[deepclutch]

I read sometimes back specification wise ,diesel is much more a cleaner fuel type compared to petrol.the diesel engine design is not evolved enough to exploit the possibilities -diesle the better greener fuel
Diesel technology best for Indian auto sector: Expert-Pune-Cities-The Times of India
Diesel: Greener Than You Think
Mercy-benz bluetec:
Mercedes BlueTEC has luxury, technology

[greenhorn]

and i think the indica was designed ( and still remains mainly) a diesel car !

[Bouncer]

1. From purely financial point of view, in my opinion Disel is anyday cheaper. Till a year back all our cars were petrols now all are diesels.

2. Many BHPians have done the maths of initial buying cost, fuel cost, average and daily run here, so won't reapeat all of that. My calculation for hatch roughly says if running per month is more than 1700 / 1800 kms, diesel will be cheaper.

3. Since we are talking from financial point of view, point to be noted is almost all hired / commercial cars are diesels. (Except luxury segment I guess).

4. As somebody mentioned on this thread, I don't fill the pinch when I go to fuel my cars. In a diesel, I don't mind keeping my car engine running for A.C. whenever i am waiting in a car for half hour or so. In a petrol, I have never done that.

[asr245]

Originally Posted by Bubby

Sir,

Palio 1.6 Petrol weighs 1060 kgs
Palio 1.3 Diesel weighs 1065 kgs

I dont think that difference of 5kgs would lead to more wear and tear of the Diesel variants suspension

And you dont see that one with greater capacity engine is actually 5 kgs lighter than the one with smaller capacity?? then how much would a diesel 1.6 weigh?

[phamilyman]

@asr - Its not just capacity. Please google a bit more

@Bouncer - with cities expanding - diesel makes more sense. today its normal in delhi to travel 40-50km during the day to commute.

[Bubby]

Originally Posted by asr245

And you dont see that one with greater capacity engine is actually 5 kgs lighter than the one with smaller capacity?? then how much would a diesel 1.6 weigh?

Goodness me, you are using scale to measure the context I mentioned. No point in going OT here, take help from Google ji

[shatrughna]

Very interesting reading so far. I would also like to share my experience. My first car Maruti 800- petrol - obviously as it was most affordable and within budget and Indica was not launched.

Next was Wagon R- Indica was just launched with all the fanfare but never considered it due to niggles I heard it had and made all the noises and vibrations.

2 years down the line V2 was launched - very economical - less price, good reports, interest rates @7% - went for an exchange .Wagon R- OTR was 4.54 lakhs ( anniv model) and sold it after 33K kms at 2.75 lakhs- and got a V2 DLS at 3.3 lakhs- it was for the first 1 year such a fun, so much peace of mind at petrol pumps - in less than Rs.800/- used to get a tankful and after that never bothered to calculate the fuel cost or running cost - FE was also superb.

When the honeymoon was over - started getting typical screetching noise , pulley and belt, loose silencer( exhaust) etc. etc. and worst thing was the leakage in the monsoons through the door as the film in the panel used to get punctured due to the central locking pins/ fittings - got thoroughly irritated during the second monsoon and dumped it to a taxi fleet owner- at 2.3 lakhs (around 49K kms) . Also would mention that with AC switched on , at inclines even very gradual ones, the car used to feel almost struggling / dead. A petrol Indica would have been quoted 1.5 lakhs at that time and many few takers.

IMHO this was a far better resale value than I got for the Wagon R.

Next was Accent CRDi - a lot has been said about it. Fun, economical, silent, scorcher and you know how it may have felt after driving an indica. That was the last time I doubted capability of a diesel engine. No mods, no fancy accesories and practical nil expenses on spares other than the periodic maintenance which was almost neglible.

Next was a Pailo which I picked up as a second car. Which was far below the benchmark set by Accent and less said the better.

After 65K in close to 3 years and reasonably ok resale value for the Accent- 4.4 lakhs ( including exhange / loyalty bonus of that I got while buying Verna) . Verna VGT SX ABS- just lacked airbags and AT tranny else there was nothing better VFM with fun to drive Quotient this side of 10Lakhs. Out and Out fun - but since disposed it off for something better too soon - just got 6.9 Lakhs against 9.5 lakhs at 11K in 6 months. Poorest resale value but the best car so far.

Then again time for an automatic transmission due to long commute in peak hours in the city. Santro AT- as they say - "Santro chalane wale always khush" - its a good fun car in small budget- works fine, no hassles , no niggles, and yes its so peppy - can tail almost all the bigger cars on the city roads as well as highways. Well in city sometimes even a bicycle is faster than cars. But what I like most about santro is that its absolutely silent, no vibrations and yes can make good noise in kickdown mode. But Verna also was equally silent and vibes free - at least inside.

