SHOULD I BUY A DIESEL JAGUAR CAR?
There’s a lot of confusion surrounding diesel, so Jaguar is here to answer your questions and find the right car for you.
If you’re asking “should I buy a diesel Jaguar?” you have to think about the type of journey you usually do. If you’re a regular commuter, racking up big miles on the motorway, or towing a caravan or horsebox, then a diesel Jaguar is probably the best choice for you.
If you mainly drive short distances you should consider petrol, electric or hybrid Jaguars. Making the right choice will mean it’s cheaper for you.
A new Euro 6 diesel engine could be better for you if you do more than 12,000 miles (19,000km) a year because, depending on the types of journeys you make, it may be more economical and environmentally friendly than a petrol car.
A diesel car is not ideal on short journeys because it might not be fully efficient. The diesel particulate filter (DPF) doesn’t get hot enough, which means it can’t clean the particles it’s collected. This means the filter can clog up and reduce the car’s power. Read more about DPF filters.
The newest Euro 6 diesel engines are the cleanest ever and all of ours comply with the very latest Euro 6 standards which means you can drive our cars anywhere in Europe. Read more about Euro 6 emissions standards.
Find out whether petrol, new diesel, electric or hybrid is right for you.
Can I drive my diesel into a low-emission zone?
You can drive any diesel built after 1 September 2015 into any low-emission zone without being charged. However, older diesel cars may be charged and even banned altogether from some city centres.
There are more than 200 low-emission zones in cities across Europe. Here’s what you need to know about the two most significant ones:
LONDON – Petrol or diesel cars registered before 2006 that meet the Euro 4 NOx standards have to pay a Toxicity Charge, also known as T-Charge in London. This means an additional £10 fee each time you enter the current Congestion Charge zone. On 1 April 2019, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) replaced the T-Charge with stricter rules, meaning those not driving a Euro 6 diesel car or a Euro 4 petrol car will have to pay an extra £12.50 to travel through parts of London. There are plans by the Mayor of London to extend this zone as far as the North and South Circular roads in 2020.
PARIS – If your petrol or diesel car was registered before 1997, you won’t be allowed to drive it into the city between 8am and 8pm on weekdays. Newer vehicles are rated on their emissions and given one of six coloured windscreen stickers that grant access to the city. The lower the emissions, the more rewards you gain including access to better parking spaces.
Other UK cities are planning to introduce their own low emission zones, with Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Manchester and Bristol proposing to have similar zones in place in the next couple of years.
Will diesel Jaguars be banned?
In Europe, the authorities in Paris, Madrid, Rome and Athens plan to ban diesel cars and vans by 2025.
A landmark ruling in Germany empowered Düsseldorf and Stuttgart to ban the heaviest polluting vehicles without needing approval from central government.
So is diesel on the way out? Not for the time being, but it will be phased out. For example the UK government is aiming to end the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040.
Will I get taxed more for having a diesel Jaguar?
In the UK, the amount of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) depends on the carbon dioxide emissions produced by the car. In the first year it ranges from £10 for 1-50g/km to £2,000 for those emitting more than 255g/km. From the second year onwards, every owner will pay an annual flat rate of £140 on cars costing less than £40,000 and £310 on cars over £40,000.
Older cars will still be taxed according to the previous tax bands, which means older diesel cars with carbon dioxide emissions of 99g/km still won’t pay any VED. New diesel cars emit 15% less CO2 than petrol.
In the UK there is also a diesel ‘supplement’ of 4 per cent for Company Car Tax for vehicles not yet meeting the RDE2 (2020 regulation), or a one tax band increase for VED. Vehicles which meet RDE2 early are exempt from this.
Vehicle tax in Europe varies. Germany taxes at €2 per gram of carbon dioxide over 95g/km, plus an additional €2 for petrol or €9.50 for diesel based on the car’s engine capacity per 100cc. (For example: a 2.0-litre diesel Jaguar XE has an engine capacity of 1,999cc which means you would pay an additional €180.50).
