Yes, every gas station has both. Diesel will be slightly cheaper and you'll get better mileage with it.

Diesel is cheaper, but the cost of the lease is about $200 more. So unless you are doing a great deal of long distance driving, diesel will probably not be worth the cost. On the other hand, there is a certain pleasure in going 500+ miles (800 km.) on one tank of fuel.

You can get a cheaper rental if willing to have the CDW carried by your credit card, and often the rental will be a diesel at no extra cost.

Diesels are great! The last time I was in France, I was given a larger car than I rented because they were out of what I rented. It was a Peugeot 508 stations wagon.

Huge car, but still got an overall rating of 33 mpg by my calculations with diesel.

Here's a link on current pricing by country.
http://www.fuel-prices-europe.info/

80% of the new cars in France use diesel because it gets better mileage and fuel is about 15 centimes cheaper than normal petrol.

However, use diesel quickly because there is a government plan to cancel the reduced taxes on diesel before long.

Michael, are you saying that it costs about $200 more to lease a diesel car? I wonder why that is, as they are far more prevalent than non-diesels.

Check it out for yourself on http://www.renaultusa.com/ . I believe that diesel purchased by consumers in France are more expensive than the equivalent gasoline cars, but that will be recouped if kept for a number of years.

Thanks, that makes sense.

You will pay a premium for a diesel if you lease a car. If you rent, your chances of getting a diesel anyway are very high and there is no additional cost.

I run the numbers often on lease vs. rent and for any period of fewer than 42 days, renting is always more cost effective.

Diesel!

Thanks all for the prompt responses. Sarastro - I will do some more investigating on the price comparisons of renting vs. leasing for a 24 day period.

Travel_Bug_Cin - here´s the basis for my statement:

1. Rent any car and decline all extra insurance options. You may want to check with Autoeurope for pricing:
www.autoeurope.com

2. Use the $25 primary insurance coverage offered by American Express. Unlike the secondary insurance offered by Visa and MC, meaning you are only reimbursed for damages, this is primary coverage and in most cases is valid on a single rental for a period of up to 42 days.

Read the fine print here:
http://tinyurl.com/7cyd2tz

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The catch? - you must have an American Express credit card, you must be enrolled in the program, and your rental will probably not be factory fresh but will be relatively new. However, with the amount of money I save, I am more than willing to forgo factory fresh and drive just a newer car.

much better mileage with diesel, so it will be more economical to get diesel if you can.
use a credit card that will cover the European car rental deductable like Amex or Chase Signature (call them first)

Diesel fuel is sold as gazole in France, as opposed to essence (sans plomb) for gasoline (unleaded).

No brainer!..Diesel all the way!.. I rent a Citroen C3 diesel with a manual shift when in France and consistently get about 50-55 mpg with a diesel powered car.

Alec..slight correction...gazole is NOT diesel. Gazole oil is fuel used for 2 cycle engines such as lawn mowers, boat engines etc. It is not designed for diesel engines. Diesel fuel is Cetane rated; usually with a rating of 40 to 55 as opposed to octane ratings for gasoline powered cars.

No brainer!..Diesel all the way!.. I rent a Citroen C3 diesel with a manual shift when in France and consistently get about 50-55 mpg with a diesel powered car.

Rarely are things a no brainer. If you have to pay a premium for the diesel car then there will obviously be a point where you break even. It Michael's example above, that would require a lot of distance to make it worth while.

I'm afraid you'll have to run the numbers.

Curious, as I have never looked into a lease, but you'd also expect the residual to be better for a diesel as well.

slight correction...gazole is NOT diesel. Gazole oil is fuel used for 2 cycle engines such as lawn mowers, boat engines etc. It is not designed for diesel engines.

It really does not make any difference what gazole means in English indy_dad, if you are in France and are driving a car with a diesel engine, you´ll either put gazole in the tank or you´ll leave your car parked once the tank is dry.

From the French Wikipédia:
Le gazole ou diesel ou gas-oil, ou encore gasoil, est un carburant pour moteur Diesel.

slight correction...gazole is NOT diesel. Gazole oil is fuel used for 2 cycle engines such as lawn mowers, boat engines etc. It is not designed for diesel engines.

It really does not make any difference what gazole means in English indy_dad,

That wasn't me, Sarastro.

I run the numbers often on lease vs. rent and for any period of fewer than 42 days, renting is always more cost effective.

I believe that Visa and MasterCard limit the rental to 31 days per contract if carrying the CDW--mine does--but it accepts back to back contracts that would split the 42 days rental.

That wasn't me, Sarastro.

My apologies indy_dad. I must have posed late at night.

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I believe that Visa and MasterCard limit the rental to 31 days per contract

That is correct Michael. That is why I much prefer the insurance offered by American Express over the inferior coverage offer by either Visa or MC.

The AMEX insurance is the very best deal out there.

Once you have bought your car and need to find fuel, the French government have an excellent website for finding the cheapest fuel in your town, depertment etc: http://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr

*department

DIESEL. Not even a close call in France - way less expensive.

I wouldn't call it way less expensive. You can see for yourself, here: http://www.zagaz.com/stats_departement.php?chaine=&produit=1&ordre=rien

It used to be a lot cheaper.