Should the high price of fuel and emissions put me off buying a diesel?
On the face of it, there aren’t many compelling reasons for buying a diesel car. The fuel cost continues to outstrip petrol, with the Commons Treasury Committee hearing prices could head towards £3 per litre.
“Diesel runs the world: the shipping lanes, the trains, the cars, everything,” said Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at Investec. The result is rocketing prices.
Diesel cars are also taxed more heavily than other fuel types. And the fuel has a reputation for being dirty, with its nitrogen oxide emissions polluting our cities. It wasn’t helped by the 2015 emissions scandal either.
Even so, diesel remains the most economical choice. Drive a 50mpg diesel car for 8,000 miles with diesel at 178.70p per litre and it’ll cost you £1,300. Covering the same distance in a 40mpg petrol car will cost £1,515 even though petrol is significantly cheaper at 166.60ppl.
If that whets your appetite for diesel, the Peugeot 208 drinks the least fuel of the lot, returning 73.6mpg. Want something a little cheaper? The Vauxhall Corsa costs £2,000 less at £19,005 and uses the same 1.5-litre diesel engine as the Peugeot to record 70.6mpg.
But you will be bucking the trend. Sales of new diesels have slumped, down 42 per cent year on year, according to latest industry figures.