Gas engine cylinders let in both air and fuel at intake. This means they can’t compress as powerfully as diesel cylinders, so they need a spark of electricity from a spark plug to ignite the engine.
In fact, diesel vehicles tend to be about 20-35% more efficient than gas vehicles. They often get about 6 to 10 more miles per gallon (2-4 kilometers per liter). [3] X Trustworthy Source FuelEconomy. gov Official source for the U. S. government for fuel economy information Go to source
Diesel engines and vehicles often last about 2 times as long as gas engines and cars. Gas engines typically start showing signs of wear and tear around the 100,000 mile (161,000 km) mark, while diesel engines usually need to hit 200,000 mile (322,000 km) mark. [5] X Research source The greater longevity of diesel engines also tends to give them higher resale values than gas engines.
If you’re in the United States, more recreational vehicles are sold with gas engines than diesel engines. This might make it harder to find diesel fuel in a city or town.
This is the reason why sports cars are typically gas-powered, while transport trucks use diesel. Sports cars need the greater horsepower of a lightweight engine and fuel to fly down a race track, while trucks need lots of torque to pull their cargo.
