You got me thinking.
Combined fig for Golf 150 TDI is about 43mpg. Which is accurate, that's what we get with blend of town and motorway. Think the 1.8T Golf figure is nearer 35mpg.
The TDI proves 23% more efficient with all other things equal.
So applying that to the Elise, whose combined mpg is something like 40, you are looking at nearly 50mpg. COMBINED. And my m-way figure is usually 45, so taking that up by 23% we are at 55mpg
Obviously the TDI lump is much heavier - did I read that a K is about 65kg? Surely the TDI has to be twice that if not more. And that's assuming it can actually fit
I think VW do a smaller TDI, a 1.4 poss 3 cyl version, fitted to Audi A2, Polos and the Fabia. It's an 80 bhp unit but probably pushed out more torque than the Elise 1.8 K, and it should be tunable for maybe another 50%. So you could have a 120bhp small diesel on board, I'd have thought
But just think of the vibration at idle !!!
Toyota also do a D4-D engine in 1.4 turbo size I think. Toyota...now where have we heard that name before! And I think the MINI Cooper Diesel uses a 1.6 Toyota unit?
