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I am confused about fuel economy. The AA reckons that if you are doing about 15,000km's per year or less, then petrol is better than diesel.
I did some calculations based on a Nissan Pathfinder diesel and petrol based on 15,000km's per year. The diesel gets two services while the petrol version gets one.
Including the Road User Charges (RUC), the diesel worked out to $3545 and petrol was $3983. I worked on the official fuel figures on the Nissan website.
Frank
From the "Ask Jack" archives - 9 December 2008
We use the 15,000km figure as a general rule of thumb and is especially relevant for people looking at the smaller cars where you can pay a couple of thousand dollars more to initially purchase a diesel version.
For some motorists who only travel small distances, the cost of registration (more for a diesel) and RUC do not warrant them owing a diesel over a petrol in our opinion. Remember also some of the new small petrol vehicles are very fuel effecient.
In your case the situation can be different and as you have done, it is important to work the figures for a particular model and distance that fits your needs.
According to the government fuel saver website the Pathfinder Diesel consumes 10.0 litres of diesel per 100kms and the petrol version consumes 13.5 L / 100km's.
On current fuel prices (end of November) I would say the diesel is definetly a better bet than the petrol worked on the following;
Petrol @ 13.5 litres per 100km's = 135 litres for 1,000km's = 2025 litres per 15,000km's.
Petrol at the end of Nov was $1.44 per litre (average).
2025 X $1.44 = $2916
Diesel @ 10.1 litres per 100km's = 101 litres for 1,000km's = 1515 litres per 15,000km's.
Diesel at the end of November was $1.21 per litre.
1515 x $1.21 = $1833 (rounded).
Add the RUC, registration and servicing and I think you will find diesel will still win.
Once again it depends on the price you pay for the vehicle. I would imagine the costs of a diesel Pathfinder to be more than a petrol. Remember though, the resale value should be higher.
The other important factor is whether you are buying new / near new or high / low km's.
The reason I say this is because of servicing costs. At certain time / distance intervals the diesel may be more expensive to service. You would need to check with your Nissan dealer on that. A major engine repair on a diesel will certainly cost you plenty in comparison to a petrol.
Hopefully I haven't confused you too much and you will see where we are coming from. Clearly the more km's you travel the better diesel becomes simply based on fuel usage and the benefits diesel has over petrol in that regard.