Some people would say it comes down to preference, but really the right choice can save you a lot of money. It’s easy to simply think that diesel gets the better MPG, but with modern petrols that may not always be the case – emissions have fallen far faster, and published MPGs grown much quicker, on petrol cars then they have on diesels. You only have to look as far as Ford and VWs small capacity, high output engines to see that. With a coming swing towards taxing the noxious gases rather than purely CO2, diesels are increasingly a more costly option. Add into the mix that driving these days is much more stop and start, to which a petrol engine – or even, one supplemented by an electric drivetrain – is much more suited and it starts to make petrol an ever more attractive option.