Purchase Price
Prices vary depending on the vehicle in question, but as a general rule you can expect to pay between £500 and £1000 more for a new diesel car when compared to the same make and model petrol car.

Resell
Although diesel cars are more expensive to buy when new, they do have a higher resell price than their petrol counterparts.

Many believe a diesel engine will run for a lot longer than a petrol engine, meaning there is a still a likelihood of getting a good resell price for a diesel car even when it has done upwards of 80,000 miles. The demand for high mileage petrol cars is much lower.

Therefore, if you cover a lot of miles in your car you will find a diesel will be easier to sell on than its petrol equivalent.

Fuel Economy
Diesel and petrol is priced similarly in the UK, so the difference in fuel costs comes down to which engine can do more miles to the gallon. An economical petrol car can do up to 50mpg, but a diesel equivalent can manage as much as 70mpg, making them much more economical in the long run.

If you take your car on regular trips to Europe you will find diesel is much cheaper than petrol, making the diesel engine even more economical.

That said, modern petrol cars are catching up and you may find that in UK motorway driving the difference in fuel economy is less marked.

Driving Experience
There are various arguments for the superiority of the both the petrol and diesel engines, much of which comes down to your driving habits and your personal preferences.

Petrol cars are generally quieter and faster than diesel cars. If you want a high performance car, many agree that petrol is the only option. In addition, a petrol engine will start smoothly from cold, but this is not always true of a diesel engine.

Diesel engines have more torque than petrol engines, making them better for towing. A modern diesel engine will have good pulling power which results in less gear changing when compared with a petrol car. Diesel cars are however noisier than petrol cars especially in cold conditions, but this is less noticeable in newer diesels. Whilst both petrol and diesel cars cost a similar amount to service, you will find a diesel will require more oil than a petrol car.