Petrol or Diesel - which is the best for you? Make an informed choice

So, if you are someone who has decided to buy your first car but are confused between petrol and diesel options. Petrol gives the best power by giving you sportier experience while diesel gives better mileage, with the capacity to move effortlessly on any road. And you want the best of both. Both cars have their advantages and disadvantages. Today we look at the options and help you decide which is better for you.

Price: A petrol car has always been more affordable compared to a diesel car. Now with BS-VI regulations in force, diesel engine cars have become even more expensive. Many carmakers like Maruti have stopped making a diesel car due to high cost. Generally, diesel cars are costlier by around Rs 1 lakh.

Engine: A petrol engine is more powerful than a diesel engine but gives less mileage as compared to a diesel car. This factor is the main reason majority of the car buyers tend to go for a diesel variant. But, other points are also important to be considered before making a decision.

Cost of Maintenance: A diesel car used to have relatively higher maintenance cost but now the difference has been reduced due to better diesel engines. The maintenance cost of diesel, when compared to petrol, is still on the higher side but is quite comparable nowadays.

Fuel Prices: The huge difference between petrol and diesel used to be the preferential point before deciding on the variant. But the small difference now has made many shift towards petrol variants. The gap which used to be around 30%- 40% in past has now reduced to less than 10% in many cases. If we want to travel more than 50km a day or more than 1000 km a month then diesel cars may prove to be more economical.

Resale value: In the Indian car market, diesel cars have a higher resale value. Also, depreciation applied to diesel cars is lower than petrol cars. The demand for used diesel cars is higher than petrol cars in the commercial sector.

Pollution:  Diesel cars produce less carbon dioxide but are more harmful to the environment than petrol as diesel cars produce greenhouse gases and emit a higher amount of nitrogen oxide and harmful particulate matter in comparison to petrol. Considering the health impact, petrol car could come up as a wiser choice.

Noise: Petrol cars produce less noise as they produce less cabin vibration and engine noise but diesel cars are a lot noisier. Diesel molecules are comparatively much bigger than petrol molecules, hence more pressure is required to start the diesel variant. But, now with better engine technologies even diesel engines in high-end cars produces less noise.

Conclusion:

So, if you are the one who is crazy about power and sporty, sensitive towards the environment and most importantly travel short distances on a daily basis and wish to change the car within 4-5 years then opting for a petrol car is the most suitable for you. But if you are someone who wants to travel economically and have a longer distance to travel on a daily basis and plans to keep the car for more than 6 yrs then a diesel car is an option for you.