Awww, I missed all the fun
I guess the biggest point I'd make is that I don't care how fast a diesel is in a straight line, or round a corner, or whatever: It's still a diesel, and thus makes a horrible noise and revs to about 27rpm. Much in the way I'd rather have a slower RWD car than a fast FWD one, I'd rather have a slow petrol car than a fast diesel.
And saying all that, I'd quite fancy a nice diesel barge like that for motorway commuting. Must be quite epic with all that torque!