Petrol vs. Diesel Cars – Which is the Cheapest Option Overall?
When you purchase a new vehicle these days in the, you will often have the ability to decide between taking home a vehicle with a petrol engine and a vehicle powered by diesel fuel. This has become more of a concern these days with rising fuel prices around the country and world. And while it is a rather simple affair to judge that the model powered by petrol will cost less out of pocket when you drive it off the lot, it is often more of a challenge to figure out which of the two vehicles is likely to cost you more money over the long haul. As a result, this will be the focus of this article.
The reason the decision process is not nearly as simple as you might expect is because there are a number of factors that affect the overall running costs of diesel and petrol cars, including the price of fuel, the size of service bills that will inevitably arise with both vehicles, the charges that will accumulate based on mileage, and the charges that will occur due to emissions.
The primary advantage a diesel has over a petrol powered vehicle, of course, is that it tends to run farther on a given amount of fuel. This will vary, naturally, from car to car, as not every diesel is more efficient than every petrol powered car. However, it is generally a good assumption that if you are comparing the same vehicle that is available in both diesel and petrol powered trims, the diesel trim will be the more efficient of the two, while the petrol trim will initially be the less expensive of the two. Which, then, should you choose?
Given that a petrol powered vehicle, therefore, will cost you less off the lot, it is worth factoring in the other elements of car ownership that will come into play to help you determine the break even point. For example, if you are a lower mileage driver, meaning that you put fewer miles per year on your vehicle than most, then you will use much less fuel regardless of which kind of fuel your vehicle runs on, which means it will take significantly longer for the diesel variant of your car to pay for itself in fuel savings compared to the petrol powered version.
On the other hand, if you rack up dozens of thousands of miles each year, the math becomes more favorable for the diesel powered car. Similarly, consider your impact on the environment and the influence of car taxes on your decision.
As you can see, it is not a simple matter of stating petrol cars are better or diesel cars are better for the average driver. What is really better will depend on your own unique needs and circumstances, and it is worth sitting down by yourself or with your spouse and figuring out what the right choice is ahead of time. This can save you a lot of money down the road.