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Struggling to adapt to petrol car after passing test in diesel

Hi i passed my test in a diesel car where i didnt have to use any gas to move off or reverse

Driving my car, a petrol toyota aygo, im struggling to move off and reverse without stalling or overrevving as im not used to having to put gas in

Any ideas? What is the right way to move off and reverse and even crawl in queuing traffic with this type of car?
Use the clutch to get you going and add "gas" slowly as you need. If you're over-reving too much just practice moving off somewhere quiet. Just bring the clutch up and add little gas and see what happens, if you find you're not going anywhere add more till you do. You'll find the balance for your car:smile:

Oh, and if i'm just crawling which I often do on the way home frrm work i usually don't even need to use much gas at all.
(edited 11 years ago)
Many people have same problem. Find biting point first and apply gas. I noticed also I need to get up to higher gears a lot quicker whereas in a diesel you can use lower gears for a longer time. Take her out and practice!
Reply 3
Time and patience is what you need.
You don't need gas to move in a petrol car just take your time lifting the clutch
Reply 5
The accelerator pedal, if you want to accelerate, then use it....
Reply 6
Bring it up to bite, add just enough power to make a noise but not scream. Slowly lift the clutch up the rest of the way. Done.
Reply 7
Takes a while to properly get used to a little petrol engine coming from a diesel engine.
Yeah, I just passed in a 1.4 Diesel Yaris and I'm worried about the same thing. It seems like such a hassle because of how much you actually have to use the clutch, why don't they make the modern petrol cars like Diesel in this regard?
There's a pedal which in dumb terms "Makes you go forward".... press that pedal.
Original post by mandem2k11
Hi i passed my test in a diesel car where i didnt have to use any gas to move off or reverse

Driving my car, a petrol toyota aygo, im struggling to move off and reverse without stalling or overrevving as im not used to having to put gas in

Any ideas? What is the right way to move off and reverse and even crawl in queuing traffic with this type of car?


It's just a case of feeding the throttle in as you lift the clutch, there's no real trick to it other than picking an rpm and holding the car at that level as you lift the clutch.

Original post by randomgeeza
Yeah, I just passed in a 1.4 Diesel Yaris and I'm worried about the same thing. It seems like such a hassle because of how much you actually have to use the clutch, why don't they make the modern petrol cars like Diesel in this regard?


Petrol and diesel engines are very different in the way they deliver torque and power so you can't really make a petrol like a diesel. You'll always find diesels have better low end torque which is great for pulling away but petrols will have better top end performance which typically leads to better acceleration and top speed. For the way you are taught to drive a diesel makes more sense than a petrol but petrols are typically more fun to drive.

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