cars, diesel, motors, diesel cars

hvinto Asked About 'What Diesel Magazine'

Will I get more mileage out of a diesel hatch like a renault or will i do better with a prius hybrid?

Answer this question

Liked this question? Tell your friends about it

Facebook Windows Live Yahoo Twitter Digg Google del.icio.us Reddit

Link

Embed

Copy and paste the text above to share this Q&A

2 Answers

Order by: Oldest to Newest; Newest to Oldest; Votes

Randy Answered:

There are too many variables to answer your question directly, but I assume you are interested in the cost per mile/kilometer. There are several things you should consider:

Diesel is a tried and tested technology and the new new diesels are much cleaner.
Diesel fuel has a higher BTU rating than gasoline (more energy per gallon).
Diesel is not my recommendation if most of your driving is short trips (less than 15 miles)
I recently sold a diesel truck with 875,000+ miles on it with no major mechanical problems.
The Prius is no doubt a good car, but battery replacement and disposal is expensive.
If you wait and buy a 2010 plug-in-Prius you must consider the cost of electricity in your area.

Good luck with your decision.

Randy

Posted 2 years ago

Add a comment

Helpful? (0)

Report

crhenry Answered:

Like most of us, you want to reduce the cost of driving. I have own several diesel cars, and enjoyed great fuel mileage (VW rabbit averaged 49 mpg for 120 thousand miles.) However the extra cost of diesel fuel now and the large expense if engine or injection repairs are needed (my VW had to have the cylinder head replaced twice. $400 for parts only both times), would cause me to decline to endorse a diesel (unless you are going to buy a new vehicle every 2 or 3 years or drive about 100 thousand miles a year). I am not in favor of hybrid vehicles yet. The higher initial cost and very high potential repair cost cause me to favor one of the higher mileage rated gasoline cars. The miles per gallon of fuel contributes to the total cost, but not as much as depreciation, upkeep and repair of the diesel or hybrid vehicles. I prefer to buy low mileage (under 80 thousand mile) vehicles about 3 or 4 years old with a carfax report.