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It's tough to be a diesel proponent. Just when the variety of diesel-engined cars and light trucks is reaching new highs, the rug has been yanked from under their feet by gasoline prices at the lowest levels seen in years.

Even with fuel prices on par, it can take years to recoup the price premium (at least $2,500) of the diesel engine. And diesel costs more than gasoline.

As well, gasoline engines keep improving. Today, the diesel option may only be 15-20 per cent more fuel-efficient than its gas alternative, compared with 25-30 per cent a few years ago. And diesels need the occasional top-up with AdBlue fluid to ensure they meet emissions limits.

So if choosing diesel is a purely financial proposition – and especially if you choose your next new vehicle based on the price of fuel that day – it's a hard sell right now.

But wait. Diesel fuel always costs more in winter, as demand rises for heating oil. In warmer months, the price difference usually reverses in diesel's favour. Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst with gasbuddy.com, says diesel usually costs about 10 cents a litre more than regular gas in winter and about 10 cents less from April through September.

In some vehicles, the gasoline alternative requires pricier premium gasoline, which narrows diesel's price penalty in winter and widens its advantage in summer.

Besides, the diesel version isn't always more expensive. In the case of Mercedes model lines that offer a diesel, it's the entry model (though it may be less well equipped than the gasoline models). And diesels typically last longer and have higher resale value. Thomas Tetzlaff, spokesman for Volkswagen Canada, says TDI models invariably fetch 25-30 per cent more on resale – even more in the case of the TDI wagon and the Touareg.

But who says the diesel decision should be based solely on "will it pay for itself?" number crunching? If you choose a more powerful optional gasoline engine, do you expect the investment to pay for itself? Diesel has its own attractions beyond dollars and cents. There's the opportunity to feel smugly self-righteousness about conserving energy and spewing less carbon into the atmosphere. As well, modern diesels are smooth and quiet and their wealth of low-end torque serves up a unique style of effortlessly laid-back acceleration.

In 2003, Mississauga teacher and diesel enthusiast John Wright bought a VW Jetta TDI after a trip to Europe. "I was impressed that so many cars there were diesel and it just seemed to me to make sense because they are much cheaper to operate. When I have to go up to Ottawa, I can go up and back on one tank; it used to cost me two tanks."

Wright, who now drives a 2013 Golf TDI, says he'd drive diesel even if he wasn't saving money on fuel. He thinks maintenance costs are lower, and his TDI always starts reliably in winter.

For Volkswagen, Tetzlaff says it's too soon to tell if current gasoline prices have hurt diesel sales, "but we certainly haven't seen any growth. We figure it's going to have an impact but we're not sure how much." Then again, he adds, diesel buyers typically do their homework and they know what they're getting into. "They're not going to be swayed by a short-term craziness in fuel prices."

Auto makers offer about 26 diesel cars and light trucks in Canada. Most are European luxury sedans and SUVs from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, with more coming from Jaguar and Land Rover. But the volume sellers are Volkswagen's Golf and Jetta, which start at $23,095.

Apart from HD pickups, Detroit is a diesel laggard (in the United States, diesel fuel is consistently more expensive than gasoline). General Motors offers a diesel version of its Cruze compact sedan, and a diesel option is coming for its mid-size Canyon and Colorado pickups. Chrysler offers a V-6 diesel in the Ram 1500 pickup.

Nissan, meanwhile, has revealed a V-8 diesel will be available in its redesigned Titan pickup. The only other action from an Asian auto maker is a long-promised and much-delayed diesel version of the Mazda6 mid-size sedan.

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