Diesel seems to be the new buzzword in the automotive industry. Whether it is people

extolling the virtues of the fuel consumption, driveability or the longevity of the motor,

diesel is something being discussed as a strong alternative for petrol.

What a lot of people do not consider though is the cost vs reward for diesel vehicles, and

whether they are suitable for the type of driving that each individual customer does. There

are a number of different factors that should be considered when deciding which fuel is

going to be more suitable for you.

• Annual kilometres travelled

• Servicing intervals

• Style of driving

• Resale value

• Purchase price

• How long you will keep the car

• Fuel price

Here are two examples;

Dodie, our Hyundai sales manager drives to and from work every day, averaging about 12

kilometres each way. She is in stop start traffic for the majority of her commute and never

really gets up to speeds above 70km/h. She only uses her vehicle for driving to and from

work. With this being the general use of the vehicle for Dodie, she is not going to see the

benefits of owning a diesel vehicle. The higher cost of purchase initially and higher fuel

cost and service costs will not be recouped over the time that she owns the vehicle by the

savings in fuel consumption that she sees, due to the low kilometres.

Jocelyn, Dodie’s mother, works for BlueCare, so is constantly on the road racking up

kilometres as she travels from her home every morning to various different clients. A

majority of this is highway driving, where some of the major benefits of a diesel motor

are realised. She typically owns her cars for up to 5 years. After 3 years in her current car,

she already has 67000 kilometres on the clock. For Jocelyn, the savings in fuel over the

kilometres she drives, with the type of driving she does will outweigh the extra cost in

purchasing the vehicle, along with slight dearer fuel and servicing costs. Jocelyn will also

benefit from higher resale value at the end of her 5 years ownership due to less concerns

about reliability of diesel motors with higher kilometres.

These are two fairly common examples which illustrate the different circumstances that

will determine which is a better way to go for you – diesel or petrol? Why don’t you come

on down to Barton’s and speak to one of our friendly consultants to see what is going to be

more suitable for you?