The Hybrid and Diesel both have great looks and towing capacity. Plan on buying a small boat when I get back. We are picky as we only will buy the Exec of Diesel. Hybrid is only 1 trim which is equivalent to Exec. Only Saddle brown interior (Oh so nice).
The TDI V1 that’s a monster. I know the v8 na isn’t a diesel but I have worked on a few the saddle interior is the best looking of all the other choices and the na v8 is very nice.
None of those are fiscal decisions. They’re luxuries.
You were cursing the financial merit of hybrids…
but you then admitted buying a new Mercedes diesel, which makes no sense over here. Diesel is a German car lovers fantasy over here just as hybrids are a liberal fantasy.
I said, right above there in case you missed it, that if you bought diesel just for mileage savings it makes no sense, but if you bought for some other reason that’s another story.
The cost per mile or 5-year cost to own for a diesel GL is less than the gasoline equivalent. Like I said, its the base model and costs $1600 less than the petrol. It is also made in Alabama. It is also the only full size SUV with a diesel option in North America. I shopped, drove, and sat in the third row of every full size SUV on the market. And I think you need to redo your metrics to see if it makes sense to include other factors.
Costs to own and operate aren’t really of concern. It is a VW. I am betting there are going to be tons of chances to spend money given the reliability concerns. Any major ones that are pretty consistent amongst owners? So I won’t get caught off guard.
First off, some of the numbers (both ways) are ridiculous. It says $3300/year to insure 1 car? I pay $1920 per year to insure an RS4 and an A4 Avant
Second off, the maintenance and repairs are MUCH higher for the petrol engine, however the Bluetec vehicles tend to cost quite a bit more to maintain and repair, so I’m not sure why that’s so far off.
Finally…and this is all that matters…$11,000 EXTRA depreciation on the petrol version. That’s absurd.
If you didn’t question any of these things when you looked at it, I’d be a bit surprised. Perhaps you missed them.
So, to summarize - the numbers overall are BS, and the main differentiators (repairs/maintenance and depreciation) are erroneously skewed in the bluetec’s favour when reality shows the opposite.
bluetec at 10,000 miles per year was around $2500 cheaper than the petrol car.
Consumer Reports found that on the GL bluetec they owned, they had to pay $310 to have the adblue service done. They estimated over 100,000 miles that’s $1500 or so…which is about 1/3 of your fuel savings.
Depending where you live, diesel can be pretty expensive (some states levy road tax premiums on diesel becuase big trucks (transports) buy diesel, and big trucks are what stresses out the infrastructure (roads/bridges). So the fuel savings are again, not that great. The 240 hp diesel GL is indeed $1600 cheaper to buy than the 360hp petrol GL (Both V6 biturbo). Of course one has to ask if that’s really a fair comparison. It used to be the 450 got you a nice V8 engine.
Well by that rationale, why don’t you just build yourself a diesel engined 3 seater SUV with junk and scrap parts in your garage? Who needs Mercedes? Anyway, seems you’re doing your best to go off on a tangeant.
Going back to my original point which countered your hybrid point, the diesels don’t make sense in North America. The thread was about the Touareg diesel and strayed over to the Q5 and Q7, and none of these make any sense. They’re a german car lover’s fantasy, just as a hybrid (or electric car) is a liberal fantasy.
I also don’t believe that DEF is compliant with the Mercedes standard. Their fluid is good for 1500 miles per gallon.
Using that shit from amazon (1 gallon/300 miles) means you’d be buying 5 gallons a month…and refilling your ADblue tank every other time you go to the gas station to fill the diesel tank. ( While voiding your warranty on the most problem prone component of the entire vehicle). Carrying around 25 litres of exhaust fluid constantly…lol.
Interestingly if you burn out of it, the car dies and won’t move after a few starts.