Why are modern diesels bad for short journeys?

I would be grateful for information on cars using diesel. I have been told that this is a good feature if you are doing a lot of distance driving, but not a good choice if the running is mostly local. Enlightenment would be welcome.

Asked on 23 March 2013 by AB, via email

Answered by Honest John

That is correct. Since January 2011 all diesel cars have been fitted with a diesel particulate filter that gathers the black smoke on start up and incinerates it later in the car's journey. It cannot do that if there is no 'later' and the DPF will eventually become blocked, leading to other problems. Some of the latest diesels overcome this with new technology that fires off the DPF sooner after start up. These include the Renault 1.6DCI 130, Mazda 2.2d Skyactiv, Honda 1.6iDTEC and current generation 2.0 litre BMW diesels.

Tags: short journeys dpf diesels

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