Diesel vs Petrol How much extra is it?

[Mr Savage]

Diesel vs Petrol always argued about between people on a daily basis i'm sure. So I decided (for some unknown reason) to work out how much extra the faster petrol actually sets you back compared to the diesel.

Comparison is a VW Golf GT 170 TDi vs VW Golf GTI Edition 30 (Mark 5) not a standard GTI as the running costs are apparantly pretty much the same?

VW Golf GT 170 TDi vs VW Golf GTI Edition 30

Fuel Cost

All Fuel are averages I see at the petrol stations I go to and drive past at the moment.

VW Golf GT 170 TDi

Diesel £1.43 - 45MPG (On Average Combined - According to fact sheets)

15,000 miles = £2168.44

VW Golf GTI Edition 30

Petrol £1.34 - 35MPG (On Average Combined according to fact sheets (correct me if wrong you Edition 30 owners)

15,000 miles = £2612.65

Fuel = +£444 for the GTI Edition 30 over the Diesel.

Road Tax

VW Golf GT 170 TDi = £190 (12 Months)

VW Golf GTI Edition 30 = £245 (12 Months)

Road Tax = +£55 for the GTI Edition 30.

Nothing more to be said here. Moving on!

Insurance 

VW Golf GT 170 TDi = £1461 (12 Months)

VW Golf GTI Edition 30 = £1824 (12 Months)

I could only work this out based on my insurance quotes, this is fully comprehensive and the cheapest quote I could get for either car, what can I say i'm under 25

Insurance = +£363 for the GTI Edition 30.

Summary

Fuel = £444 Extra (Based on 15,000 miles)

Road Tax = £55 Extra

Insurance = £363 Extra

Total = £862+

So £862 more every year to run a Golf GTI Edition 30 over a Golf 170 TDI, isit worth it? People are welcome to bring up other factors! I'm guessing servicing ect should be around the same for both cars and when buying used the initial cost should also be very close.

Hope that's all useful for someone!

Using the same calculations the GTI Edition 30 costs £1332 more to run than the Golf GT 140 TDi. Just incase you were interested! Feel free to argue any of the content!

[Gene Hunt.]

I've got an 08 ED 30 & ''yes'' can be expensive to run but my milage is low so don't really worry about the cost etc. One thing tho is i would never change to diesel,never owned one in 20 odd years of driving & never will.

[ron bagley]

Great bit of work Mr S. Fascinating reading but I'm with Gene, wouldn't swap my ED 30 for diesel no matter what the cost!

[Mr Savage]

I'm glad it proved interesting! Haha  Definitely, can't blame you! If anything the increase in performance is worth it! I'll be using this to justify an upgrade in the future atleast

[crimsonfin]

(from experience) for petrol i would knock about 10-15% off your mpg estimates.

[dubber36]

I have to say I also think your 35mpg figure for the ED30 is a bit optimistic. 28-30mpg would be nearer the mark.

[Gene Hunt.]

I have to say I also think your 35mpg figure for the ED30 is a bit optimistic. 28-30mpg would be nearer the mark.

...........about what i get from mine. Best ever was a 25 mile drive in constant traffic around 50 odd mph & trip computer was showing average of 34.6. Very boring drive tho

[MK4_20VT]

My GT 170 diesel road tax is £165.00

why not look for a TDI 140, seems to be alot more around & I bet your insurance quote will be alot less.

When I went to insure my GT 170 the people on the phone would say to me  "thats the fast diesel golf" resulting in my costs going up £200 from my old MK4 GT130 to £500.  Alot of insurance places seem to be wise to the 170bhp diesels

Jay

[bacillus]

From your pricing it appears that you want to use regular unleaded for the ed30. IMO you need to run it on 98/99 RON petrol and that's more expensive.

[Mr Savage]

My GT 170 diesel road tax is £165.00

why not look for a TDI 140, seems to be alot more around & I bet your insurance quote will be alot less.

When I went to insure my GT 170 the people on the phone would say to me  "thats the fast diesel golf" resulting in my costs going up £200 from my old MK4 GT130 to £500.  Alot of insurance places seem to be wise to the 170bhp diesels

Jay

I just went off the statistics sheet online. Not sure why you pay less. Maybe the year? Yeah I already drive a 140 TDI I was just curious as to how much i'm saving Also went for it because 170 has a lot of extra expenses!

From your pricing it appears that you want to use regular unleaded for the ed30. IMO you need to run it on 98/99 RON petrol and that's more expensive.

That's a very valid point! But i'm guessing people might also want to run their TDI 170's on premium diesel too. I thought the MPG on the stats sheet seemed somewhat optimistic as it matched the GTI and seemed high for the power return. I just assumed it was more or less correct as I get the stated MPG for my 140 TDI in the real world.