Buying a car means making plenty of decisions and hence doing plenty of research in order to understand what makes the most sense for you. Decisions like what type of vehicle makes the most sense, which brand, manual or automatic transmission, what’s your budget and many more. One of the more overlooked decisions many Canadians make is whether they should buy a gas or diesel powered vehicle. Despite diesel powered vehicles making a small percentage of the vehicles on the road in Canada today, they are gaining popularity. So before you make all of your decisions, consider the benefits and differences between a gas powered vehicle and a diesel powered vehicle from the information provided in this article.
How Do Diesel and Gas Engines Work?
For anyone not familiar with how engines work, we’ll quickly breakdown the differences between how a gas engine works and how a diesel engine works.
Both gas and diesel engines use an internal combustion engine, meaning the air is drawn into the engine with either gas or diesel. This mixture is then compressed and ignited by the engine's cylinders, which move the pistons and crankshaft and turn the wheels and gearbox of the car.
The difference between the two engines lies in the ignition stage. A spark plug ignites the gasoline in a gas engine. There is no need for a spark plug in a diesel engine. The air pushed into an engine's cylinders can be compressed to an extreme degree, where it spontaneously ignites, because diesel fuel has a higher compression ratio than gas. In a gas-powered car, the engine would be harmed if the same thing happened.
To sum everything up, diesel packs more power compared to gas.
The Benefits of Buying a Diesel Vehicle
Better fuel-efficiency. There is no competition when it comes to fuel efficiency. The US Department of Energy estimates that diesel has an energy content of 10% to 15% greater than gas. In practical terms, that means diesel automobiles are 20–35% more fuel-efficient than gasoline-powered ones.
Higher re-sale values. However, increased fuel economy comes with a price. In general, diesel-powered automobiles cost more than their gas-powered equivalents. They also depreciate more slowly, which is good news if you plan to sell or trade in your vehicle in the future.
Better acceleration and towing capacity. Diesel-powered engines provide more torque than gasoline-powered ones, mostly because of the higher compression ratio of diesels. Greater acceleration and towing capabilities follow higher torque. This translates to quicker acceleration (when you press the gas pedal on a green light) and the capacity to tow trailers and other machinery.
The Benefits of Buying a Gas Vehicle
Lower fuel-costs. No matter where you fill up in Canada, gas is generally less expensive than diesel. Diesel may be less expensive than gas in some regions of the nation, but this is uncommon. With a gas vehicle, you might make a few more trips to the gas station, but at least you'll pay a little less.
Less repair costs. Whether diesel or gas engines are more expensive to maintain is a topic of ongoing discussion. Some claim that because there are fewer parts in diesel engines, they experience less wear and tear and require fewer repairs.
While this may be the case, the relatively low number of diesel-powered cars and trucks on the road implies that the cost of parts and labour for repairs is frequently much higher.
Gas is more accessible.
Gas is easily accessible at every gas station you'll pass wherever you're driving. However, since not all gas stations sell diesel, the same cannot be stated about it. You can quickly discover which gas stations you may visit for diesel if you're simply travelling inside a region that you are familiar with. But having a gas vehicle is more practical if you frequently go by road and navigate unknown terrain.
