Fuel Consumption (Petrol vs. Diesel)

[triggerthat]

I always thought Diesels would be a wise choice given any circumstance (town driving, motorways etc.) however, I've noticed on the forums that people said there isn't much difference in terms of saving. If anyone can prove this, mathematically, that would be great.

I recently had 1.4 RT Clio which I drove around town and on the motorway. On average, I got around 35 miles to the galon (300-350 miles to the tank) which isn't that impressive but still.

My dad, owning a Golf TDI can get around 600 to the tank doing mostly town driving which works out at around 45-50 miles to the galon.

I recently drove upto Lancaster from london, which is 540 miles there and back. This needed nearly 2 tanks of petrols where the TDI could do it in 1 tank...

 

[triggerthat]

How much does diesel cost over there?
Down here it costs an arm and a leg compared to petrol

Isn't diesel a few pennies more than petrol?

 

[triggerthat]

As a student, every saving is crucial.

In terms of performance, having a car which is slightly more powerful yet returns more miles seems a logical step (1.4 RT vs. TD 306).

In terms of breaking even, how about a cheap diesel - sub £1000.