How Car Makers are Turning Against Petrol

For the first time last year British motorists bought as much diesel as petrol because of soaring sales of diesel-powered cars.

Greater fuel efficiency is the main reason for the rise in popularity, especially now that fuel costs nearly £4 a gallon. For example, a Land Rover Freelander 2.0 Td4 estate giving an average 37mpg has a clear 10mpg advantage over a 1.8 petrol model.

This translates into a fuel cost of about 10 pence per mile for the diesel and 13.5 pence for the petrol car. In the MPV market, the savings are equally impressive: a Ford Galaxy 1.9 TD Ghia gives an average 44mpg, while the 2.3 petrol alternative only manages 28mpg; the fuel cost saving increases to nearly 5 pence per mile.

There is a second factor for the rise. Resale values for diesel models are higher than for petrol cars. For example, typical resale values of a popular three-year-old diesel MPV can be up to £2,500 more than for a petrol equivalent. The difference is even more for luxury 4x4 models.

New diesel cars from the likes of BMW, and from traditional diesel suppliers such as Peugeot and Citroen, with advanced diesels featuring strongly in the engine line-ups of most manufacturers, prove that diesel cars are not only clean and frugal, but can also offer serious performance.

A new generation of green engines is also beginning to make its mark on the traditionally petrol-dominated car market. The Toyota Prius, launched in 1997, utilises 'hybrid technology'. This means that there is a petrol engine, an electric battery and electric motors. More than 130,000 have been sold worldwide.

When you drive, a computer decides whether you should be powered by petrol, electricity or both. The petrol motor recharges the battery and the battery supplies power to supplement the gasoline engine. The driver doesn’t have to get too involved in the details, because the onboard computer takes care of it all.

Now Honda has developed the world's first car that you can fill up at home from your household gas supply.

The Japanese car giant reckons its pioneering vehicle will slash fuel bills by half. The Honda Civic GX has a superclean 1.7 litre engine developed to run off compressed natural gas rather than petrol.

http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk charts the fuel consumption, CO2, and other emissions performance figures of new cars sold in Britain.