There may have been discussions on this before, but I can't find them.
With the growing differential between petrol and diesel, is there any trusted formula that can decide which fuel (and running costs) will be cheaper in the long run? In my area, it is currently 8p a litre in favour of petrol. I was beginning to think about changing from petrol to diesel, but would like more hard information to make a decision. At 4p difference, I was up for it, but at 8p (and rising?) I'm not so sure.
I've nothing against diesel power, as my wife has a 2-year old 1.4 TDI Polo, which I think is the mutts. Personally, I would prefer a 1.9 TDI from the VAG stable, as my current motor is an 2001 Octavia 2.0l.
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Are you joking graham - there's loads on here recently about the difference between petrol and diesel.
I think the general view is that whatever you do you will be absolutely fleeced by a government that uses the environment as an excuse to tax the living day lights out of you.
A few years ago diesel was alot cheaper - now everyone has bought diesels it is dearer - if we all go back to petrol the same will happen.
There is no common strategy that the government want us to follow - they just want to tax us for whatever we decide is best for us or the environment.
I'd like to say differently but that is the truth.
You wait till EuroV kicks in - Nox and CO will be an additional reason to burden us with more tax.
Your a motorist and thus a criminal who must pay the price.
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Get whichever car and fuel type you feel comfortable with - its a different driving style to get the best out of each of them, so diesel will suit some and petrol others... as P says the Gov will sting both of them, as will the oil companies!
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See
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=61518&...f
or
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=61440&...f
Both very recent discussions. My personal view is that both petrol and diesel can be the right choice, depends on circumstances and personal choice.
Shouldn't be too difficult to work out expected real-world mpg from these forums, for example 41 for an Accord Tourer Diesel, or 50 for a VAG 2.0. Put that with your expected mileage, fuel costs and purchase costs and work out whether it's worth it for you. Easily done in 5 mins with a spreadsheet, and if you really want to check, a 30 second phone call to a garage will give you comparative servicing and consumables costs.
In my opinion, diesel probably makes sense if you drive more than 20k a year, but that's a massively rought figure that could easily be argued either way. Careful not to compare apples and pears tho - test drive anything you're considering, most diesels are a lot real world faster than they look on paper.
G
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