Think carefully about the fuel type you choose

Petrol or diesel is one of the most important choices a company car driver has to make when selecting a new vehicle.

Certainly, diesel cars return better fuel economy – as these figures from Which? indicate:

Fuel type Average mpg (combined) Average mpg (town) Average mpg (motorway)

Diesel 53.8 49.7 45.2
Petrol 44.9 38.6 38.1
Petrol-hybrid 50.6 92.4 37.3

Even though diesel costs more at the pumps, it still beats petrol by around 9mpg overall – saving around £200 a year, according to Which? However, hybrid cars appear to be catching up fast as new models come on to the market with better motorway fuel economy.

There is also the 4% Benefit-in-Kind surcharge on diesel cars to consider as well, compared to an equivalent petrol vehicle – which means that diesel drivers need to be driving enough miles to offset the higher tax (typically, around 20,000 miles a year).Plus, older diesels have been targeted by clean air schemes such as the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in London and which other major cities are also either considering or implementing.

Diesel cars have come in for a lot of criticism for their exhaust emissions of late.But some of the latest generation of Euro VI diesel cars actually emit less NOx than the typical petrol car.Modern diesels – especially when fitted with an automatic transmission – also often equal petrol cars for performance and refinement.

Ultimately, the decision depends on the preference of the driver and how they use their vehicle.Before making a decision, why not talk to one of our experts at Marshall Fleet to make sure you make the right move?