Which car would you like to drive more economically: petrol, diesel or hybrid?

"Today, greening is becoming increasingly important, and car manufacturers need to combine their models with ever more stringent carbon emissions. Innovations in the internal combustion engine and new power plants allow us to offer less polluting and more economical models "By deciding to buy a new car, you need to take into account not just the type of fuel used, because the belief that diesel models are always worth it is not necessarily true today," said Tomas Pulikas, director of the department consumer loans and automotive financing from Swedbank.

According to T.Puliko, today about 2 of the 3 new passenger cars sold in Lithuania are made up of gasoline-powered vehicles. The remaining third of the model is composed of diesel-powered models, with several percent of all sales coming from hybrid or electric cars. In addition to the car brand and specific model attributes, two other important factors that affect the purchase of any car are its cost and execution costs.

How to evaluate cars with different engines of technology according to these criteria? To make a more objective assessment, one of the most popular versatile petrol, diesel and hybrid versions of the most popular German manufacturer can be used for comparison.

The price of the same model is a difference of up to 50%

"If you decide to buy this model, at least you would pay for its version with a 1.4-liter petrol engine – the price of the new model is about 28 thousand euro. To take advantage of the standard car leasing offer and buy this car in five years with 30%. residual value, you will have to pay about 302 euros within a month ", – commented the expert.

If the tenant chooses to choose a model with diesel engine and similar dynamic characteristics, it would cost about 32 thousand. euro, or 14% more expensive. Consequently, a monthly lease payment of 345 euros would increase.

Finally, the hybrid model with a rechargeable battery currently costs 50%. more for a model with a gasoline engine, and your monthly rent payment under the above conditions would be 435 euros. However, the hybrid system is far more productive than an internal combustion engine; regular operation and maintenance of such a car is cheaper compared to diesel or gasoline models.

Do lower costs outweigh the initial price?

According to T.Pulic, the average fuel consumption of the hybrid model is extremely low and, according to the manufacturer's data, reaches 1.6 liters at a distance of 100 kilometers. The average fuel consumption of the diesel model is nearly 3 times higher and reaches 4.6 liters while the gasoline model is 5.1 liters.

"The final operating costs are determined not only by the technical characteristics, but also by the distance traveled. As a car travels more kilometers a year, its cost-effectiveness becomes more important, for example if you drive around 10,000 cars per year. It will cost about 637 euros, about 565 euros, and a hybrid – about 200 euros, according to fuel prices in mid-November, according to the fuel consumption of the gasoline model, said T.Pulikas.

In the event that monthly lease payments and average fuel money were collectively assessed, the gasoline model remains the least costly option for which you would pay about € 355 per month. At that time, the diesel leasing rate and fuel consumption would cost € 392 per month, with a hybrid model of around € 450.

T.Pulikas pointed out that if the distance traveled per year is considerably higher and reaches, for example, 25 thousand. the attractiveness of more economical models should increase. But even in this case, the gasoline model is the cheapest option – the total monthly payments and the fuel costs come to around 435 euros. And the costs for the diesel and hybrid models are similar – in both cases, they reach about 470 euros.

Additional benefits of hybrid models

These calculations are based on the manufacturer's average fuel consumption. In reality, they can vary depending on the style of driving or driving conditions. For example, the advantage of a hybrid model can expose more time while driving around the city, while driving a diesel model to travel longer out of town.

"In addition, the hybrid model used in this comparison can be recharged from the grid. Regular use of this option will make its operation even more expensive. It is estimated that the cost of using 100 km of electricity costs only about 2 euros. Some other arguments for hybrid models – over time, they retain a higher value, and some of their mechanical elements wear out more slowly than standard models, "said the specialist.

Despite the efficiency of the hybrid models, its high price still does not discourage the economic attractiveness of diesel and, in particular, the gasoline models. When a car is used under normal conditions, a considerably lower starting price still leads to the use of a new model of gasoline engine, currently, to be the most financially attractive alternative. However, car manufacturers continue to invest in the development of hybrid and electric models, but the situation may change in the near future in planning incentive schemes for the purchase of such cars by governments.