[clevermax]

I couldn't help but notice this.. I am currently in south Kerala, and I've been driving around a lot...

If you see a Swift here, 90% chances are that it is a DDis, and if you see a Palio, 95% chances are that it is an MJD. I haven't seen these many DDis or MJDs even in Bangalore. And so far I have seen two Indica Vistas, and they are quadrajets. I have not been able to sopt a single one in Bangalore yet. I was wondering what makes consumers in Kerala so much inclined towards diesels. Any thoughts?

[s0uljah]

Kerala has always been Diesel crazy. Much much before the modern diesels.

Btw Bangy has a LOT of DDiS...

MJD's and Getz CRDi's are getting common too. Spot one atleast daily.

[joecherian]

one reason that I can think of, is the addiction to the torque that a diesel can offer (in comparison to a petrol one), though the major reason might be the virtual cost savings that they think their diesel car will give them . I have seen people whose monthly running doesn't even cross 500 km go for a diesel telling that they will save on fuel.God save them.....

[speedzak]

Yeah true! It is diesel's own country after all.

My assumption is 75% of the Swifts are diesel and 50% of the Palios are diesel in which 90% is MJD.

[kuttapan]

Even when Maruti's were the rage across India, the humble Amby still had a good fan following Kerala, as it offered a diesel option. No wonder then that DDiS and MJD are sold in large numbers. Almost all the models will find their diesel variante outselling their petrol counterparts by large margin in Kerala.

[kartikkumar]

Originally Posted by joecherian

one reason that I can think of, is the addiction to the torque that a diesel can offer (in comparison to a petrol one), though the major reason might be the virtual cost savings that they think their diesel car will give them . I have seen people whose monthly running doesn't even cross 500 km go for a diesel telling that they will save on fuel.God save them.....

All complicated convoluted calculations aside, a litre of petrol costs Rs.62 whilst a litre of diesel costs Rs.40. Therefore, 500 kms a month in a petrol car returning an average of 12 km/lt would be Rs.2,500 and the cost of fuelling a diesel car returning an average of 12 km/lt would be Rs.1,600/ That's a monthly saving of Rs.900. Which part of that does not look like a saving on a day to day basis?

[SLK]

Originally Posted by kartikkumar

All complicated convoluted calculations aside, a litre of petrol costs Rs.62 whilst a litre of diesel costs Rs.40. Therefore, 500 kms a month in a petrol car returning an average of 12 km/lt would be Rs.2,500 and the cost of fuelling a diesel car returning an average of 12 km/lt would be Rs.1,600/ That's a monthly saving of Rs.900. Which part of that does not look like a saving on a day to day basis?

Well, need to add a simple complication to it -
In delhi
Swift Lxi - 3,99,989.73
Swift Ldi - 4,78,015.72

Difference - 78,025.99

Recoverable in months - 86.69554444

Years - 7.224628704

Thats when you just break-even. Then you can start saving Rs 900 pm.

[headers]

Originally Posted by SLK

Well, need to add a simple complication to it -
In delhi
Swift Lxi - 3,99,989.73
Swift Ldi - 4,78,015.72

Difference - 78,025.99

Recoverable in months - 86.69554444

Years - 7.224628704

Thats when you just break-even. Then you can start saving Rs 900 pm.

What you say is true if one buys the car in a personal name, else for all companies, there is depreciation too!

The Initial cost is not much when compared to running costs which affect cash flow!


Hence Diesels ALWAYS make a better alternative nowadays!

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by SLK

Well, need to add a simple complication to it -
In delhi
Swift Lxi - 3,99,989.73
Swift Ldi - 4,78,015.72

Difference - 78,025.99

Recoverable in months - 86.69554444

Years - 7.224628704

Thats when you just break-even. Then you can start saving Rs 900 pm.

We bought our Zen-D way back in 1998, and it is still running. 1 Lakh Km mark crossed, and well before that, we had the breakeven because of the amazing mileage it returned (about 22 Kmpl now, it used to return 26+ in its good days)

Nowadays the daily running is very less, but still it is worth it There was a time when Diesel was just 11 Rs per litre, and the Zen-D was more economical than the Chetak we had.

