Tom’s Truck Center: Gas vs. diesel
Throughout the commercial truck industry, there have been debates over the use of gasoline or diesel fuel for work trucks. Each fuel source has its advantages and disadvantages when it comes to cost, power, and other metrics. Here is the simple breakdown of gas versus diesel with an Isuzu NPR-HD:
What is the cost of the gas and diesel models of the Isuzu NPR-HD?
The gas model starts at $45,000, and the diesel model starts at $53,000.
What engines are offered for the NPR-HD?
The gas engine is a GMPT L96, 6.0L V8 engine, and the diesel engine is a 4HKI-TC 5.2L Turbo.
What are the miles per gallon (mpg)?
The gas model gets 11 mpg, and the diesel model gets 14 mpg.
What is the weight capacity of the gas and diesel models?
Both trucks have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 14,500 pounds. The diesel model’s curb weight is a little heavier than its gas counterpart by just over 500 pounds.
Price breakdown: We will show the savings of driving the industry average of 20,000 miles per year.
The annual savings are just over $1,000 for the gas model of the Isuzu NPR-HD at the industry average of 20,000 miles. Any person who does not understand commercial trucks would automatically look at the financial stats and would say gas all the way. However, there are other factors that contribute to a company purchasing diesel over gas powered commercial trucks.
What is the average life span of a gas engine versus a diesel engine?
The average life span of a gas engine is about 150,000 miles, and the life span of the 4HK1 diesel engine is about 375,000. Isuzu has been steadily increasing the dependability of their diesels from their previous rating of 310,000 miles. Once gas engines run 150,000 miles or more, they will run into higher service costs or possible replacement. Those service costs could offset the upfront cost of purchasing a diesel truck.
Why would a company purchase a diesel truck over a gas truck?
One of the biggest deciding factors would be how often a business is looking to purchase trucks. If a company has high truck turnover, and are always purchasing the newest trucks, a gas truck would be the right choice for the fuel savings. On the other hand, if a company holds onto their commercial vehicles for long periods of time, a diesel truck would be the right decision for the longer shelf life.
Each truck has its pros and cons based on how a company will utilize their vehicles. Come down to Tom’s Truck Center, and we can help put you in the right truck for your business needs!
5 comment(s) so far on Tom’s Truck Center: Gas vs. diesel
I’m making a move from Ky. to Washington State.The cost of a commercial mover is quite expensive and my. brother just moved. from Wash state to Florida and his commercial move turned out to be a nightmare so I have decided to purchase a used box truck and pull an 18′ trailer with it. I have read that the 4.6 L diesel does not like heavy loads or highway speeds. Some have also complained of a very rough ride. If I could find one with a gas engine would it solve the weight and highway speed problems? Since I would only need to make one trip i feel i could live with the rough ride issue. u
Diesel last a lot longer.
This is a rather off question, but being all the “green, climate temp changing, emissions” concerns lately coming out from the gov’ment, how will the diesel fair in all of it? I’d like to buy a 2014 Isuzu NPR with a diesel, but I’m concerned that the new biden ‘ministration will want to yank diesel engines, as well as gas in vehicles in the near future.
So sorry – we haven’t had anyone monitoring these comments! If you still would like to speak with someone in regard to this, please email [email protected] and he will be able to assist you. Thank you.
I’m a mechanic on a fleet of around 25 of the Npr model isuzus. We switched from the diesel models because of the many issues with their dpf, def systems. Many of our gas trucks have 350,000 plus miles on them and the maintenance cost is significantly lower than their diesel counterparts.