Diesel, Unleaded and LPG – Which fuel type is best for you?

The effect we’re having on our environment is a big issue with terms like climate change and carbon footprint becoming part of our everyday vocabulary. One industry that seems to have come under fire from the environmentalists is the motor industry; people have been urged to buy more economical cars and to cut back on their usage wherever possible.

Hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius have paved the way for a new way of powering our cars. Until recent years we’ve been accustomed to two types of fuel at the petrol stations: unleaded and diesel, with both having their advantages and disadvantages. Now there is a new fuel available named Liquefied Petroleum Gas (known as LPG).

There are even some cars like the Tesla Roadster which run solely on electricity! So with all these fuels which one is the cleanest? Which one is the cheapest? And more importantly, which one’s best for you?

Unleaded

Unleaded is the most common and popular choice for many motorists, it’s cheaper and in more abundance than any other fuels. Cars that run on unleaded tend to have quieter and smoother running engines; they do however produce the most CO2 emissions (10% more than diesel) but also pump out less harmful emissions than diesel at the same time.

Diesel

Diesel engines are generally more economical than petrol and so you won’t necessarily be visiting the pumps as often. However it is slightly more expensive and is expected to rise in price over time. Whilst it emits less CO2 than petrol, there are more particles in the emissions – which is the sooty smoke that comes out of the back end of buses and lorries. Some cars have a trap that helps prevent these particles being emitted.

LPG

Liquefied Petroleum Gas is a recent addition to some petrol station forecourts. Many cars can be converted to run on LPG and this is quite popular with cost-cutting consumers as the fuel has lower duty tax. However, LPG is generally less economical than petrol or diesel, meaning that you’ll be making more trips to the pump for your money and with LPG not being provided by all refuelling stations you could end up caught out with no way to fill up. In order to convert your existing car to accept LPG you need to consider how much the cost of conversion will be and whether the savings made as a result outweigh the initial costs.

So which option would be best considering the rising cost of motoring? Well depending on your usage and your finances you may want to make fewer trips to the pumps, also emissions based taxation has been introduced and so when you’re selecting your car you may want to make sure it is a good performer.

If LPG is something you want to consider there are some cars that are made “dual-fuel” where they run primarily on LPG but will also use petrol as a backup.

Related topics include Car Finance, motoring and fuel types.