I've just finished tooling around France and Italy in a Citroen Xsara from Auto Europe. It was the first time I'd driven a diesel car in Europe, mainly because of the fear that diesels were sluggish on hills, and where I was going was very, very hilly.
But the first time I tromped on the accelerator those fears went away. The Xsara jumped forward as quickly as its conventionally fueled counterparts. Specs on the car put its fuel mileage at over 50 mpg.
But the savings don't end with fuel milage. That's because diesel fuel is significantly cheaper than gasoline in Europe. While gasoline hovered around the 1.05 Euro per liter point in France and Italy, diesel was available everywhere from 0.85 to 0.89 Euro. I didn't find a station that didn't offer diesel fuel. The reason for this may be the popularity of the diesel engine in Europe: some 36 percent of newly registered automobiles in Europe are today diesel-engined (Source: Bosch Archives)
Why Rent a Diesel engined car in Europe?
- Diesel fuel is 15-20 percent cheaper than gasoline.
- Fuel Mileage is 10-20 percent higher in many diesel cars, and the turbo can actually add both to the efficiency and power of the engine.
- Diesel is widely available.
Drive on--and save money.
