There has been an age old debate about which is a better engine :– Diesel or the Petrol,but the truth is that both Diesel and the petrol engines have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Let us examine the salient features of the Diesel Engines and the Petrol engines in this article.
Disadvantages of a Diesel vehicle Advantages of petrol engine One could choose a petrol car if you dont drive much ,want a noiseless smooth engine but are not torque crazy .In addition the mileage specifications must not bother you in the long run. The trade off comes when you dont need to drive more kilometres just to compensate for a saving price difference between the Petrol and the Diesel car .The actual savings for a Diesel car would only come after driving around a steady 10-12000km per year for atlesat 2 -3 years .
Advantages of Diesel Vehicle:
->Higher efficiency,
->more torque,
->Diesel is cheaper than Petrol relatively.
->Long lasting
-
->Heavier engine and noisier than Petrol Engines
->Higher cost of the Engine and Higher maintenance cost than the petrol Engine.
->Easy maintenance,
->quicker accelration
->lower mileage
->cheaper Engine
->easy maintenance.
->not suitable for heavy vehicles
->Light engine and noiseless smoother drive
Which one to buy.
While deciding on the choice, one could consider the above points and prioritize them accordingly to one’s needs.
Overall ,Diesel is the choice if you want the torque and power over all gears and a higher fuel efficency with long distances to travel.
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nice one.actually i had a dispute with my friend about whether to choose diesel or petrol as it intends on buying a car next month..your post will really help me on putting my point emphatically
pls giv me support information between diesel vehicle and petrol, pls giv as early as possible
thanking you
Hi Vijay Kumar,
Kindly explain what kind of support do you need regarding Diesel and Petrol Vehicles?
Thanks,
Regards,
Admin
Dear Admin,
I’m planning on buying a Chevy Beat(Diesel) however I wouldn’t be using it too much to commute. Would that be problem for the diesel engine? Appreciate your help
Thanks
Jon
Hi Jonathan,
Thank you for putting forward your Query..
I have replied to your email
Regards,
Admin
Are you saying if one is doing nemerous short distances per day within town, diesel is better than petrol?
Are you saying if one is doing numerous short distances per day within town, diesel is better than petrol?
Hi Ritchie,
Thanks for ur comments.
Its the total distance travelled per day that matters..if u drive short distances per day, then the effect would be the same for petrol n diesel. But the total distance travelled matters because u get a better mileage and savings with a Diesel car compared to the Petrol car.
Admin-
Thanks for the info. I am actually looking to buying either a pick up D/cab 4×4 truck or SUV (good second hands) and was fascinated by the likes of Discovery 3, Toyota Fortuner, Jeep SUVs and Toyota Hilux, Isuzu KB all on diesel. I intend using the car for commuting, business, family, on-road and off-road trips, which car would you recommend? And since I am buying a second hand car, what are some of the things I should look out for so that I dont end up buying someone else’s troubles?
Thanks in advance
Hi Ritchie,
I will send you a specialised advice to your email separately. However All the cars you mentioned are great cars in their own sense.
Jeep might not be all suitable for the family but the other cars such as Discovery, Fortuner are really good.
I will need to know from where exactly are you looking to buy (US, or Europe , or elsewhere ) because the specs change between countries for the same brand of the car.
Thanks for visiting the site
Admin
Dear Admin,
I m planning to buy the hyundai verna fluidic, i m just confused on diesel and petrol variants.I want to know which one should i buy.I don’t need for long distances or daily use,but for often city use.
Thanks
Mehul
hello admin
i am about to purchase a car for myself… i travel atleast 40- 50 kms/day…… which one would you recommend petrol/ diesel….. and please do opine about fiat punto and VW polo
Hi Shashidhar,
If you are driving 40-50 kms/day, I would suggest you can easily go for a Diesel version,
Between VW Polo and Fiat Punto.
