Diesel, Petrol or Hybrid Engines?

There's been a lot of hype about hybrid-engine cars in recent years, but would the experts swap their own car for one? And what are the pros and cons of ye olde diesel and petrol engines?

Motoring journalists Luke Wood, Paul Walton, Mark Dishman, Steve Parker and Chris Pollitt give us their opinions.

In theory, the most fuel efficient car I've driven is a Honda Insight - a hybrid that uses both a conventional petrol engine backed up by a bank of batteries. When driven extremely carefully, the dashboard displays a row of trees that 'grow' leaves, which I think is supposed to be motivational in that you can watch the planet healing itself. So, if you pootle around at 30mph then upwards of 65miles per gallon is achievable and as a reward the dash will glow green under the canopy of a dozen virtual trees.
Luke Wood

Hybrid-powered cars are incredibly cheap to run. I drove one of the latest hybrids – a Honda Insight – and despite costing just £35 to fill with unleaded, it covered a staggering 380 miles on just one tank. The trouble is, even when the two engines are working together hybrids can feel laboured under acceleration and their technology is still unproven in the long term. That's why if I was to buy a car tomorrow it would be a Golf Bluemotion - part of a new movement of more economical and cleaner diesel engine cars.
Paul Walton

Put simply, diesel will get you further, but it's usually more expensive at the pumps, and it only really pays for itself if you cover a lot of miles. Stereotypes about clattering, smelly and slow diesel engine cars are no longer relevant though – I drove a new diesel Mercedes C-Class with a seamless seven-speed gearbox for a day and completely forgot that it was an oil burner. Indeed, many diesels have a better real-world performance than their petrol engine counterparts, as it's in their nature to provide more thrust lower down in the rev range.
Mark Dishman

The most interesting car coming in the near-term future seems to be the Leaf all-electric car from Nissan, due for-sale worldwide by the end of 2010. That's one I'd like to drive.
Steve Parker

In my eyes the best fuel is diesel. Petrol, while usually more fun, isn't nearly as cost effective over long distances, and hybrid is a bit of a farce at this stage in the game. Yes, cars will inevitably go that way, but at the moment the hybrid-engine cars are simply not refined enough - nor are they as economical as people seem to think they are.
Chris Pollitt

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