With the financial crisis which emanated in the last quarter of 2008 forcing many Banks worldwide to declare insolvency, the weakened U.S Dollar (backed by oil) was affected quite negatively causing the price of oil and ultimately petrol to decrease quite substantially. The decrease in petrol being comparatively larger than the decrease in diesel came as quite a shock to many diesel car owners who were previously under the opinion that diesel was by far the cheaper option of the two. However, although fuel prices and car choice go hand – in – hand, one cannot ignore performance efficiency and fuel economy that may be derived from a car with either a petrol or diesel engine.
Diesel cars use significantly less fuel than their petrol counterparts. Empirical evidence suggests that fuel economy for a 1.6Litre diesel car will be almost one and a half times more efficient than its petrol equivalent.
Servicing: Regarding the servicing of cars, one will find that although the cost of servicing a diesel car is much higher than that of a petrol car, diesel cars tend to run without much hassle for longer periods.
Resale: Resale values of diesel cars have been historically proven to be higher than petrol cars. The one main reason for this is the fact that diesel cars have far better fuel economy compared to petrol cars but also because the tax rate on diesel cars is much lower than the tax rate on petrol ones.
What else? In examining many production 4 x 4s and twin cabs, one will find a large number of these being diesel powered. The pulling power or torque of these engines at low revs is what many manufacturers consider when assessing and examining the key structural functionality of these automobiles. Being able to achieve high torque at low revs is particularly useful when overtaking or towing.
The chemical composition of diesel being significantly different from that of petrol is the cause of different by-products after combustion. This, in essence, explains why diesel cars are generally louder than petrol ones. The combustion of petrol also tends to give a far faster and smoother ride. That being said, recent advances and improvements in diesel technology have made diesel automobiles quieter and refined. Many of the more recent turbo-charged diesel cars can competitively match similar petrol cars in acceleration and speed.