A brief comparision is
1) VW Polo is a little costlier than Fiat Punto
2) Punto’s servicing costs are lower than VW polo as Tata motors is servicing the Fiat punto and it has a large network of service centres,
However VW Polo ‘s servicing costs are definitely higher but the quality of the servicing and parts will be better .
3) VW Polo and Punto are both good cars but VW polo definitely scores when it comes to driving quality and handling.
Please let me know in case you have any specific questions.
Thank you for posting in Autoraiders, Your comment is well appreciated..
Admin
Hello Mehul,
Thank you for your Query.
I have sent you a dedicated reply to your email.
Please feel free to get back
Thanks,
Admin
Hello Admin,
Superb post. Got some new knowledge. I have a question.
My yearly commute is expected to be 4000 – 5000 Km. I’m interested in buying the New Tata Vista Sedan Class Quadrajet VX (Diesel). I wanted to know whether the modern diesel engines need that minimum commuting of 1000km monthly/ 12000Km yearly for maintainance like before or not? The difference of cost between the top-model petrol and the top-model diesel is hardly anything. While petrol gives a mileage of 13 in city and 16 in highway, diesel gives 18 in city and 23 in highway. So diesel is more cheaper for me for the written commuting distance of mine. But I wanted to confirm that if I just drive 350 – 400 Km/month or 4000 – 5000 Km a year, is it fine for a modern diesel engine unlike old diesel engines to work fine? And what is the yearly maintainance cost of a diesel car approxiamately?
Thank You. Waiting For Your Reply.
Hi Nisarg Badani,
Thank you very much for reading Autoraiders-The Complete Buzz. We are very happy to attend to questions from our valued readers.
I am Nikhil,the Chief admin of the Autoraiders.com and I handle all the special queries from our customers. I also have 6 years of experience in the automotive industry and i have specially worked on Diesel Engines and their electronics , specially Common Rail Diesel Engines (The latest and the best Diesel Engine)
With respect to your Query..
You have asked whether driving a Diesel car for 350-400km / month is ok for a car to function properly. As you rightly guessed the modern day diesel engines are state of art engines which no more require the mandatory continuous running.
The Vista quadrajet is a Common rail Diesel Engine which is one of the newest technology of Diesel Engines that have entered India.The Common rail was invented by Bosch ( My former employer) and has been a revolution in the European and the US markets. It is an electronically controlled injection system that distributes diesel and pumps it at a constant pressure to get the best mileage and performance. The Quadrajet also has a host of sensors and actuators that all make sure that the engine functions very efficiently.
Hence the Diesel Engine quadrajet will give you a great performance and mileage.
As you drive only 350 km to 400km per month, i.e almost around 10 -15 km / day. And Usually if cost is an important factor, i would still advice you to buy a Petrol version (if it is cheaper by a large extent) . Petrol would work if most of your driving is city driving and you do not plan to drive it on long trips. This will not put such a pressure on the petrol budget. The advantages of the petrol version would always be a noiseless engine and smooth running.
The Diesel Quadrajet is less noisier than conventional engines (like in Indica) because it is a Common rail Diesel engine. However it will still invariably be noisier than the petrol version.
If you do go on long trips and drive higher distances, then a Diesel car would always help because they can sustain the long drives with the same power and performance. Petrol engines tend to lose their power when they reach the higher gears and the topmost speeds.
The Quadrajet also has a turbo charger that will provide a good acceleration performance which could be comparable to the petrol cousin. However a diesel common rail engine would always be a better option if you plan to use the car over a long time duration without selling it.
While making a choice with respect to the distances driven. A modern diesel car will still work excellently without any maintenance issues even if it is driven only for 350-400 km per month.
At the end of the day as you say that the high end versions of Petrol and Diesel cars are almost same, I would recommend you to make your selection by taking a thorough test drive of both the petrol and the Diesel versions to get a real feel of the engine driving. Ultimately it is a matter of comfort between driving a diesel car or a petrol car if the distances driven are not that high and if cost is not an issue.
Good luck with your car buying.
