[rohit0103]

I changed my choice from ZDi to ZXi 2 days before taking delivery of my Ertiga-coz I read the government's decision to raise prices of diesel every month.

When I had booked in June 2012 the price diff was >Rs 30/L. By this year end 2013, probably it would be Rs 15.

Based on my usage of less than 7.5K per year, it was not so intelligent decision even in June 2012- but I still would have gone with diesel for its performance and fun. But now, not so- Financial sense prevails.

Another reason for non diesel- diesel fumes. Family hates it-becomes nauseous.

[AVT]

As long as the diesel variant is more powerful than its petrol counterpart , I would go for the diesel!

[johy]

I voted for Petrol, more clean.

That aside, I had been mulling diesel cars for my Baleno replacement. That is till I drove the Linea T-Jet!

[AutoIndian]

Wonder how I did not come across this thread earlier. Nevertheless better late than never, more so now that the poll is going to be closed on 25th March, I have voted just in the nick of time.

I have voted a "NO" for the question posted, "Would you still buy a Diesel car if Diesel was priced closer to Petrol?". However I am using a diesel car (not now, but for the last 9 years) & would continue to do so until such time, till I find a worthy replacement.

I consider myself to be one of those few lucky chaps, who not just paid a low initial upfront price for getting a diesel car, but enjoyed the lower fuel price over the years, each time I went to the bunk to do a tank-full. Luck favored me on 3 counts :

• The diesel variant costed me a premium of just 15K over the petrol version in 2004.
• The rate of price increase in petrol far exceeded than that of diesel in the subsequent years.(combine that with excellent diesel mileage)
• Those were the days of lowest interest rates (got a car loan for 6.26% from HDFC & then later a housing loan for - hold your breath, 7.25% fixed)

When I became a proud father of my first kid in 2004, the very next thing on my radar was to graduate from a bike to a car. Even 9 years back, I was haunted by the million dollar question, whether to go for a petrol or a diesel.

Luckily one of my friend's friend who was working in a Maruti showroom, advised me to go for a diesel car only if my monthly running was above 1000 kms. I being based in Mumbai for job & parents staying in Pune, meant that I would be frequently doing the Mumbai-Pune trips & surpassing 1k kms a month was not a big deal. So it was diesel for me. Moreover my choice was limited only to the Indica/Indigo family as there were no other small car options in diesel that time (not even from Maruti). Since Indigo meant larger parking space, it was ruled out. I went for the top end Indica diesel (DLX). Icing on the cake, the diesel variant was coming just at a premium of around 15K over the petrol version. In today's scenario though diesel is cheaper than petrol, the gap is likely to close in a year or two. The biggest deterrent is the pricing differential between the petrol & diesel variants. In most of the cases it is 100K INR or above. My target car, the Ertiga's diesel variant is almost INR 140K (on road) dearer than its petrol sibling.

Due to all these factors, I have made up my mind, to go for a used petrol Ertiga ZXi (I always prefer the top end models), next year (mid-2014) & look at the option of converting it to CNG. As of now no diesel upgrade. So all you Ertiga ZXi owners out there, you already have one customer, who is ready to wait for one year.

[trakesht]

Voted yes.
If diesel was priced closer to petrol, the current 20% premium of Diesel variants will come down to probably 10%. In that case, the inherently beter milage and torque of diesel will trump the petrol engine for me (and my driving style).

[TaurusAl]

I can’t believe how neck-to-neck is the competition here. I Voted YES. I don’t know if it's the Maruti DDiS that has taken my heart away, but I don’t like to drive petrol cars anymore. Mileage, yes, a big deciding factor and Diesel wins hands down.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by rohit0103

I changed my choice from ZDi to ZXi 2 days before taking delivery of my Ertiga-coz I read the government's decision to raise prices of diesel every month.

When I had booked in June 2012 the price diff was >Rs 30/L. By this year end 2013, probably it would be Rs 15.

Based on my usage of less than 7.5K per year, it was not so intelligent decision even in June 2012- but I still would have gone with diesel for its performance and fun. But now, not so- Financial sense prevails.

Another reason for non diesel- diesel fumes. Family hates it-becomes nauseous.

Just for the heads up,its the petrol,that is still leading the pricing game.
at the time when diesel price was raised by 45 paise,petrol rose up by 1.40INR.What fumes are you referring to here?,modern diesels do not release any fumes.

