Used diesel: economical models

Since then it has been going downhill; in the last twelve months the rate was only just over 15 percent, while gasoline engines still make up around a third of registrations. This was also due to the price development of diesel fuel, which has risen sharply, especially since 2020, but has now declined again.

Diesel has been displaced, especially in small and compact cars, and many manufacturers no longer offer a diesel option in the lower segments. These models in particular are extremely economical as diesel engines.

An analysis of our test database, filtered according to the most economical consumption, reveals diesel models that are around ten years old. We are presenting six of them here; they all achieved a test consumption of less than five liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, which in some cases enables ranges of well over 1000 kilometers.

And because these are not large sedans or SUVs, there are many offers on the used car market with mileages of less than 100,000 kilometers. And due to the declining popularity of diesel, they are often offered quite cheaply.

In addition, the older versions of these models often do not have urea injection (SCR catalytic converters). Higher nitrogen oxide emissions are the disadvantage, less vulnerable components on the vehicle and the elimination of AdBlue refueling are the advantage. It should be noted that most models only meet the Euro 5 emissions class (Euro 6 only became mandatory for all newly registered vehicles in September 2015) and therefore in the corresponding ones No driving zones not allowed to enter. However, these can only be found in sections of some cities such as Darmstadt, Hamburg or Stuttgart.