Petrol or diesel: which should you buy? - Taxation: honours even

At the time of writing, the average price for a litre of diesel was 97.1p and 96.5p for a litre of petrol, but the Petrol Retailers Association says that over the next 12 months diesel will become cheaper.

Three quarters of the price of fuel is Government duty. The duty levied on diesel and petrol is the same.

Diesels are subject to a 3% surcharge on company car tax, but some diesel models fall into a lower vehicle excise duty band than their petrol equivalents because they emit less carbon dioxide.