Petrol or diesel?

Selecting between a diesel and a petrol car used to be as easy as deciding what colour tie you should wear to work. However, making that choice is no longer as clear cut as it used to be.

Although diesel engines were far more efficient than their petrol counterparts they were usually noisy and smelly. However, times have changed and car manufactures wised up by developing diesel engines that were a whole lot cleaner, powerful and even more efficient than they were before. With tax also being cheaper and diesel costing less at the pumps choosing between the two engines has become a little less clear cut. However there is a caveat to this. With better diesel engines comes premium car prices. So is diesel still the answer to more cost effective motoring?

In order to help answer this question there are several factors you need to take into consideration. Firstly, there’s the actual cost of the fuel itself. As of typing, the price of diesel is higher than petrol but if you take miles to the gallon into consideration then diesel would win pretty comfortably. However, manufacturers are now creating technology that is making petrol engines much closer to that of a diesel in terms of economy. We can therefore put a question mark over the higher price of diesel.

Another factor to take into consideration is the value of the car after a certain period of time. Diesel cars are more prone to retain their value much better than petrol cars. This is because car buyers are now much more conscientious about their money. With better fuel economy and lower tax the demand for diesel cars are higher. The only problem with this is that diesel cars are seen as being less reliable and therefore buyers are aware of the higher costs of maintaining or repairing a diesel engine.

Diesel models tend to be slower than petrol models. They are also rougher and sound louder than their petrol equivalents. However, diesel engines give you more power and a much better level of torque especially when carrying a heavy load or overtaking. Physically you will struggle to tell the difference between the two as manufacturers are keen to mask any trademark signs. There’s also the “green” aspect. Petrol cars are seen as being more harmful to the environment due to the fact they are less efficient.

In conclusion the differences between owning a diesel or petrol engine car are not a clear as they once were. In fact, you could say that it should now be one of the smallest factors to consider when purchasing your next car. Diesel engines give a far superior fuel consumption but you need to travel a lot of miles before you see any real savings due to the premium cost of diesel cars.

The gap between diesel and petrol cars in terms of performance and efficiency is getting smaller by the day. At present there really is no clear cut answer to the question asked at the start of this article. When you look at the pro’s and con’s it appears that your decisions should really come down to personal choice. For example, you may be happier paying a little more at the pump in order to reduce your effect on the environment.

Whatever type of engine you decide to buy we have a wide selection of cars to choose from. Our pick of the best 2013 diesel cars include the Volvo S40 diesel the Volkswagen Golf diesel and the BMW 3 Series diesel. Feel free to compare other petrol and diesel cars on DesperateSeller.co.uk.