Diesel Wagon?

Where are you located? If you're in North America your options are very limited, the Diesel engine was used in a small number of 200 and 700 series cars for just a few years so they're very rare in running condition.

If you're in Europe then you're lucky to have quite an assortment, your other criteria depends on the year, for a Diesel wagon using the old VW inline 6 I hear people get about 30-32 US mpg on the highway so not great, the gasoline models get anywhere from 22-30 depending on configuration. UK gallons are different so the numbers will be skewed there.

I run a 1997 diesel manual V70 (estate / wagon) and when on the motorway (highway / interstate) at 75 mph cruising I get about 48 mp (UK) g. Tankful to tankful this drops to around 40 mp(UK)g. Driving style is "brisk" but not "loony".... and when driving "carefully" these are improved by 5 to 10 mp(UK) g.

Putting acetone at the rate of around 1 part per 1000 (1ml or cc per litre) does seem to improve things by about 5 to 15% but still experimenting. This is all with low sulphur diesel - biodiesel is rare to unavailable around here.

I know someone who has used vegetable oil at up to 25% with no known mpg / performance changes - good since it is half the price of diesel here. (99p/litre)

Nick

I'd have to side with James. I've recently purchased a 1987 740 GLE, gas, in-line 4 cylinder. I've heard that the older diesels are prone to expensive maintenance here in the US.

The gas engine, typically the in-line 4 cylinder - is robust and economical. It won't blow you back in your seat, but it will provide enough power at around 28-30mpg on the highway.

RoadHunter wrote:

I live in Portland, Oregon. Here are some listings for diesel wagons:

1982 Volvo 245 diesel, remarkably good condition for its age. 4 speed manual trans. with overdrive, rebuilt engine with warranty, upgraded seals in injection pump, biodiesel ready. Price reduced, for more info call me (Chris) @503-263-2766

Nice 1982 Volvo 245 Wagon,4 speed with overdrive manual transmission, fresh rebuilt engine with warranty, biodiesel ready, 196k miles on car, well taken care of. A/C, p/s power locks. Reply to: snipped-for-privacy@craigslist.org

Very nice '85 Volvo diesel wagon, auto trans, sunroof, low miles on quality rebuilt engine, biodiesel ready. Chris@ 503-263-2766

I found these listings on Craigs list. It has been said that if someone wants to sell a real lemon, they can find a real idiot to buy it on CL. Buyer beware. Just make sure you get a prepurchase inspection of the vehicle before you purchase it, no matter who you buy it from.

Where are you geographically? The fact that you refer to 'Wagon' rather than 'Estate' suggests that you are probably in North America rather than Europe.

What age of car are you looking for? This makes quite a difference because Volvo did a major re-vamp of their model naming in the late 1990's which makes it much easier to identify a wagon/estate car.

Those will have the Volkswagen inline 6. They're 85 HP in a 3300 LB car, if you can deal with a 0-60 time of around 21 seconds you can squeeze slightly better mileage out of one than the gasoline engine. I

*strongly* recommend a manual transmission though, and keep in mind that maintenance is much more expensive than the gas engine. Some parts are common VW stuff, others are nearly impossible to find and it can take quite a bit of calling around before you'll find a mechanic willing to touch it. Portland OR is about the best place to be for that though, it's swarming with older Volvos, you might get lucky and find one of those crust old Volkswagen guys who've been working on them since the 70's, they'll know how to work on that motor which most Volvo mechanics these days have probably never encountered. Notice every one of those has a freshly rebuilt engine, even the one that has "low miles". IIRC they were sold in North America from 1981 until 1985.

Since the NOx waiver (renewal) ran out in 1984 the maximum number of units were built until about may of 1985 but they all carried the 1984 year model designation. The first D24 motor was in the 1980YM. The original waiver was for the first year only. 1981YM diesels in US trim don't exist. The D24T motor in the P70 chassis ran until 1986.

Bob

In article , RoadHunter writes

I bought a 4 month old manual V70 TDI new (6000 miles) in 1997.

TDI means (I think) Turbo Diesel. It certainly has a turbo, which cuts in at about 2000 RPM and gives you a kick in the back. Very useful for overtaking.

Not a lot has gone wrong with it, it needed a new steering lock at about

80000 miles and a new window control switch at about 50000. And a few new tyres and bulbs.

I sometimes tow a long trailer weighing about 1200lbs, no problems in keeping up 70 mph, not that I do.

I recently did a trip to London and back, it returned 53 mpg. I keep the speed down to 55mph and drive fairly conservatively, using the energy wasting brakes as little as possible. When my wife drives it, that figure goes down to about 42.

Its the best car I have ever had. I thought about replacing it with something newer, but later models are based on the S80 rather than the older pattern. Also they are Fords now and that might affect the issue.

Hope this is helpful. It may be that TDI means something different outside the UK.

I *think* it means Turbo Diesel with Inter-cooler.

If I recall correctly -- TDI means "Turbo Direct Injected". At least the later VW's with TDI diesels were called this. It has to do with the efficiency and power of the system.

Looking at wiki.org, I think this may only apply to post 1989 engines, though: Quote:" The engine uses direct injection where a fuel injector squirts directly into the engine cylinder rather than the pre-combustion chamber prevalent in older diesels which used indirect injection. The engine is coupled with a turbocharger and intercooler to increase the amount of air that can get into the engine cylinders, thereby increasing the amount of fuel that can be injected and combusted. In combination, these allow for greater engine performance while also decreasing harmful emissions.

Other companies also use similar technology today, but "TDI" usually refers to the engines used in cars made by Volkswagen, Audi, and related brands. Normally-aspirated engines (those without a turbocharger) made by Volkswagen Group use the label "Saugdiesel Direct Injection" (SDI).

The reduced material volume of the direct injection diesel engine reduces heat losses and thereby increases engine efficiency, at the expense of increased combustion noise. A direct injection engine is also easier to start when cold, due to the reduced heat loss of the design."

End Quote

Roger Mills wrote:

Am Sun, 16 Jul 2006 22:17:16 +0100 schrieb Roger Mills:

No, it means Turbo Diesel Directinjection (Direkteinspritzung since the Germans invented that concept in the late 1980's for car engines)

Joerg

Please coincide with the rest of the world who are of the opinion that TDI means Turbo Diesel with Intercooler. Of course the six-cylinder product of your country's Audi/VW (VAG) factories is noted as D24(S) = straight diesel, D24TD = Turbodiesel and D24TIC = Tuebodiesel with Intercooler. The five-cylinder versions may be known as D25 but I think only in TIC form, with the possible exception of some commercial variants. The Volvo D5 engine is of Common Rail type with turbo and intercooler.

All the best, Peter.

700/900/90 Register Keeper, Volvo Owners Club (UK).

Wow! I always thought TDI was "Turbo Direct Injection", and perusing the internet, lots of others seem to agree. Including this article I found on Audiworld.com: