Notes about Driving a Diesel
I’ve test-driven a few diesels: the Hyundai Alcazar, Jeep Compass, and Thar Roxx1. Based on that, here are a few things I’ve learnt about driving diesels:
Don’t be afraid to floor it. It won’t rocket forward like a petrol does. You can think of a diesel engine as binary: either it’s accelerating (in a controlled manner) or not.
If you want a momentary burst of acceleration, blip the accelerator by pressing it a lot and releasing it immediately. Since diesels are sluggish, you need to press the accelerator that much to accelerate. Diesels also have a lot of inertia, so the acceleration will gradually tail off rather than disappear abruptly, as it would in a petrol.
Foresee and press the accelerator before you need the acceleration.
Diesels are more suited for cruising so, to appreciate it, pick a highway with strictly enforced speed limits.
… and the Jaguar F-Pace, but not on the open highway.