(11 Oct 2019, 1:27 pm)deanmachine wrote

It's better than 4 cars because large diesel engines are a lot more efficient than small passenger car engines. They're above 50% thermal efficiency these days, where a normal petrol/diesel engine struggles to get 35%, I don't have time to dig out all the research I did when I was on placement to Cummins Turbo Technologies at the minute, but I learned a lot about large diesel engines and how good they actually are at converting fossil fuels into energy. This was in 2014, so the technology in a brand new Cummins powered E200 I imagine is getting even better.

I'd also say a bus ran by a company such as GNE has vehicles that are in much better condition than some of the diesel passenger cars driving around with their dirty black smoke coming out of the back of them, so there's another advantage to a bus. I'd be willing to hear an argument that a modern plug in hybrid or electric car is better for the environment than a bus, but they're expensive, and a bus pass is probably better compared to a dirty old diesel car that we should be trying to get off the road.

I'm not disagreeing with you there, in fact I personally rarely travel by car anymore, I'd much rather take the bus even if the car is more convenient.

Our car is a 12 plate Diesel X-Trail that I'm fairly sure was modded by the previous owner for better economy as it get's better MPG than Nissan claims, and that's with my mother driving who is the literal definition of an uneconomical driver, so there is no doubt that travelling by bus is better for the environment, especially since all the buses that I travel on are Euro 6.

If I do ever decide to get a car myself, it will almost certainly be fully electric, because they are far more efficient in terms of both emissions and energy usage. Plus, the fact that they cost a hell of a lot less to run, have instant torque (a quick car is better than a fast car IMO) and are quiet mean I have no desire to own an ICE car.

What I do disagree with is people wanting to get diesel cars off the road surely it's better to keep the car running, even if it produces more emissions than it is to manufacture a new car.