Thread: The great petrol vs diesel debate

Originally Posted by Pointer

Funny this would come up as I just crunched the numbers this morning. I was looking at a petrol powered patrol to replace my diesel one. Comparing rego, RUC and enough gas for 30,000 km annually, facoring in less service costs for the petrol and no RUC, the 4.8 petrol patrol would still cost me basically double to run per annum. To get a petrol 4x4 to the equivalent costs of running my TD42T the petrol would need to see fuel consumption in the vicinity of 7-9 liters per hundred km, which is basically a suzuki. Diesel is still cheaper at this point.

What is the fuel consumption like on the 4.8?

If you have a modern efficient modern diesel then the RUC's are pretty close to your fuel running cost. Looking at a Mercedes Sprinter I get 8.7l/100km and with fuel around $1/l that is $87/1000km fuel and $63/1000km RUC. Make sure that you use the relevant l/100km figure to start with for each vehicle for both fuel types. The diesel cycle is inherently more efficient.