[meghan]

Originally Posted by SLK

Well, need to add a simple complication to it -
In delhi
Swift Lxi - 3,99,989.73
Swift Ldi - 4,78,015.72

Difference - 78,025.99

Recoverable in months - 86.69554444

Years - 7.224628704

Thats when you just break-even. Then you can start saving Rs 900 pm.

However don't forget that a petrol gives around 12kmpl whereas a DDis gives around 18kmpl. So difference - 78025.99


Recovery - Rs 5.167 - Rs. 2.22 per km = Rs. 2.947 per km


So total recovery in just - 26476 km!


Thats pretty good i guess. Even for people who cover 10k per year this is good.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

else for all companies, there is depreciation too!

So total recovery in just - 26476 km!

Thats pretty good i guess. Even for people who cover 10k per year this is good.

How true!!

Most car owners in Kerala used to be businessmen / professionals. Salaried professionals are few and far between, then and now. <ah. Another opportunity for Kerala bashing>

Even for us, when we were in the business, we had cars - long before the petrol - diesel price dff was a huge. But the, the FE of Diesel cars was far less than that of petrols too; and a petrol amby would return around 12KMPL while a diesel would be around 9KMPL. That was elders' talks, so dont flame me.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by headers

What you say is true if one buys the car in a personal name, else for all companies, there is depreciation too!

Right, but that would put off 33.99% of 78,025.99 over a period of 10+years. That still leaves differnce enough to make a person driving 500km per month not choose diesel over petrol. Unless of course he expects to drive more in the coming years

Originally Posted by meghan

However don't forget that a petrol gives around 12kmpl whereas a DDis gives around 18kmpl. So difference - 78025.99

Recovery - Rs 5.167 - Rs. 2.22 per km = Rs. 2.947 per km

So total recovery in just - 26476 km!

Thats pretty good i guess. Even for people who cover 10k per year this is good.

Well, all I am saying is that the breakeven needs to be considered before making Diesel/ Petrol decision and 500kms per month might not be an ideal usage too justify a diesel.

To get to a perfect analysis there are a lot more factors but thats not the point here.

[Steeroid]

Its not just the cost but the driveability too. Keralites got hooked to diesels as soon as the first Ambys were converted with Matador engines. This was followed up with the BMC and Autoland engines which soon became history despite being more fuel-efficient as they simply couldnt give the same 'pull' as a Matador-engined Amby. The Autoland was the most fuel-efficient but the least popular of the lot. We also had Peugeots from the MM540 being shoehorned into the Amby till M&M got a court order to prevent this activity. Several Toyota and Isuzu engines (imports) were also pushed into the venerable Amby in this part of the world - those were not cheap conversions by any stretch of imagination.

Many people spent large sums of money converting their petrol Ambys to diesels - this cannot be because they wanted to save money, because the cost of conversion was often more than the original cost of the Amby.

Most people in Kerala are NOT known to drive sedately and conserve fuel. On the contrary, you have some of the craziest drivers in the country here - you have to see for yourself to believe. Take a trip in a private bus (diesel) to find out.

My antique, lorry-derived, 3 litre pushrod diesel (okay, with a common rail) is more fun to drive than a rather revvy petrol engine like the one in the Toyota Corolla, as I found recently, and I'm convinced that you need at least a 3 litre petrol to give you the same torque as is found on a lesser diesel.

For those still in doubt, read my signature. If you're STILL in doubt, get a ride with the Mallu Mullah on his much abused Qualis which looks like it will fall apart. You would never expect a large MUV powered by a 70-odd bhp diesel engine to be so much fun!

[typeOnegative]

I think it is the torque too. The location where my dad is from is pretty hilly. A diesel pulls better. Somehow, I cannot imagine a true blue Mallu in a non diesel car.

BTW, my dad has a Tata Mobile 207.

[mail4ajo]

There is absolutely no surprise in the fact that Kerala is diesel land. All diesel cars have sold so well in Kerala.

I begged my Uncle to use his brains and buy the Swift VXi over the VDi. His running in a week would be about maximum 50kms. His simple logic, I need to spent less at the bunk each time. Its basically a mind set.

I still remember 2 M800s with a Diahatsu engines in my home town. I was too young to understand the technical specs then.