I have seen a lot of dilemma and confusion amongst people when it comes to chosing Petrol vs Diesel variant for a car. Undoubtedly there are advantages of one over the two and that makes the decision even more complex.
Based on my personal experience I would like to make it simpler. According to me a lot depends over the personal usage and pattern of usage of the vehicle.
Ok typically if your vehicle is supposed to be driven a lot then diesel makes more sense, but how do you quantify how much is "a lot".
Typically the cost difference between a diesel and a petrol variant is lets assume Rs. 1 Lakh (an approximation) with the same features.
Lets assume the average life of the vehicle is around 4-5 years. Lets take it as 5 yrs on a more conservative side. So the additional cost that one pays for a diesel vehicle is Rs. 20,000 per year. Adding the interest one pays on that amount makes it around 24 K per year.
Now assuming the average fuel consumption (overall) of a diesel vehicle to be around 17-18 kmpl and petrol to be around 13-14 kmpl in the same segment and variant. the cost per km is
Diesel : 2.5 Rs per km.
Petrol : 4.5 Rs per km.
The difference thus being Rs. 2 per km.
Now if you drive your vehicle for 1000 km per month, You save Rs. 24,000 per year.
1,000 kms per month x 12 months per year x Rs. 2 per km difference = Rs. 24,000 saving annually.
Verdict:
So if your running is 1000km per month you'll be able to only cover up the additional cost of your diesel vehicle, with no savings as such.
If your running is below 1000 km per month you'll be spending more overall than what you would on a petrol vehicle actually.
If your running is substantially above 1000 km per month only then you'll be actually saving on fuel with a diesel vehicle.
Other points to consider:
Diesel variants have higher maintencane cost, and low life. The maintenance cost increases further with the age of the vehicle.
Petrol variants have more power, pickup and are considerably silent thus offer a better driving pleasure overall. Makes a better choice for self driven vehicle.