Next two that I picked up are also diesle ones - one hardly driven so no comments as yet but there was no petrol option available in the lineup within budget and I bought it for various reasons other than lower running cost as it doesnt make any economical sense to buy a costly car for economy and other too big too drive so comfortably ( Scorpio) in city as comapred to Santro.

Summing it up- Petrol or diesel actually wont matter in the long run. In my mind debate over petrol and diesel is not there. Based on the need, availability of the model and options in diesel & petrol engines, budget etc. we have reasonably good options in petrol and diesel engines for an average commuter. For performance enthusiasts - beginners - if I may say so- diesels with turbo , chips, remaps , FFE etc. are also available. But for an automotive nirvana I still believe - petrols rules!

[mobike008]

@bubby, which diesel car you own that gives you 21kms to every litre? I haven't come across anyone that gives you that much in city driving?

[Eddy]

Around 40% of the distance covered on way to where Bubby (and I) work is on the NH8 which is a dream to drive. Quite usual to see the MJD giving 21 to the litre.

[Bubby]

Originally Posted by mobike008

@bubby, which diesel car you own that gives you 21kms to every litre? I haven't come across anyone that gives you that much in city driving?

I drive a Palio MJD.

As Eddy said, Delhi-Gurgaon expressway is a dream to drive, also to add to it i usually start around 0715am for my place, i start that early just to avoid peak traffic, so that in turn results in better FE figures.

Though while going back home i usually face heavy bumper to bumper traffic for about 60% of the distance.

Originally Posted by Eddy

Around 40% of the distance covered on way to where Bubby (and I) work is on the NH8 which is a dream to drive. Quite usual to see the MJD giving 21 to the litre.

[revhappy]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

....Cost of diesel(regular, Bangalore price) - 32

Petrol - 45

Where did you get those prices from.
I am in Bangalore and the price of ordinary Diesel is 34.80 and petrol is 46.28
Do you go to outskirts to fillup or something?

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by mobike008

@bubby, which diesel car you own that gives you 21kms to every litre? I haven't come across anyone that gives you that much in city driving?

My DDIS gave over 22 kmpl last time. 75% city 25% highway with no AC. last 3 fills I am getting over 20kmpl.

Originally Posted by revhappy

Where did you get those prices from.
I am in Bangalore and the price of ordinary Diesel is 34.80 and petrol is 46.28
Do you go to outskirts to fillup or something?

I live outskirts of Bangalore. Also I was just giving approx figures. you may take whatever rates that are prevailing where ever in India and work out the math you would end up with more are less the same break even.

People scare me that the cost of maintenance is going to increase exponentially after 60k KMs but I am optimistic and believe that Maruti provides Lowest TCO maintenance and this particular engine (DDIS/MJD/QJD) is built to last at least 5L kms. So no worries.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Staff : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 15 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

[ravibhat]

Well I agree to members who justify Diesel is cheap to drive, but its cheap only If you clock more than 1600km per month.

Please remember any Diesel car once it clocks 60 to 80000km would need nearly double the maintenance cost than Petrol. Cars other than Toyota have not prooved still how much they go strong after 2 lacs kilometers.

Also 5 years downtheline cost of Petrol and Diesel would be on similar pricing. Car makers are making money by selling more and more Diesel cars and only 50% of buyers are utilizing Diesel advantage, rest all just buy blindly just keeping FE in mind thats it.

New Diesel cars cost more than 80,000/- comapred to their Petrol variants while In resale market few Diesel cars like Innova D, Swift, Dizire are fetching better values compared to Petrol ones and same trend would continue.

But once car completes 4 years or 1 lac kilometers Petrol ones fetch better value

After doing lot of research I have found there won't be any difference between Petrol/Diesel cars. Both will be one and same.

Regards,

Ravi.

[revhappy]

Originally Posted by ravibhat

....Also 5 years downtheline cost of Petrol and Diesel would be on similar pricing....

This is the biggest threat for Diesel owners.
Already we can see it
Old Petrol price 57.17

Old Diesel price 39.xx

New Petrol price 46.28

New Diesel price 34.80

Thats a reduction of 19% on petrol but only a meagre 10% on diesel.

What about the truck strike? Why didnt the stupid govt listen to them and reduce diesel prices if not more atleast in line with petrol prices

[aka_iitd]

It largely depends on the profit Oil companies are making. They always tend to make more profit on petrol than diesel
I believe diesel is more used in India then Petrol. Any data available