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Hey Nikhil thanx a lot. Your detailed explaination was excellent. It has proved to be extremely useful and satisfactory.
Can u also tell me the yearly approxiamate maintainance cost of a petrol car and a diesel car? And just for my knowledge, how much minimum Km commute should I have to maintain a diesel car engine per month? Don’t consider the cost. And if I keep the diesel car for 10 – 15 days without running a single kilometer, is it ok?
Thanx a lot again ur email was very very useful.
Hi Nisarg,
The maintenance costs of a particular car irrespective of a diesel or a petrol car is more dependent on other factors such as
->The manufacturer- If you buy a honda city- petrol version, the maintenance costs are obviously higher than a Maruti alto which is also a petrol car. but note that the maintenance cost of a petrol honda city > the maintenance cost of an Diesel Indica.
->The availability of service centers.Eg Maruti and TATA have a wide network of service centeres which brings down the overall maintenance cost / car. whereas a Skoda or a Mercedes maintenance will be exhorbitantly high. Hence do not judge the maintenance cost purely in terms of diesel or petrol.
->Hence your point of comparision must be same manufacturer, same car type, and between diesel and petrol versions of the same car.
For a diesel car, please note that the car parts are usually costlier than the Petrol car but they are more durable and hence the effective service cost of a diesel car will be lower over a long period as they are run for longer distances. But it is not so that a diesel car will get spoilt if you do not run it for 10-15 days.
The recommended service period is ususally every 6 months or 10000km (whichever comes first). So in your case you will invariably spending on basic maintenance for service every six months irrestpective of a diesel or a petrol car. However if you do not drive long distances in a diesel car, you could still afford to delay the service interval of 6 months in terms of a diesel car. I recommend that you ask the Quadrajet dealer for a service cost comparision with respect to other car manufacturers of the same segment. They will definitely have a price comparision chart for the parts.
Chief Admin-Nikhil
Autoraiders.com
Dear Admin,
I have been through your above posts and found it very helpful.
My regular running would be > 50kms/per day which by above suggestions easily directs me to buy a diesel version of car.
As you also have mentioned that maintenance cost does not only depends on type of engine but also on Manufacturer and type of car, please help me how significantly the this cost increases if I am buying a used diesel car.
This might help me in selecting a car basis how old and how much running it has done. If your analysis may include comparison of Hyundai Accent and Tata Indica DLS then it would greatly benefit me.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Gautam,
Thank you for reading Autoraiders. We treasure our readers feedback and are happy to answer their questions.
If you are planning to run > 50 kms/day, then Diesel is the best choice.
In regard to your question of choosing between Hyundai Accent Crde (I assume Hyundai Accent Diesel ) and Tata Indica DLS. Here are a few points.
-> Hyundai Accent Crde is a very good Diesel car and is definitely better in terms of power and performance when compared to Indica DLS
-> But Hyundai Accent’s maintenance costs will be higher because the parts are costlier than Tata Indica. This is purely because Hyundai Accent is a premium bracket car. However you could still afford to choose an older / higher km run Hyundai Accent because the engine and durability of hyundi Accent is better than Tata Indica DLS.
-> Tata Indica DLS definitely will have a better mileage than Hyundai Accent.
-> Ease of maintenance. As Tata s service network is better than Hyundai. It will be relatively easier to repair a 2nd hand Tata Indica DLS car than a Hyundai Accent.
-> If you want a luxurious smooth power packed Diesel car and you dont care much about mileage then Hyundai Accent is a good choice over Tata Indica
-> Tata Indica is definitely more noisier than Accent.
Depending on the above comparision , please choose your priority point and hope this helps you to make a decision.
Nikhil
whatz the basic difference between diesel and petrol engine.i m planning to buy a diesil car becoz of fuel efficiency.petrol s more costlier than diesel but why it didnt give a good mileage.which is the best diesel car in these volswagan polo,maruti swift,ford figo,chevrolet beat,etios
pls suggest me to buy a car, i will drive more distance.