, I'd go with the eco.

Mikeado > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 17:10

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If you do a lot of highway driving, diesel. If city driving, gasoline.

deekster_caddy > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 17:10

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The diesel has significantly more power than the eco... drive both and see which one you like better. Based on your high milage, it can be worth the extra $ for the diesel even though it's so close on MPG rating alone. I think you'll find the highway driving better with the extra power on tap.

Bad Kev > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 17:11

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I've done a bit of research on this as well and sadly I think the diesel just isn't worth it. Especially since it's not offered in a stick-shift. It's much more expensive and only gets a few more MPG over the gas on the highway, and I can imagine it being more expensive to maintain in the future when it's out of warranty. Plus, stick-shift turbocharged anything is still cool, even if it's a bit slow because of gearing.

My opinion: used stick shift Eco (you don't get dominated on depreciation the first couple years)

desertdog5051 > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 17:15

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For a difference of 4 mpg. I would go gas.

PilotMan > Bad Kev 01/24/2014 at 17:27

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The money spent on a $16-$25K car can be much better spent for something fun. But for pure money-saving, reliability reasons I'm going back and forth...

The Turbos most likely will need replacement.

The diesel automatic probably won't last through 250,000 and will require a rebuild, something beyond my skill level.

The clutch will go out on the 1.4L turbo but, that's something I can do in the garage.

The 1.4L will probably require intake valve cleaning (most DI engines do), but I could probably set up a walnut-blaster to clean it once a year.

Both use high pressure fuel pumps with intake pumps.

PilotMan > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 17:30

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I wonder is the question should be Sonic 1.4L vs Diesel Cruze? I wonder if the four door hatch Sonic has a larger interior?

Bad Kev > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 17:31

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Really good points..

Well, just find a couple-year-old gas Eco with just not very many miles on it! :)

Also, if you can do a clutch in your garage, you could replace a turbo. I imagine there being more room under the hood of the gas version though. But.. rebuilding the auto (which like you said is probably likely, especially with all that torque) is something you have to drop some cash on for someone else to do.. At least for me.

Again.. Gas would be my choice.

PilotMan > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 17:55

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Or Dart Aero?

LSXforYourSuperCar > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 18:05

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Buy the diesel 'cause its more interesting!

There are so many high performance variants of regulars sedans that command several thousands of dollars over the base model and nobody ponders the cost benefit ratio of a Zo6. I'm assuming that, since you are posting on oppo you'd rather own an interesting car than a boring car.

PilotMan > LSXforYourSuperCar 01/24/2014 at 18:11

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More interesting can be worth the cost and effort and diesels are cool.

Pitchblende > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 18:27

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Its close, so I'd drive them as see which you prefer. My choice would be something with a manual, remember maximum torque isn't everything, you have to look at the curves.

Spasoje > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 19:22

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If you're planning on keeping the car for 250k, the diesel will pay off.

Having just done the same calculations for an Audi A6 (i.e. 3.0T vs. TDI), I found that the extra purchase cost of the diesel will pay itself off at about 80k mi. In my case, though, the cost of diesel and premium are equal.

While diesel is more than premium in your area, the extra cost of a diesel Cruze is less and you won't have to pay for DEF. Over 250k miles, I'd expect the diesel to be cheaper than the gasser to drive.

I can post my calcs, if you like - but I won't bore you without prior request lol

duurtlang > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 20:26

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So even when looking at fuel costs alone the diesel is more expensive? Not being from the US this seems unfathomable to me, but I'm not going to challenge your calculations. Anyway, you can buy and run a used gasoline Cruze with a manual for way less than the auto-only diesel Cruze. It seems like a no-brainer to me to be honest.

I'd look into actual fuel mileage though, reported by actual owners of these vehicles.

edit: I do expect the longevity of the diesel to be better. Traditionally diesels can withstand much higher mileage than gasoline engines, and to be honest I'm a bit wary of those small displacement turbo charged gasoline engines.

Eazy-O > PilotMan 01/24/2014 at 21:41

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Sedan Sonic should be more or less the same as the hatch. And either your kids or your knees will hate you. :)

bob and john > PilotMan 01/25/2014 at 03:27

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easily the diesel. if you want to mod it later, it will take it well.
or, if u keep it stock, it will keep running for far longer then the gas.

brianbrannon > PilotMan 01/26/2014 at 10:33

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I wouldn't count on a GM car to get me to 250,000 miles. If cost is your main issue why not spend 15k less on a used car with good mileage?