Would you buy a diesel car if diesel was priced on par with petrol?

[PrancingHorse 1]

How many of you remember the old days when diesel cars in India used to be noisy, sluggish, unreliable and throwing out black smoke was a given? Well now times have changed the diesel engine here has come a long way. The 1.3 Multi Jet or 'National Engine' as it is called and the new Common rail technology has changed the way the Indian buyer looks at diesel cars. Apart from that, they are more fuel efficient and have better torque. Engine life is longer and they are more reliable than ever.

The biggest reason however for people to buy diesel cars is that diesel costs substantially less than petrol in our country. But elsewhere in the world prices of both these fuels are almost on par with each other.

What I would like to ask is would you still buy a diesel car if the Government of India deregulated the price of diesel? Or would you buy a petrol car?

Post away

[rssh 59]

Even if the diesel is at par with the petrol on pricing I think still people will prefer a diesel because the milege on gets from a diesel is still more than petrol car (around 25% more efficient). Also the torque delivery earlier in the rev range helps massively in the city driving conditions .

Somehow I prefer the grunt of a modern diesel engine more than a lound throaty petrol (its me) but the turbo kick is enjoyable even in a small diesel engine wereas in a same capacity petrol the power delivery is linear and one will never experience a kick (except turbo petrols) .

Also somehow manufacturers stiffen up the diesel versions suspension which is an added bonus (except it will feel a bit understeery) for driving pleasure in ghat sections . One can easily drive a diesel as an automatic due to the loads of torque available in the rev range without stalling . I rarely press the acclerator in bumper to bumper traffic just a slow release of clutch is more than enough to keep on moving .

[ForzaItalia 0]

My choice between a Petrol or a Diesel engine, if priced on par would greatly depend on the type of vehicle it is. For anything other than an SUV, I would tend to veer towards a petrol engine.

Then again, with the higher efficiency and modern NVH of diesel engines, I wouldn't be surprised if diesel engines become the global future. One just has to look at the US market, where diesel is quickly making inroads, to see just what a global impact diesel is having on the automotive world.

[creativebala 178]

Can't clearly answer this question, but can confuse you a bit.

1. If Petrol & Diesel are priced the same? How much Diesel car will sell at a premium? Now its 1L apart. If its 25-45k apart my choice will be DIESEL.

2. If car companies bring back old ERA engines with strong MID Range, I'll buy PETROL. The Palio 1.6 or G Series on swift's are race horse, where as the current day k-series, vtec, kappa are all like dead horse in city. I'll buy a palio like engined petrol car and show off in style.

3. For frequent highway runs/ heavy vehicles/ hilly regions, I will buy a DIESEL.

4. If there comes sudden PUSH-BACKS after turbo kicks as in Old Gen Swift diesels at moderate rate, I 'll buy the Swift(again)

[sanzgod 0]

NEW DELHI: Diesel prices may be hiked after presidential elections on July 19 as the government plans to take bold measures to rein in run-away fiscal deficit.

"Price increase is inevitable. But date and time, nobody can say," a top oil ministry source said.

Diesel prices have not been raised since June 25 last year, and state-owned oil firms sell the fuel at a loss of Rs 10.33 a litre.

Source: TOI

http://timesofindia....ow/14847919.cms

Edited July 12, 2012 by sanzgod

[banadictaustin 1]

Of course, Diesel engine car is the better now a days and it has many advantage to compare than petrol. It gives good and impressive mileage than petrol.

[tejasmehta990 4]

I would choose petrol over diesel because I have experienced that maintenance cost in petrol vehicles is less than the diesel vehicles. Also Diesel vehicles require more care and timely service than petrol.

For highway driving and hilly roads diesel are best as compared to petrol but petrol gives overall and complete experience in all types of driving conditions.

[Hersch 4]

Petrol for its overall driveability and refinement it offers.