2.5 Diesel against 2.5 Turbo Diesel

Hello,
I am looking to buy a Duetto but I am really stuck on whether to get a 2.5 Diesel or the less common 2.5 Turbo Diesel engine model.
Can anyone tell me if the Turbo makes much difference and if its worth me holding out to find a Turbo Diesel model?

Many thanks
Mike

Hi there,

Have copied my own results from "Duetto what mpg?" that is about seven threads down.

I understand my own engine to be 1 2.4TD rather than a 2.5TD.

Hope this helps,

Dutto


Hi there,

I think I must be a bit more gentle on the throttle and brakes than most other people as I can now report after the first one-thousand miles that:

1) Towing a boat for about 30% of the time I averaged 32 miles per gallon.

2) Wandering up and down the roads of Lincolnshire without the boat I averaged 34 miles per gallon.

I have yet to try ambling along at 46 miles per hour on an extended motorway journey (don't worry, I have an automatic "I don't care!" signal fitted on the drivers side window!) but I am reasonably confident that I may be able to squeeze 35 miles per gallon out of "Petal" if I drain the tanks of unnecessary liquids before setting off.

The extra 5 mpg may not seem a lot but on a round trip from Skegness to Malaga in Spain and back it saves £85 of diesel at £1.35 a litre. That is enough for 255 litres of wine in Lidl, France!! Well worth the effort!

Hi Mike,

I can't discuss any technical issues involved, because I wouldn't understand them! But if it's any help we have a Symphony with the 2.5 Turbo version, and from a purely practical point of view it does seem to make a big difference. I drive a lot of mini-buses, and the ones without a Turbo are very sluggish by comparison.

Driving our Symphony is pretty easy. No speed records are every broken, but she'll comfortably go up most hills in 3rd gear, and returns about 30mpg.

Hope this helps

Jeff

willenhall12 wrote:Hello,
I am looking to buy a Duetto but I am really stuck on whether to get a 2.5 Diesel or the less common 2.5 Turbo Diesel engine model.
Can anyone tell me if the Turbo makes much difference and if its worth me holding out to find a Turbo Diesel model?

Many thanks
Mike

If looking to buy a Duetto you will find most are fitted with the 2.5 Turbo apart from a few older ones. Having owned both a 2.5 direct injection which admittedly was a SWB van, and the 2.5 Turbo in the Duetto I currently own (LWB Transit), I would say this;

The 2.5 direct injection non-turbo engine returned a minimum of 35mpg and on long tours overseas I regularly got as much as 40mpg. The engines are rough, crude, simple and 'agricultural'.....but rock solid reliable. Dirt cheap to maintain and parts can easily be sourced anywhere throughout Europe. My brake master cylinder packed up in Bavaria. No problem. I was just ten minutes away from a Ford Garage who came out picked the van up and had the job done for the following day. And this was a sixteen year old van!

The 2.5 Turbo diesel will average a return of around 30-32mpg. Anyone that tells you they get more than that is either a dreamer or only driving it downhill with a tail wind! Though the engine is still basically the same as the direct injection, Ford got a bit more 'fancy' by introducing electronics, e.g. the accelerator is 'fly by wire' (no cable). So if that goes bang you are calling your breakdown services out to tow you in! Many engine parts for the Turbo are also a lot more expensive than the direct injection.

Power/Speed?

Personally I feel my non-turbo was faster though a bit difficult to make comparisons as that was a SWB with no onboard water tanks and lightweight furniture. The van I have now is a Duetto LWB with onboard tanks, plus the furniture is heavier so altogether a heavier van than my previous.

If you find a non-turbo and the price is right I wouldn't turn it away simply because it has no turbo. These engines are real workhorses and will go forever and a day. You can always have an aftermarket turbo fitted if you wanted one but personally I wouldn't as they are an expensive conversion using non-Ford parts.

Besides the non-turbo/turbo all Ford engines were made in a number of derivatives with different PS output (PS = Pferdestärken is German for our Horsepower). It's worth checking which engine is in the van you are looking at.

Hi,
used to drive a lot of non turbo transits as service vans and as the last poster said they were 100% reliable but a little under powered. When we moved up to the Turbo version of the same van the power increase was welcome and most noticeable but nearly all of the turbo fleet suffered expensive problems with turbo failure or wastegates sticking. The drivers seats on all that generation of transits were excellent, the only fault that came to mind with the non turbo was the door locks failing which would not be a problem if you have electronic key fob locking. I would try the non turbo version and if you find it OK go for it. Watch out for rusty front wings etc.The very latest turbo transits I know very little about apart from a minibus version I sometimes drive which has auto wipers,auto headlights, air con, 6 speed gearbox, etc.etc. I don't know whats under the bonnet but it flies and I never want to return it,
Regards,
Chris
PS You can get a petrol which is OK if you don't intend long journeys, or if you live in the LEZ area it should be exempt

Dont forget the later Duetto's were fitted with a 2.4L td engine as Dutto points out.

I think this is probably more efficient than the earlier 2.5 engines. I was very wary when we got the Windsor with its 2.4td engine as I was of the opinion the 2.5td was lacking compared with their later 2.8td - I need not have worried the 2.4td Ford engine wins hands down so in a panel van conversion it will be even nippier and more economical