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As gasoline prices keep on following a constantly upward trend, every one has started looking for cheaper and better options. While there are some options apart from gasoline engine run cars, the debate about which option is the best among these alternatives shows no chances of dying down. As of now, there are only two main financially viable and somewhat proven alternatives to gasoline cars and these are diesel and hybrid cars. Just like everything else in life, both kinds of cars come with their own positive and negative points, and which one is better depends on a number of factors like who is using the cars and for what purpose etcetera. While the ‘who’s better’ debate lingers on among both car manufacturers and consumers alike, we compare some of the main features of both hybrid and diesel cars.

Mileage: Mileage is the main reason why people are looking for alternatives to gas run cars in the first place. No wonder then, mileage will also be the first thing you will need to consider when you compare diesel and hybrid cars. Most diesel run cars provide mileage that is at least 20% to 40% higher than gas run cars. This means that a gallon of diesel will take you a much larger number of miles than a gallon of gas will. At the same time, hybrid cars are also known to provide fuel efficiency that is at least 20% to 35% higher than gas cars in most cases. However, this has been known to vary a lot when it comes to actual driving and many people claim that consumers get at least 10% less mileage than that claimed by the company. When you put both these facts together with the fact that the price of diesel is much lesser than that of gasoline, you can easily come to the conclusion that running a diesel car is going to be much cheaper than running a hybrid car in most cases.

Price: When it comes to price, both diesel and hybrid cars cost more than regular gasoline vehicles. However, while hybrids can cost anywhere between $3000 to $ 10,000 more than regular gas versions of the same car, diesel cars also do not cost much less, especially when you move towards prestigious brands. Price difference between gas and diesel models generally varies from maker to maker and model to model and there are a large number of cases where a diesel vehicle costs you almost the same or just slightly more than a petrol car with the same features.

Maintenance and Other Costs: Maintenance is one place where diesel generally scores one over hybrids. While diesel cars also require more care and maintenance than gas run cars generally, they have proven themselves to be sturdy, reliable and long lasting. Hybrid cars, on the other hand have not been around for a long enough time to have these things tested. On the other hand, since there are very few hybrids around even now, spare parts and servicing costs more than what you would need to pay for a regular gas or diesel vehicle. Spare parts and service for diesel cars are both cheap and easily available when compared to hybrids. The high costs of batteries and the need to replace them is one more area where hybrids lose one more point to diesel cars.

Environment Friendliness: There is no doubt which car scores way above diesel cars when it comes to polluting less and creating a lesser amount of green house emissions. Diesel cars pollute more than even regular gas cars, while hybrids pollute lesser than gas cars. So if you want to do your bit for mother earth, then a hybrid is what you should go for.