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The upfront cost of a diesel engine plus the cost of fuel more than offsets any fuel economy benefits.
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I have to disagree. Fuel is the often single biggest expense over the lifetime of a road vehicle, sometimes exceeding the purchase value of the vehicle itself. Diesel would have to cost a whole lot more than 16% over gasoline to offset FE benefits.
I own 2 compact sedans, one a gasser and the other a TDI, so it's easy for me to compare. I think it's a fair engine comparison, both being 4 cyl engines with pretty much the same displacement.
Doing the same type of driving with both my cars I get the following:
Highway only
TDI: 65 MPG
Elantra: 43 MPG
City only
TDI: 50 MPG
Elantra: 33 MPG
In a 50/50 city/highway mix and gas at $4/gal while diesel at $5/gal, a 25% difference, the TDI cost $1830 less per 100k miles than the Elantra.
The premium you pay for the diesel engine is partly transferred to the resale value so it's not a sunk cost.