I Had Always Thought That Buying A Diesel Car Would Be More Economic Than A Petrol One,

but it appears this in many instances is not the case,

in four out of our six examples, the petrol engine was the best choice for a driver covering 10,000 miles a year, Which? compared similar-spec petrol and diesel versions of six popular cars – the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Astra, Volkswagen Tiguan, VW Sharan, BMW 5 Series and Peugeot 308 SW, a report today by the consumer watchdog Which? says: ‘With drivers having to pay a premium for a diesel car – typically £1,000 to £2,000 more on a new car – our tests reveal it could take up to 14 years to recoup the up-front costs in fuel savings!'

pity anyone that bought a automatic BMW 530d SE diesel – costing £40,945 and doing 40.9mpg thinking they were going to save money, it appears that it would take more than 14 years of average motoring to be as cost effective as the petrol-powered 528i SE Step Auto, costing £37,300 and doing 34mpg, but there is some good news for diesel, VW’s diesel-powered Sharan 2.0 TDI people carrier, costing £27,800 and doing 47.9mpg, would take just three years to recoup the extra investment in diesel,

the report says diesels have become more refined than in the past, but ‘with petrol now around 5.5p a litre cheaper, and some makers offering super-economical petrol engines, it’s getting harder to justify the price premium’ but there must be so many people like me out there who still think diesel is cheapest, in the year to May 2012 diesel cars accounted for 51 per cent of new car sales, just goes to show that when buying a new car it is imperative to do your home work first!