India is one of the biggest markets for diesel cars. Most of the people prefer diesel engines over petrol ones in this country. Why so? The debate between petrol and diesel engines is as old as the engines themselves. Basically, both engines have their own specialties and anyone opting for either of them is basing that on personal driving experiences. Similarly, CNG and LPG Engines also made their foray in the automobile industry mostly owing to their better fuel efficiency, cheaper running cost and eco-friendliness.
Getting to Know the Petrol and Diesel Engines - Technicalities
A petrol engine is one of the first engines to be used in automobiles. Fundamentally, not much has changed since its inception. Diesel engines were largely used for commercial vehicles like trucks, buses, locomotives, ships, etc. In petrol engines, there is pre-mixing of fuel and air, which eventually results in better efficiency that makes the car run at higher speed and is much quieter but the overall fuel efficiency remains quite low.
On the other hand, diesel engines use compression ignition to burn the fuel which is injected in the combustion chamber after the air is compressed. The calorific value of Diesel is more than Petrol and hence the energy output per unit volume of diesel is better than petrol. The construction of diesel engines is bit more complicated than that of petrol and hence it asks for higher initial investment. Comparatively petrol engine construction is simpler and cheaper than that of diesel, which we can also see reflected in the price of our diesel cars.
What does this technical jargon mean for the common man? Diesel cars are good for those who have long distance commuting on daily basis. Diesel engines give better fuel consumption and deliver better torque. This means diesel engines make everyday driving cheaper and an easy experience. Moreover, diesel cars have run far more miles than the petrol ones before they ask for any maintenance, i.e. running life of diesel engines is much better than petrol engines.
Finally, as a fuel, diesel is cheaper than petrol in India. Even in other countries, we see that the litre price of diesel is significantly cheaper than the petrol’s price.
Diesel cars in India are very popular in India as the Indian auto market is one of the most price sensitive markets. The combination of cheaper fuel, good mileage and long life, explains why diesel engine cars are the favourite choice of cabs and regular long distance driving people. As a consequence of the longer life of a diesel engine, the resale price for such cars is also better. In other words, diesel options always fetch you a better price.
From an environment perspective also, diesel is far better than petrol, as the emissions are less harmful!
We can easily say, that once the car has been bought, diesel is always better for the owner than petrol. However, since the purchase is more expensive, the savings after buying should be more than the extra price paid.
Hence, in order to get the full benefit of a diesel car, you should have run higher distances and not short city-hauls.
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