diesel or petrol? is it worth it on a smaller car?

Surely the diesel being a false economy is not really as valid now since the price for petrol and diesel are, here, 1p to 2p difference per litre (and in some garages I've seen it at the same price) or am I missing something?



M
 
It could make sense if the urban consumption figures for the diesel are significantly better than the petrol.
 
bulldog147 said:
Get a petrol car Rich, I use to have diesel car before (get rid of it, because of annoyed long wait for warm the engine up in cold freezing winter) petrol is far better to warm up engine pretty fast in winter. I had purchase brand new car on these both diesel (in the past) and petrol (current) but petrol is the winner for me!
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I have a diesel Golf *ducks* and it has an integrated PET heater which emits warm air pretty much as soon as you start the car. Most modern diesels would have this now surely?
 
Dolph said:
Unless you're doing high miles, getting the diesel is generally economically pointless.

However, that doesn't mean it is entirely pointless, drive both and see which you prefer overall. The way they drive is very different.
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yes, one is good and the other is not :p
 
If its a purely financial decision, you need to take the difference in cost price and divide that out over the difference in mileage to see how many miles you get for free buying the cheaper petrol car, you also need to factor in residuals.
I did the same a few years ago when i bought my Phaeton and the petrol worked out to be much cheaper for me :)
 
Dolph said:
Unless you're doing high miles, getting the diesel is generally economically pointless.

However, that doesn't mean it is entirely pointless, drive both and see which you prefer overall. The way they drive is very different.
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This.

Then again it all comes down to what you can get the car for in the first place. There is no "rule" as IIRC the article claiming that it only makes sense over 20K miles was comparing new cars - and I doubt you're looking to get one.
 
Tute said:
This.

Then again it all comes down to what you can get the car for in the first place. There is no "rule" as IIRC the article claiming that it only makes sense over 20K miles was comparing new cars - and I doubt you're looking to get one.
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The reasons are the same for new or used. Diesels hold their money better so are more expensive to buy (diesel is also more expensive to buy) so you need to work out over your expected mileage the running costs of both.
 
If the diesel urban consumption figures are massively better than the petrol, it also makes sense.

Remember, petrol engines use much more fuel in city and stop-start driving than diesels.
Looking at mixed and extra-urban is pointless if the OP has a low annual mileage.
 
mjt said:
Remember, petrol engines use much more fuel in city and stop-start driving than diesels.
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IME they dont - the difference stays quite constant as usage changes - but even if they did its hard to do massive miles around town so this difference doesnt translate to a huge financial difference.

In town the 530d does a staggering 28mpg. Wow!
 
[TW]Fox;15850002 said:
IME they dont - the difference stays quite constant as usage changes - but even if they did its hard to do massive miles around town so this difference doesnt translate to a huge financial difference.

In town the 530d does a staggering 28mpg. Wow!
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My e60 525d does 24mpg on my commute through town. It is pre-LCI though, apparently post-LCI ones are more economical.

The 116i loaner I had did 23mpg, so diesel > petrol ;)
 
A Leon Cupra 1.8T with 180bhp does around 26mpg on the urban cycle, and a pd 150 will do almost 40mpg on the same cycle.
That is a massive difference if you spend a lot of time in traffic.

The OP is referring to smaller cars anyway, obviously with 3 litre 6 cylinder engines, the results aren't as clear cut.
 
mjt said:
A Leon Cupra 1.8T with 180bhp does around 26mpg on the urban cycle, and a pd 150 will do almost 40mpg on the same cycle.
That is a massive difference if you spend a lot of time in traffic.
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Not really, because if you spend a lot of time in traffic you cant drive very far therefore even if you were doing 10mpg you are hardly breaking the bank?

I get 19mpg and honestly dont care because my driving is all around town and therefore I don't drive very far.

My monthly commuting bill @ 19mpg is £45!

To rack up proper miles you need proper roads whereby you'll get more than urban fuel consumption figures. A 10 mile slog through traffic taking an hour at rush hour is just that - 10 miles. Nothing.
 
mjt said:
For people who ONLY sit in jams and do stop/start driving in the town, diesel makes sense :p
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How though? If you are going to spend your entire life sitting in traffic surely the silence of petrol is a bonus because lets face it, the cost of fuel is utterly immaterial?
 
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