Latest Diesel cars in India 2024 - 2025

Diesel cars are not as popular as they used to be 

However, diesel cars are starting to lose their appeal in customers’ eyes in recent years. The market share of the diesel-powered engine has lowered over the years. In 2012, diesel cars accounted for 47 per cent of the market share and dropped to 1.8 per cent in April-July 2020, marking its lowest point in history.

One of the reasons for diesel’s decline in popularity is its expensive price tag while it offers no significant advantages over petrol vehicles. However, the major reason why the diesel vehicle segment sees a significant dip in market share is due to the implementation of the new BSVI emission norms. The stricter emission norms have pressured some car manufacturers into cancelling their diesel line-up. Maruti Suzuki as the largest car manufacturer in the Indian auto market has also quit the diesel playground, which leaves a massive void in the diesel segment. However, some car manufacturers still hold on to their diesel range and hope that they would take advantages of Maruti’s absence in the market.

Here we will give you the best diesel cars in India at the moment in different segments:

2. Diesel cars – Pros and Cons

2.1. Pros:

Fuel efficiency: The major attraction of diesel cars is high fuel efficiency. Some customers are willing to pay extra money for the initial purchasing cost since they believe that in the long run, the high fuel mileage will make it up. However as the carmakers have delivered important improvements to petrol’s fuel efficiency, it is less likely that the diesel’s fuel mileage will pay off for the initial price gap. 

Durability: Diesel-powered cars require less maintenance. And it usually lasts longer than a petrol engine. Even though the current petrol engines have improved significantly in terms of durability, they still can’t beat diesel’s reliability.

Great torque: Diesel cars are favoured for its towing ability since they are capable of churning out high torque. If you need a car for towing heavy loads, diesel cars are the better options. Thanks to the higher torque, it also makes better performance on the highway. It has stronger overtaking power and requires changing gears.

Lower depreciation: Diesel cars are more reliable, which slower the depreciation process. In other words, the diesel car usually has a higher resale value.

Diesel cars are more fuel-efficient than petrol cars

2.2. Cons

High cost: At the moment, diesel cars usually cost around 1 lakh more than their petrol counterparts. Moreover, the price of diesel fuel is also higher than petrol.

Lower horsepower: As mentioned above, the diesel cars offer a high level of torque which comes at the price of the lowered horsepower. It means that the diesel cars are not as peppy as the petrol-powered car. If you fancy a fast car, you will find the diesel vehicles a bit disappointing.

Higher prices for replacement and repairing: It costs more to fix and replace a diesel engine than it does for a petrol engine.

3. How to find good diesel cars?

Finding a good diesel car, similar to picking up vehicles powered by other fuel types, will entail some certain criteria. If you are looking for a diesel car, here are some things you should take into consideration.

Fuel efficiency: This must be the most important criteria when it comes to finding a diesel car. After all, fuel economy is diesel’s biggest strengths. For some customers, if it is not for the high mileage that diesel cars can offer, they would choose petrol instead. So, if you want a diesel car, why not target the highly fuel-efficient option to maximize the benefit of a diesel car.

Reliability: Even though fuel efficiency is important, you should not make the decision solely based on the fuel mileage figure. It is crucial to take into account the reliability of a vehicle. Having a high fuel mileage means nothing if the car could not last long enough to make up for the higher initial cost.

Aftersales services: One important part of car ownership is to maintain and service the car. If the car manufacturer has a good after-service network, it will save you from the possible hassle of the servicing and maintaining process. Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki are the two leading car companies the largest and reliable service networks in India.

4. How to use and maintain diesel cars?

To maximize the life span of a vehicle, you should know how to maintain the car the right way. Here are some small tips to maintain diesel cars.

Have regular checkup and services: It is highly advised that you take your car to the service centre every six months or whatever suggested by the car manufacturer. Having regular check-ups will make sure your car operate in the optimal condition and minimize the possible errors for the mechanical system.

Do fuel check regularly: One of the important tips for diesel car owners is to never let your engine run out of fuel.

Preheat the diesel car before running: Preheating the car beforehand would build some initial heat to reach its optimal condition.

Keep the car running at optimal rev range: 2000-300 rmp range is deemed the optimal mark for diesel cars. Above that mark, the diesel will emit more grunt. However, running at high rev range will affect the fuel economy while cannot provide equivalent power as in lower range. It is not good to strain your engine without having any real impact.

Keep an eye on tyre pressure: Keeping the tyre pressure within the recommended range will have a good benefit on your car’s performance and the overall quality of the car.

5. Verdict

Even though the popularity of the diesel vehicles in recent years, it is still attracting a loyal following thanks to its outstanding fuel efficiency among other good contributions.

At the moment, there are still multiple new cars to come with diesel engine options. While other major car manufacturers like Hyundai, Tata, Toyota or Mahindra continues to offer diesel engine options, the largest car manufacturer in India, Maruti Suzuki has retreated from this segment. If you are looking for diesel vehicles produced by Maruti Suzuki, you can check out the used diesel Maruti Suzuki car options at IndianAuto.com.