Buying a diesel car is more fuel efficient and will save you more money compared to a petrol model and that seems to be the thinking of car buyers in the UK.
In 2010 the share of diesel cars sold hit a record high of 46.1% of overall sales for the year. This is up more from 41.7% on the previous year, while shares for petrol models is down from 57.5% to 52.8%.
With some manufacturers cutting the premium between petrol and diesel models and the big price difference on the forecourt starts to come down, the idea of diesel saving car buyers cash could be returning.
But are potential customers really saving themselves any money opting for diesel cars?
In some cases buyers will recoup their diesel premium within a matter of weeks or a few years while others will have to do incredibly high mileages and a number of years before they save any money.
| Petrol model | Diesel model | Diesel premium | Mileage to break even July 2009 | Time to break even |
| Audi A3 S/back 1.8 TFSI SE | S/back 2.0 TDI SE | £175 | 4,202 | 128 days |
| Audi A6 2.8 FSI S Line auto | 2.7 TDI S Line auto | £615 | 16.353 | 1 year |
| BMW 318i SE saloon | 318d SE saloon | £2,570 | 77,475 | 6 years |
| BMW 523i SE auto | 525d SE auto | £1,740 | 68,015 | 6 years |
| Citroen C3 1.4 VTR+ 5dr | 1.4 HDi VTR+ | £1,100 | 34,414 | 3 years |
| Ford Focus 1.6 Style 5dr | 1.6 TDCi Style 5dr | £1,250 | 32,123 | 3 years |
| Ford Mondeo 2.0 Zetec 5dr | 2.0 TDCi Zetec 5dr | £1,450 | 29,391 | 2 years |
| Ford S-MAX 2.0 Titanium | 2.0 TDCi Titanium | £1,550 | 42,721 | 4 years |
| Honda Civic 1.8i-VTEC ES 5dr | 2.2i-CTDi ES 5dr | £1,505 | 62,521 | 5 years |
| Honda Accord 2.0i ES GT saloon |
2.2i-DTEC ES GT saloon |
£1,925 | 66,330 | 6 years |
| Honda CR-V 2.0i-VTEC ES | 2.2i-CTDi ES | £1,875 | 62,468 | 5 years |
| Mazda2 1.3 TS2 3dr | Mazda2 1.4D TS2 3dr | £1,585 | 85,420 | 7 years |
| Mazda6 1.8 TS 5dr | 2.2d TS (129) 5dr | £1,070 | 46,466 | 4 years |
| Nissan Note 1.4 Acenta 5dr | 1.5 dCi Acenta 5dr | £1,000 | 33,887 | 3 years |
| Nissan Qashqai 2.0 Tekna | 2.0 dCi Tekna | £1,450 | 39,964 | 3 years |
| Peugeot 207 1.6 Sport (120bhp) 3dr | 1.6 HDi (112) Sport 3dr | £1,350 | 228,733 | 19 years |
| Peugeot 308 1.6 VTi S 5dr | 1.6 HDI (112) S 6sp 5dr | £1,500 | 41,695 | 3 years |
| Renault Clio 1.6 VVT GT 3dr | 1.5 dCi GT 3dr | £960 | 421,920 | 2 years |
| Renault Megane Coupe 1.6 Expression | 1.5 dCi (106) Expression | £1,560 | 34,491 | 3 years |
| SEAT Leon 1.4 TSI S | 1.6 TDI Ecomotive S | £250 | 5,597 | 170 days |
| Toyota Yaris 1.3 VVTi-TR 5dr | 1.4 D-4D TR 5dr | £1,070 | 63,808 | 5 years |
| Toyota Avensis VVT-i T2 |
2.2 D-4D T2 |
£1,000 | 40,238 | 3 years |
| Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 SXi 3dr | 1.3 CDTi ecoFLEX SXi 3dr | £645 |
31,225 |
3 years |
| Vauxhall Astra 1.6 SE | 1.7 CDTi SE | £1,425 | 42,958 | 4 years |
| Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 SE 5dr | 2.0 CDTi SE 5dr | £1,440 | 47,227 | 4 years |
| Volvo V50 1.6 ES | 1.6D DRIVe ES | £2,825 | 46,488 | 4 years |
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