Thanks for the comments folks. At the end of the day it did come down to just a which engine question.
The decision has been made and I collect my Supercharged on Thursday.
After much scrutiny of the new Lion TDV8 engineering, Siemens Piezo Common Rail, Stanadyne FM100 filtration and the complex twin turbo arrangement, including the enormous cost of replacement parts and specialist maintenance, I reached the conclusion that for me the short term benefits of economy at the bowser and fewer refueling stops would never compensate for the peace of mind achieved by the relatively simple, tried and tested Jaguar petrol motor with bolted on Eaton supercharger.
Whilst I’ve no doubt the diesel in one of the best available on the market, I remain unconvinced as to the viability of any modern diesel beyond the end of the manufacturers warranty. Even during warranty there is always the potential for squabbles with the dealer over cause of failure and there are many such tales of bad experience due to alleged fuel contamination to be found on the interweb.
The day of the trouble-free robust mechanical diesel is long gone. As far as the Australian market is concerned, there are a very small number of repairers with the skills, equipment and clean room necessary to repair a hi-tech diesel and that means any problem is likely to be expensive with considerable downtime.
The other big issue is that you never can be sure what purity of diesel you are putting in your tank as the various suppliers seem to be getting away with blending in all manner and ratios of biofuels without requirement to inform the customer.
Below are a few of the interesting links which I found along the way.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/2006/05/10/a...enance.htm
http://www.issinstitute.org.au/pdfs/report_execsum_HARDING.pdf
http://www.btlrus.com/crinjectortesting.htm
http://www.stanadyne.com/docs/pubf/99889%20FM%20Brochure.pdf
http://www.exploroz.com/Forum/Topic/45887/...ystem.aspx
You need to read between the lines and reach your own conclusions but IMHO I believe long term the petrol will win hands down. Only time will tell I guess.
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