ita

What are the advantages of renting a diesel (besides cost of fuel)? Is the fuel readily available if you are travelling back roads and to little villages. Also what is the comparative rental price?

Barb_in_Ga

I rented a diesel last year in France, and had no trouble finding fuel in our travels. What you want to buy is GAZOIL

The mileage was great, so I didn't have to fuel very often.

Michael

40% of French cars are diesel. Fuel is therefore not a problem. Cars go further on a gallon of diesel than on a gallon of gas and diesel is about 10 cents cheaper per liter than gas in France. You may have to pay a premium for a diesel rental. For leasing prices, check the Peugeot and the Renault web pages (sorry, I don't have them readily available). BTW, the new Peugeot HDI diesel engine is said to be 20% more efficient than the Renault diesel engine.

StCirq

Not only does diesel fuel cost less, you get way more miles to the gallon/liter with a diesel car. I've never been quoted a different price for a diesel, but if you're renting a small compact, it is more likely it will take unleaded fuel - the diesel cars tend to be the bigger ones. Diesel fuel is ubiquitous in Europe - you won't have any trouble finding it at any gas station.

CharlieB

ita - Diesel is definitely the way to go! Almost every gas station in both France and Germany provide diesel fuel. Not only is diesel fuel cheaper than regular gas, but diesel engines are much more fuel efficient and with their higher torgue- they are much more responsive and fun to drive. Don't know why they haven't become more popular in the states - it can't be because of pollution, because Europeans seem much more air-quality conscious than Americans.

Patrick

A couple of years ago we leased a Peugeot 306 turbo diesel from Auto France for a couple of months. It was great, but often rather noisy (especially starting it up in the morning). This year we leased from them a 307 diesel and it was so quiet, we would often try to start it to find it was already running -- we really couldn't hear it. It was a great car. We checked the mileage a couple of times, and if the math was correct converting kilometers to miles and litres to US gallons, we got just what they said we would -- about 50 miles to the gallon. I never saw a station that didn't have diesel.

ahussey

You can find diesel everywhere in Europe. Last year I drove an Opel minivan in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Austria. Never had a problem finding fuel. It also was very quiet (more so than my own older MB Diesel) and drove very nice including mountainous terrain.

Michael

You would not want a car much smaller than a Renault Clio or a Peugeot 206 (or has it been replaced by a 207?). The former definitely comes in a diesel version, I don't know about the latter. As for puchasing fuel, it is cheapest at the supermarket.

Alec

Just a small point but when buying fuel often there are two lines for diesel (gazole in France): for trucks (camions) and cars. If you make a mistake of joining the first, you'll find that the pump nozzle is thicker and fuel gushes out, and possibly spills out all over you, as diesel tends to foam up a lot when mixed with air. Also try not to get the fuel on your shoes (by standing in a spillage) or your hands. It's very slippery and your shoes can slip off the pedals, and it's quite difficult to wash off. Sometimes they provide a pair of disposable gloves at the pump. I carry extra tissue just in case.
If you are travelling through various countries, diesel is cheapest in Luxembourg (around 0.75 euro/l), folowed by Andorra, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, and most expensive of all in UK (around 75p or 1.15 euro).

Mikeee007

We rented a diesel BMW 3 series station wagon at the Munich Airport. It was a peppy little thing. I was surprised by its "get up and go." The rental cost was the same as a gasoline engine car, but the cost of fuel was lower.

I would venture to go out on a limb and say that just about every gas station in Europe sells diesel.

elle

I drive a diesel here in the states and I love it. I commute 70 miles a day and the diesel gives me about 50 miles to the gallon (less in summer when I'm using the A/C). Unfortunately, just in the past week, the prices at my local station went from $1.69 to $1.79.

One of the ecological problems with diesels is that, while their carbon dioxide emissions are much lower than regular gasoline engines, they have higher emission levels of something called "particulates" (that nasty black stuff you see coming out of trucks and buses). In cars, direct-injection technology has greatly decreased the level of particulates released.

There are two other problems often cited about diesels--the noise and sluggishness. The engines have been made quieter, but frankly, the noise has never bothered me. I kind of enjoy it! And having a turbocharger makes the sluggishness a non-issue--my car is as energetic and responsive as my last car, which was an Acura Integra.

The higher combustion point of diesel fuel does lead to a longer period of warming up in cold weather (so if you were going to Scandinavia in the winter, this might be an issue). Because I drive through city traffic for ten minutes before reaching the highway, this is not a major problem, though it has been a bit of an inconvenience. I wasn't farsighted enough to foresee that not only would the engine take longer to warm up, but so would the inside of the car. Should have bought the heated seats!! Oh well, I asked for a heated seat for Christmas, which helps.

We rented a diesel 4 x 4 in France two years ago. I'm trying to think how much we paid for fuel (this was pre-Euro), probably the equivalent of $4-$5. We drove from Paris through Burgundy and Beaujolais along the Rhone to Tournon and Romans, then on to Provence where we covered a lot of territory between the Drome and the Luberon. In the course of a week of serious driving, I think we refueled three times. Never had a problem finding gazole.

Along with the diesel engine, I would also consider renting a hybrid in Europe. They're more popular there than they are here and several rental car companies offer them as an option (including Europcar).

Sorry to go so long about diesels--can you tell I love my car?