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Like i said there are still some buyers and that the same would be a mass market hit. We have already seen enough examples a good product been sold reasonably even if isn't is exactly a VFM product (read jetta, corolla).

Here a latest article on this. Could be useful.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/17917661.cms

Good post.
My neighbour is interested in a new vehicle. His running is 1500 km per month for the next couple of years and then probably much lesser. All this is within city and no highway.

With diesel price set to go up every month, is it still better for him to buy a diesel Beat or Figo or should he go with a Wagon-R CNG?
Approximate premium is around 70K for going with the diesel cars in comparison with Wagon-R CNG.

If your neighbor has no particular affinity for diesel, then Wagon-R is the best. Moreover since he is going to drive within the city only Wagon-R should be the obvious choice as it is a city car. With the 70K saved on Wagon-R, he can pamper his car with a lot of accessories.

If Diesel prices are going to increase,i am pretty sure,petrol prices will also increase,though the rate of increase might be less than diesel,but the 15Rs\L gap shall still remain,and lets not forget,that most diesel cars are almost 30-40% More fuel efficient than their petrol counterparts,so if running is in excess of 1200kms/month,a diesel will still make sense over a petrol.

The first question is how much is the premium you pay for a diesel. The greater the premium the greater the break even time. And a mileage of 1500 or so a month with it reducing in the future means that petrol or CNG/LPG make more sense than diesel. Additionally unless the additional space is required, a small city car is pretty fuel efficient and practical (parking, driving etc).

Looking at the option of Waggie as opposed to diesel beat or figo, I have to say the waggie makes more sense. The price differential between diesel and CNG is quite minimal and the potentially better mileage of diesel is nowhere close to enough to recover the 70,000 in a hurry.

I agree that diesel still makes sense over a petrol, but if you bring in the CNG variant in the fray then the whole equation changes. The running cost of a diesel can be anywhere between Rs 2.50 to 3.00/km (depending upon the FE), whereas that for a CNG hovers just under Rs 2.00/km. Hence running on CNG is cheaper than running on diesel. Now if the Wagon-R costs 70K less than the comparable versions of diesel Figo or Beat, then he can blindly choose the CNG Wagon-R over the other two.

@S_U_N - You might want to check another thread by me wherein I've considered servicing cost and most importantly the resale value. If one is looking to drive without restrictions and worrying about fuel economy, diesel is the way to go. Even if petrol & diesel prices are at par (like in Europe), it still is not a bad idea to go for a diesel, even if you do just say 40,000 kms before selling the car (because of the good resale price diesel cars command)

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-reckoner.html

In your friend's case, 1500 kms / month is decent amount of running and Beat diesel could make sense (though personally I am not a fan of 3 cylinder diesel engines). The Figo is weighed down a bit by service cost and resale - also it's ARAI mileage is not the best amongst its peers. But the Figo does compensate by fantastic pricing and if space is a prime requirement, it might even make good sense to go for the Figo. If its petrol, then the running should ideally be below 1000 kms (300-700 kms range) and then the Wagon R petrol should do just fine. CNG is best left for commercial vehicles, as it doesn't really make sense to stand in a queue to fill up on gas, when one can go for diesel and enjoy an equally economical motoring. Also, with CNG one loses out on boot space and why add another possible explosive tank when there is already one (petrol) in the car.

Financially it is WagonR CNG without a second thought. It costs around 70K less. Running cost is around 0.5-1 Rs lower and so will be the maintenance charges, insurance etc.

But there are some things to note.

• Both Figo & Beat Diesel offer far better drivability.
• Both have boot space whereas WagonR has absolutely no space in the boot.
• Both offer far better interiors as well as (Safety) features.
• 1500 Kms means ~ 5 visits to CNG stations and we know how long the queue is.

If I were to buy 1, I would buy the Figo diesel just because it is much more fun to drive. the 70K price difference be damned. WagonR is the number 1 in my most hated cars in india. (no offence anyone)

Thank you guys for the inputs.
Since the buyer is a 65 year young gentlemen, I believe visibility is also an important part. Driving post sunset also is unavoidable, though the car will be strictly on city roads.
He is more fascinated by CNG and he might be able to get a good discount. Hopefully the price difference between Wagon-R CNG and the diesel cars will widen due to this.
The good part is that his work location has two CNG pumps and they are both good.
A friend has a CNG wagon-R and the cost per KM is 2.5-3 Rs. per km (city conditions).
What is the running cost for Beat Diesel and Figo Diesel?

You may want get him an automatic. A Star AT is an excellent choice. Running cost in city is about Rs. 5 per km on average. Servicing cost is much lower (2200 as against 4500 for safari, not to mention lower maintenance, no clutch etc.).

The reason for the vast disparity in resale values is purely down the pricing of petrol and diesel. Assuming we reach a stage where there is a small difference or parity between them, then the resale value of diesel will fall or that of petrol will rise. Either way there will be less incentive to buy a diesel, barring potentially better mileage. Also, if the price differential between petrol and diesel narrows, the only way to sell diesel cars will be to reduce the premium charged for them.

I personally prefer petrol cars even though it costs more to run. Like the way the engines perform

Came across this site accidentally.

http://aravindavk.in/diesel-vs-petrol-car/

I think this will be of great help to those in a dilemma between a petrol or a diesel car. It has a very well etched out layout with all important factors and parameters for making the decision taken into consideration. Hope it is helpful.

After the recent price hike in diesel the price gap has narrowed down to just 5 rupees!!!(diesel 50, petrol 55):D I guess it doesn't make much sense to get the diesel versions of most hatchbacks since most give almost similar efficiency!!

I guess people should now study the Goan car market,to get a sense of how many diesel cars of the same model are sold vis a vis petrol.

I have said this somewhere else before, but believe it merits being repeated.

The goa market is better than other markets but not completely accurate with regard to petrol diesel sales splits. The simple reason is that quite a few people drive out of goa for quite a bit and when the pricing of petrol is so much higher than it is in goa, they are still tempted to go for diesel, though much less than before. A true benchmark would be people that use their vehicles only or mostly in goa.