ballestic PETROL vs DIESEL

Diesel has long been the fuel of choice for high-mileage drivers, but with it now costing an average of 22p more per litre than petrol, is it still the better option?

- George Hill George

THERE ARE MANY factors that can impact your decision when choosing which fuel to power your car, but one key element is running costs.

Traditionally, for those who rack up a lot of miles and make mostly motorway journeys, diesel cars have been the default choice for the additional fuel economy they offer over petrol equivalents. However, after the recent inflation in fuel prices, the cost of diesel has risen significantly above that of petrol; at the time of writing, the RAC states that diesel is 22p more expensive on average per litre.

So, with that in mind, does it still make sense for high-mileage drivers to head to the black pump, or does the green nozzle make more financial sense?

THE EXPERIMENT

To compare the two fuels, we gathered six cars: three petrol-powered models and their diesel twins. We then tested them back to back on a mixed route of town, A-road and motorway driving to collect real-world economy figures.

The cars we chose included two family hatchbacks, two estate cars and two large SUVS. More specifically, we picked a Peugeot 308 1.2 Puretech, a Peugeot 308 1.5 BlueHDi, a BMW 320i Touring, a BMW 320d Touring, a Genesis GV70 2.5T and a Genesis GV70 2.2D. Why the variety? Well, as part of our investigation, we wanted to see how the fuel cost difference impacts different types of car, which vary in engine size, power output and weight.

Our test route started at a petrol station in Virginia Water, Surrey, where we brimmed the tanks and made our way down to Junction 9 of the M3 towards Winchester. Once we arrived at Junction 9, we swapped drivers and the positions of the cars and followed the same route back to the Virginia Water petrol station, where we refilled the tanks and crunched the numbers. The round trip totalled 84 miles.

ENSURING A FAIR TEST