Petrol cars lead diesel in drive to make savings

If you think switching to a diesel car will save you money, think again, as a study indicates petrol vehicles may work out cheaper.

Comparisons between the diesel and petrol versions of 10 types of cars show it will take more than three years for the buyers of most diesel cars to recoup the premium paid over an equivalent petrol model.

For example, a Skoda Octavia 1.6 TDI 105 costs €2,200 more than the petrol equivalent, the 1.2 TSI 105. Based on a set of criteria, such as 18,000km travel per year and the cost of tax, the petrol model costs €456.08 more to run per annum, meaning it will take 4.8 years for the diesel model to recuperate a price difference of €2,200.

Using the same criteria, the payback period for the petrol and diesel versions of the Ford Fiesta Zetec is longer again, at almost seven years, though in some of the vehicles analysed the difference is six months (Toyota Avensis Strata) or 1.3 years (Toyota Auris Aura).

The comparisons were carried out by Cartell.ie and CompleteCar.ie, after recent figures showed that almost three quarters of all new cars sold in Ireland last year had diesel engines.

Petrol cars still account for two thirds of all vehicles on the road, but the trend in recent years has been toward diesel models, something Jeff Aherne, director of Cartell.ie, said might be ripe for reappraisal.

“It’s too early to say whether petrol will launch a comeback in popularity, but the fundamentals are strong for petrol vehicles; emissions are much lower than they were, consequently, taxation is lower, and fuel economy has improved considerably, meaning petrol cars should be much more competitive in the market, especially when you cons-ider the lower list prices for petrol engines across the board.”

Shane O’ Donoghue, editor of CompleteCar.ie, said: “We’ve been telling low-mileage drivers to consider petrol above diesel for years, and this research now gives us some real, easy-to-understand data to assist buyers. It’s not black and white, but we do think that a petrol car would be cheaper to run for many motorists that currently go for diesel, by default.”

Meanwhile, figures from AA Ireland show the average prices of petrol and diesel fell slightly at the pumps in the last month. Petrol cost an average of 157.4c per litre, down 0.7c since May, while diesel also fell by less than a cent, with the national average at 148c.

AA Ireland director of consumer affairs Conor Faughnan said: “We are much happier reporting price drops than price rises. Even so, this is only a modest fall, reflecting a little more stability in European wholesale prices. Motorists are still struggling with high fuel prices and, just because prices are down a little from recent peaks, does not make the issue any less urgent.”