Petrol or diesel?

[Shaz]

I have always driven petrol cars. I have noticed that diesel cars pay less road tax these days. What are the pros and cons of diesel cars compared to petrol cars?

 

[dahamsta]

In basic terms, diesels are more fuel efficient and the engines tend to last longer, and petrol engines are more powerful and quieter. Those lines are probably narrowing though.

 

[Staples]

Diesel-engined cars are generally noisier, notwithstanding the improvements that have occurred in recent years. At the moment, diesel is cheaper than petrol (it's the other way around in the UK, for some reason).

AFAIK, diesels require more frequent servicing (I'm open to correction though) but are still the most economical option for those who do a lot of driving.

Car tax is determined by the level of emissions from the engine which, even for some petrol-engined cars, can still be relatively low.

 

[RMCF]

I recently bought a new diesel over a petrol, and have also never driven a diesel before.

Why did I choose it?

Well, the main factors were mpg, lower emissions (and hence road tax) and cheaper fuel (might not always be that way). Also plan to keep the car for a long time, so I think diesels are more hardy than petrols.

The engine is noisier for sure, but not as bad as they used to be.

 

[Mpsox]

current car and it's predecssor were both diesals, I'd driven petrols before that. Car in marginally noisier, my wife has the petrol version of the same make and model and I would have the radio up a notch or 2 higher in mine. However if you're going to be doing a lot of miles, the fuel costs are significantly cheaper. I do 8-900km a week (70% motorway/30% town country) and fill the tank on a Monday morning and usually have change out of €50