It's no surprise that diesel 4x4s are more desirable than petrol versions. Depending on the size of the vehicle, the premium paid for diesel can be as much as £3000.
Cars with heavy four-wheel drive kit, large wheels and tyres, and perhaps as many as seven seats are pretty thirsty even when they have diesel engines, so demand for petrol versions is low.
But bargain hunters who only cover a few thousand miles a year may be well served by choosing a petrol 4x4, and some in the trade expect prices to become firmer when more people realise how much car is available for the money.
If you have a budget of, say, £10,000 for a diesel 4x4, expect a petrol equivalent to (same reg, mileage and similar size engine) to be less than £9000. If your budget is £20,000 for a diesel – perhaps a year-old high specification Toyota RAV4, you could probably find a petrol equivalent for a little over £18,000.
And if you have £30,000 to spend on something like a diesel BMW X5, you could find a 3.0-litre petrol version for £27,000. As a general room the bigger and more expensive the car, the greater the benefit of choosing diesel.