[Nilesh5417]

If the diesel engines today boast the technology that makes them just as reliable (at least in terms of city use) and maintenance costs being more or less similar, i would buy a diesel now. While both petrol & diesel prices will continue to rise, the price differential between the fuels and the mileage that diesel gives over petrol per liter is worth the extra money up front.
Plus i hate to see my pocket getting pinched every time i visit a fuel bunk. I would rather be robbed once for all when i buy the car!

[Shanksta]

I just scored the equalizer 444(Y)-444(N) .
I voted yes because even though petrol vehicles would be cheaper to buy when fuel prices become the same, you still just cannot beat the drivability of a diesel moreover so once you get used to the loads of torque.
Also being an Indian we cannot let our nation down so,"kitna deta hai" is very important.

[Recompose]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Just for the heads up,its the petrol,that is still leading the pricing game.
at the time when diesel price was raised by 45 paise,petrol rose up by 1.40INR.What fumes are you referring to here?,modern diesels do not release any fumes.

Modern diesels may not release any fumes - but they still have exhaust gases right?

I think he's referring to the higher NOx emissions from the diesel mill (compared to the petrol), which I cant stand either.

[mxx]

Diesel for sure. Not because of fuel efficiency. Because for most cars -under 20 lakhs atleast- on sale in Indian market , the diesel is better to drive than its petrol counterpart. Diesel is more drivable and quicker due to higher torque. In highways and city I find the diesel better and fun to drive. There are exceptions like t-jet linea and 1.8 tsi laura. Better fuel efficiency is just a bonus for me. speaking of fuel efficiency, even if both fuels are priced the same, the diesel will still be more fuel efficient. Hopefully, the price difference between engine variants will also be lower if fuel prices are the same.
My preference might change when more turbo petrols will be available(Ecosport ecoboost is something that I want to check out). Till then, diesel it is

[rohit0103]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Just for the heads up,its the petrol,that is still leading the pricing game.
at the time when diesel price was raised by 45 paise,petrol rose up by 1.40INR.What fumes are you referring to here?,modern diesels do not release any fumes.

Take a slightly long term view- from last 8 months Diesel went up by Rs 9. (46 to 55). Petrol is mostly around 78 (for some period it was close to 75 as well)

Petrol has already been mostly freed- market driven-unless there are elections. Petrol prices have gone up, came down, gone up again- yes. But, Petro companies are not cribbing about petrol prices being kept artificially low as with diesel, kerosene and LPG.

Oil companies have been harping about Diesel, the subsidy on the same is something which Govt is unwilling bear anymore. So, the probability, nay, inevitability of Diesel prices going up is clear.

Petrol is more or less going to be hovering around 80- depending on World market, of course no one can predict the future.

Diesel engine fumes, noise, smell- its all a matter of personal opinion. My family seems a bit too delicate about it.

[rajeshchand]

I would any day personally prefer diesel engines even if the price is at par with petrol, i simply like the grunt of a diesel engine when you push the pedal down rather than the whimp that a petrol engine gives you.

[rohit0103]

ET NEWS FLASH :
Diesel price may be hiked by 40-50p/litre | Petrol prices may be cut by Rs 1/ litre by March 15-16: PTI

So, personally for me only, strictly from a financial perspective : Petrol.

[mkovuri]

I am looking for experience based inputs on petrol vs diesel option on Figo Titanium version. This will be my other car for my wife (who does enjoy power) replacing her Opel Corsa 1.6. My own other car is Skoda RS. We both like power in a car and drive well over average speeds at times. But we equally respect overall features and performance in a car not just bhp. Her travel is limited to under 8k per year. And mostly city. If I like this car once in a blue moon I may go on long drive. But very less likely. I am looking for inputs on differences between these two versions on aspects like power for city traffic situations, noise level inside car, deterioration in performance including noise over a period of time, and such other. I have never used or driven significantly a diesel car nor liked them but I realized they have come.a long way since. I hear that diesel is more powerful than petrol on-road performance despite the specs. Is that true? Should I underplay the noise of diesel over petrol? I do not expect selling the car before 7 years if I were to repeat how long I retain cars. The Opel is ten years old. Please provide user based experience. I have tried a lot on team BHP and on Google a true performance based comparison on the two versions but did not find any. Hope some can help here. Thanks.