The financial Truth: Petrol vs Diesel

[praveen_v]

Originally Posted by anilkalvani

Suppose i tweak the equation a little

Diesel Logan
Distance/month: 1000 KM
Average Speed: 0-35 KMPH (Heavy Stop & Go Traffic in Mumbai)
Fuel Consumed: 83.33 ltr
Fuel Cost: Rs. 3000 (@36)
Average: 12 kmpl (with 100% a/c)

Expected same if I had petrol car:

Distance/month: 1000 KM
Average Speed: 0-35 KMPH
Fuel Consumed: 117.65 ltr
Fuel Cost: Rs. 6000 (@51)
Average: 8.5 kmpl (with 100% a/c)
(PETROL CARS ARE LESSER FUEL EFFICIENT THAN DIESEL ESPECIALLY IN HEAVY TRAFFIC; MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE)

this excludes forthnightly away trips

So, my perspective, & solely my opinion, is that not only does doing more kms/year matter but also driving conditions play a big part.


Anil

Once again it's a comparison of running in a period, where the diesel will obviously turn out cheaper. The main gain with the petrol car is when you buy it. Once the purchase is over, the diesel will always be economical. So the kms run will be the determining factor as to which one to go for.

And yes, diesel is more fuel efficient than petrols (of similar models) and this holds true both while running and when idling(and crawling).

Originally Posted by ravibhat

In India everything go by HYPE and common man falls prey to this which is very unfortunate.

People who commute around 1000km per month buy Diesel by calculating fuel bill. When we consider all into the account I feel Petrol and Diesel won't make much difference.

In City driving condition Diesel vehicle with good torque is ideal choice while on highway cruising Petrol gives best comfort with excellant pickup with Ac on.

Exactly my thoughts. I own a non-crdi diesel and felt that the engine response kept getting lower and lower in it's life. And IMO diesels require more maintanance logically because it's heavier and have more working parts.

In few years the HYPE about Diesel cars will cool down and Petrol and Diesel will have same value.

The diesel is cheaper now only because Trucks/Buses run on it. If the current trend in oil prices continues, the govt might be prompted to sell diesel under different pricing. A special pricing for the essential goods carrying trucks and govt transport buses, while a different diesel pricing for the induvidual and private users.

With the mega increase in diesel car sales, I am sure different diesel pricing policy will be implemented sometime in the future.

[sahakar]

Here's an article of diesel coming back in favor in the US.
It has very good points and counter points on diesels.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/au.../18DIESEL.html

The pros for diesel are -
- More environmentally friendly
- Diesel engines extract more power out of the engine due to higher compression ratios
- Diesels give higher mileage
- Diesels are more hardy vehicles and have better resale values

The cons for diesel are -
- Current higher price diesel reduces the advantage of higher mileage
- Consumers pay more for diesel cars
- Competition from hybrids

However, the killer alternative would be diesel hybrids. Till practical electric or hydrogen fuel cars arrive, diesel hybrids may be the next big thing.

[Woods]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Ravi,

to add to your point, cars like swift diesel or dZire are fantastic for mid traffic roll ons, but for someone in urban crawls - the turbo lag is downright irritating. Ditto shame for Indica/go TDIs. While say a UVA/i10 would be driving happily in clutch traffic!

Not true mate!
Clearly you haven't driven the swift D in urban crawls because if you had, you would know that swift D is a charm to drive.

Especially with the beefed up clutch, which once released makes the car to move from a stand still even in second gear!

Coming to your misconception about the turbo lag. This comes into picture when you slow down on a highway, for example, and want to accelerate fast to get back to speed. Now this is when the turbo lag does makes its presence felt.

And you know what mate? it is this Turbo lag, after which, swift D feels like a rocket (once the turbo kicks in)!