Diesel Versus Gasoline: Why a Diesel Powered Car Might be Your
Better Choice
The word "Diesel" should no longer make you picture semi-trucks,
or loud, clunky broken down cars. Diesel over the past twenty
years has changed by leaps and bounds and has become more
popular now than ever.
If you rode around in a diesel vehicle in the 80's, you are
probably screaming "gasoline is better" at the top of your
lungs. This is excusable due to the fact that twenty years ago
diesels were extremely loud and unreliable. Luckily for us,
technology has come to the rescue in the form of reliability.
Diesel cars are now commonly seen running with over 250,000
miles of use. Though gasoline engines can hang in there for
quite a long time themselves, getting to the quarter million
point, with proper maintenance, is unlikely.
Life expectancy is definitely a plus when comparing diesel and
gas cars. What about maintenance? Well, diesel engines don't use
an ignition so you have no tune-up costs or worries. They use
glow plugs rather than spark plugs which generally need to be
changed every two years or so plus or minus a few months
depending on the vehicle. As far as oil changes, they work the
same as gas engines---change the oil every 3,000 miles and
you'll be fine. Fuel and air filters should be changed regularly
as needed, of course.
Now, the all important numbers. If we start with upfront costs,
the diesel seems more expensive, and a comparison of the same
make and model car yields a cost difference of about three
thousand dollars between the diesel and gasoline versions. But
is diesel really more expensive? Let's examine the question.
Diesel fuel is almost always cheaper than unleaded gas, and how
much cheaper varies of course with rising and falling gas
prices. But The cost savings do not stop at the pump; they
continue as you drive down the road and by this we are talking
fuel economy. The diesel is the king of this domain. With some
diesels getting over 70 mpg, this is by far the best bang for
the buck.
So the diesel wins in fuel economy and maintenance. But are
there disadvantages to diesel? Well, diesel engines aren't
perfect. They can be a little noisier than gas engines, though
this small amount of noise usually fades at cruising speed. They
also lack a bit in acceleration compared to gas engines.
However, despite these small shortcomings, diesels are certainly
becoming more user friendly and more economical and each day
more and more people are choosing to go this route. It's even
quite possible that one day the majority of our motor vehicles
will be diesel powered. However, until then you have the
information needed to consider whether or not the diesel will be
a contender for your next vehicle purchase.