Petrol, Diesel, Hybrid or Electric, which is right for me?
If you’re in the market for a new car, the choice of which fuel type to go for has become more complicated over the past decade. Traditionally, it came down to a simple choice of either petrol or diesel, however now there are also hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full electric vehicles to consider.
There’s also the impending ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK in 2030 to consider as well. If you’re considering changing your vehicle this year and are confused by the options, read on and we’ll help to explain the differences.
Petrol
Cars with petrol engines have been around since 1885 when Karl Benz unveiled his Motorwagen, widely regarded as the world’s first car. It was powered by a 1.0 litre engine and produced 2/3 brake horsepower with a maximum speed of 10mph. In the early 1900s, Henry Ford made motoring available to the masses with the introduction of the Ford Model T. Ford produced 15 million Model T’s with Henry Ford famously once saying “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black”. Over the next century, with cars becoming more affordable and popular, petrol engines continued to develop.
Petrol engines work by converting energy from burning petrol into mechanical work, this is called torque. That torque is then transferred to the wheels which makes the car move. All car engines work in the same way, be it a Ford Model T or a modern-day Ferrari. But how do they produce this torque?
Engines have pistons inside which move up and down inside things called cylinders. These pistons are then connected to a crankshaft which then turns the cars wheels. Engines can have different numbers of cylinders inside the engine with three and four cylinder engines being the most common. These pistons are forced up and down in the cylinders by thousands of small, controlled explosions occurring every minute. These explosions are created by mixing fuel and oxygen and igniting the mixture together. An engines size is determined by the amount of space the pistons have to move within the cylinders. Whilst there are different types of petrol engines, they all work in very much the same way.
Petrol powered cars have been the most popular in the UK for many years which means there is plenty of choice if you’re in the market for a new car. You can get anything from a small city car to a large off roader or hot hatchback, with cars available at many price points to fit with your budget.
Diesel
Whilst cars with diesel engines haven’t been around for quite as long as petrol cars, they’re still almost 100 years old with the Citroen Rosalie being put into production in 1933. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, diesel power became more popular for commercial vehicles such as ambulances and taxis, however it wasn’t until the 1980s when diesel really became an alternative for petrol powered private cars.
Although diesel engines work in a similar way to a petrol engine, the way that they ignite the fuel and oxygen is different. In a petrol engine, this is achieved by using a spark plug but in a diesel engine, it’s achieved by compressing air alone. By compressing air at a high ratio, it becomes hot enough to ignite the fuel, forcing the piston to move up and down in the cylinder. Diesel engines tend to produce less power than their equivalent petrol cars, however they do offer better fuel economy making them better for drivers who cover longer distances.
Diesel vehicles reached their peak popularity during the 2000s with them accounting for 48% of new vehicle registrations in the UK in 2015. However, with the rise in popularity of Hybrids and Electric vehicles, their popularity has decreased although there are still plenty available on the used market. Like their petrol counterparts, there’s a wide variety of makes and models available however their declining popularity with new car buyers means there’ll be less choice in the future on the used market. Whilst diesel cars offer greater fuel economy over a petrol car, if you regularly drive in areas where there are clean air or low emissions zones, you’ll have to factor in these additional costs when running a diesel vehicle.
Hybrid cars
If you think of a hybrid car, you might instinctively think of the Toyota Prius, launched in 1997 and made famous in the 2000s by many a Hollywood star. Since then, they’ve become much more mainstream with most manufacturers now offering a hybrid model in their range. Hybrid cars work by combining an internal combustion engine with a battery and an electric motor. The two power sources combine to drive the car with the engine driving the car at higher speeds and the battery taking over at lower speeds. There are different types of hybrid car which we’ll explore in more detail below.
Self charging hybrid
A self charging hybrid doesn’t need to be plugged in as the battery is charged by either the engine or by converting energy generated during braking from kinetic to electrical energy. This process is called regenerative braking. Self charging hybrids are able to run on battery power alone, however it’s generally only for short distances and at lower speeds up to around 30 mph.
Plug-in hybrids
Plug-in hybrids are similar to self charging hybrids, but they have larger and more powerful batteries that can be charged externally from a socket or car charger. These more powerful batteries allow them to travel further distances and at greater speeds than self charging hybrids. They do tend to be more expensive than self charging hybrids but can be a good compromise between a conventional powered car and a full electric car if you’re unsure about making the switch to full electric just yet.
Electric cars
What was once confined to science fiction is now a reality with electric cars becoming more popular than ever, and with the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK being banned in 2030, this is likely to continue. What you might not know however, is that first electric vehicles were produced in the 1890s and at the turn of the century, 38% of vehicles in the United States were powered by electricity as opposed to 22% by petrol. Sales of early electric vehicles peaked in 1910 before petrol became the fuel of choice.
In the 1990s, interest in electric vehicles began to start once again with some manufacturers offering a limited number of electric models. In 2008, Tesla introduced their Roadster model which was the first production electric car to travel more than 200 miles on a single charge. This was followed by Nissan launching the Leaf in 2010 as the first mainstream, mass market all electric family car appealing to a greater number of buyers. In 2020, Tesla became the first electric car maker to produce over 1 million cars with its Model 3, becoming the most popular electric vehicle, overtaking the Nissan Leaf. By November 2024, electric vehicles accounted for 25% of all new vehicles registered in the UK, up from 15% in 2023.
Electric cars work by powering their wheels through an electric motor. Think of something like a remote control car or an electric slot car, just a lot bigger and a lot more powerful. These motors are powered by a large bank of rechargeable batteries which are usually stored under the floor of the car so they don’t take up space inside the car. These batteries are charged when the car is plugged in with the most common way of doing this either through a home charging wall box or through the public charging network.
Electric cars drive in much the same way that a conventional petrol or diesel car does however they’re all automatic so if you’ve only driven a manual car, that may take some adjusting to. Most manufacturers offer electric cars now with the most important thing to consider being how many miles they can cover between charges and how that’ll fit with your needs.
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