In France, any car that emits more than 120g/km of carbon dioxide is taxed. Owners purchasing a car that produces 120g/km charged €50 up to those producing 185g/km or more charged €10,500.
Italy bases its vehicle tax on power of the engine plus the Euro emission standard, with each region able to adjust the rate independently. For cars over 185kW of power, each kilowatt over will incur an additional €20 charge – this rate is reduced at 5, 10 and 15-year intervals.
What other costs are there with diesel Jaguars?
When it comes to running a new diesel car, it’s worth noting the relatively small cost of topping up the AdBlue, which is also known as Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) in your car. AdBlue/DEF is a liquid injected into the exhaust gas to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. When the AdBlue/DEF is blended with the hot gas, it provides the right chemistry for a final catalytic converter to turn NOx into nitrogen and water (both naturally present in the air), which is more environmentally friendly.
If you own a Jaguar, your car will automatically tell you when you need a top-up of AdBlue. On the car’s display it will say the DEF is at a level where a top-up is advised. After this, a second message will appear with an amber icon and it will advise you to refill the DEF tank, and how many litres to add. The third message starts a countdown of the distance remaining until the DEF tank is empty. Once it’s empty, the vehicle won’t start.
Depending on your service plan, you might be able to get a free top-up of DEF/AdBlue from your retailer. If you’re not on a service plan, you can either pay £29.99 at your local retailer or buy it from a car parts retailer and refill it yourself.
Read our guide to DEF for Jaguar.
How polluting are diesel cars?
New Euro 6 diesel cars are much cleaner than ever before because of the Euro standards. Since 1992 the European Union has been tightening up vehicle emissions to reduce carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and particulate matter.
From Euro 1 through to the current Euro 6 (EU6d), targets have continually lowered, with each car manufactured and sold today prohibited to exceed 0.08g/km of nitrogen oxide, compared to the maximum limits of 0.18g/km in 2011 (a reduction of 56 per cent) and 0.97g/km in 1993.
All our cars are fitted with a diesel particulate filter which captures 99 per cent of all particulates. This means emissions from new diesel Jaguars are comparable to petrol for emissions, but with around 15 per cent lower CO2 emissions and about 25 per cent better fuel consumption than their petrol equivalents – making them cheaper to run. Our new diesel cars will also, for example, be able to drive through London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone, due in April 2019.
What’s going to happen to diesel Jaguars?
Now that new diesel technology is so advanced it has about 25% better fuel consumption and around 15 per cent less CO2 compared to petrol, it can be argued new Euro 6 diesel has the same life expectancy as petrol. Jaguar's latest Euro 6 engines are amongst the cleanest in the world and meet the new regulated laboratory and real world tests (WLTP and RDE).
New diesel and petrol will be the most cost-effective choices for some time while the electric infrastructure is being built around the world.
Jaguar's future is electric. From 2020, every new Jaguar will have the option of electrification. There’s already the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE which has been awarded a five-star safety rating by Euro NCAP, named Sunday Times Green Car of the Year and won the Norwegian and German Car of the Year titles.
Alongside our plans for electrification, we continue to invest to refine and improve our new diesel and petrol engines. This is because in the medium term, petrol or new diesel will remain the right choice for many people, and these engines are needed for a smooth transition to an electrified future.
Is it worth buying a diesel Jaguar?
To answer the question ‘is it worth buying a diesel car?’ you need to think about what kind of journeys you do. If you do more than 12,000 miles a year, it’s worth thinking about diesel. It could be more cost effective and less polluting than getting a petrol car.
Will diesel have a life over the next few years? Yes. Although we are committed to an electric future, new diesel and petrol are necessary for many motorists around the world until the infrastructure is there to support electrification.
When it comes to pollution, every new diesel Jaguar meets or exceeds EU6 requirements. Jaguar Land Rover will continue to make new diesels even more technologically advanced and even cleaner.
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