Diesel or Gasoline

I was not aware one could choose a car by the type of fuel it uses. Your post implies you can choose, so will take that as a 'given'

Anyway, given the trend in oil prices I would expect a gallon of fuel will be in the $7-8 per gallon range ( and higher would not surprise me)

When I rented a car in Italy, Hertz gave me a diesel. Every gas station I encountered had both gas and diesel.

From what I have read diesel has fallen out of favor in Europe due to emissions issues and diesel powered cars have decreased as a percentage of total production

I have never had any trouble getting diesel at any French filling station. Usually two grades of diesel.

I haven't been back to France since the pandemic but just checking my French petrol apps gazole (diesel ) is between 1.60€ and 1.70€. Petrol (gas) (SP95-E10) is between 1.70€ and 1.80€ per litre.

It will vary by brand, city or rural or autoroute, and by region of the country.

Most places provide disposable plastic gloves for people filling diesel cars. No smell these days.

If you are planning a long trip, an electric or plug in hybrid will probably save you a bit of money.

We had a diesel car for our Spain trip. I did not request it and did not even know for a couple days.
I will say this, it was GREAT on gas mileage.

Nigel's figures convert to $6.70/gal to $7.54/gal, at today's currency exchange rate

In Belgium last week, posted this photo of gas prices in BE. (at 1.732€ per liter.)
Just across the border in the NL, the price was 2.149€ per liter - a HUGE difference!
In this part of Europe, diesel is substantially less cost than petro and is very prevalent.

We’ve never been given a choice. I can’t remember any time in the recent past when it hasn’t been a diesel vehicle. I’ve never noticed any foul smells or odors and never had an issue finding a station selling it.

I saw a bit in the newspaper just yesterday that electric vehicles are now outselling diesels in Europe.

Just a comment; I found that interesting.

Gas petrol or diesel, RnR?

As do most French drivers, I own a diesel car. Have for the past 7 years. Diesel fuel (diesel, gazole, gasoil, etc.) is available at essentially every fueling station.

I've never noticed any unusual smell from a modern diesel engine.

Gas, Nigel... Renault Modus... affectionately known as ... The Poop Mobile (because we could not explain "POS" to our granddaughter when she visited).

When you lease a car, yes you get a choice. Gasoline cars are now being manufactured with a second tank holding something called--geez I forget the name, but it's more economical and extends the mileage. You fill the small tank with it when you fill the larger tank with gasoline. We don't have a car, so I don't remember the name.
Sammy, do you remember the name of the extra fuel that can be mixed in?

You fill the small tank with it when you fill the larger tank with gasoline

You don't mean Ad-Blue in a diesel do you?

No. It goes into a petrol car. It comes out of same pump as the gas, but the nozzle is much smaller. We’ve rented two cars with it.

I thought that the big difference between gas/petrol and diesel isn't the per liter price but the mileage per liter which is significantly higher for diesel. If so, the true comparison would be cost per kilometer. Bonus - more mileage (kilometrage) - less stops to fill up.

You fill the small tank with it when you fill the larger tank with gasoline
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You don't mean Ad-Blue in a diesel?
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No. It goes into a petrol car. It comes out of same pump as the gas, but the nozzle is much smaller. We’ve rented two cars with it.

I sure hope someone solves this riddle of what Bets is putting into a gasoline powered car. The suspense/curiosity is quite elevated about what it is.

Here it is but in French, the system :

On pourrait penser que les voitures GPL utilisent uniquement le GPL-c comme carburant automobile pour fonctionner. Mais c’est faux : elles ont recours à deux types de carburant, le GPL et (dans la large majorité des cas) l’essence. C’est pour cela qu’on parle de voitures à bicarburation.
La bicarburation essence-GPL implique la présence de deux réservoirs :

un réservoir essence ;
un réservoir GPL.

https://www.renault.fr/gpl/fonctionnement-essence-gpl.html

And more, an explanation of what GPL is:
Le GPL (gaz de pétrole liquéfié) est composé d'un mélange de propane et de butane utilisé comme carburant automobile. ... C'est le réservoir essence qui est utilisé au démarrage, le temps que le moteur atteigne une température suffisante (le GPL nécessite que les chambres de combustion soient chaudes).

It is an LPG ( propane) car.

The gasoline is used to get the engine hot enough to use the LPG.

Bets, thank you for solving the mystery

and here I thought for decades that only Citroën made wacky car stuff (drive the car on 3 wheels, carry eggs across a field without a single casualty, corrugated van walls, etc.) - not counting the Wankel Rotary Engine of yore.

Renault, eh?

Sixt.com allows you to select petrol or diesel.

Thanks to all for the information.
Chris

From the NOS journal, Dutch-to-English translation service posted yesterday:

NOS NEWS BROADCAST BRIEF

Petrol and diesel more expensive than ever
- The recommended prices for petrol and diesel today were €2,14 and €1,84 per liter, respectively
- The cause of the high prices are tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border.

Was in Gent, BE today and filled up at 1,75€ per liter before heading home.

The recommended prices for petrol and diesel today were €2,14 and €1,84 per liter, respectively

Is it the government that makes the 'recommendation'?

Is the 'recommended prices', a minimum or a maximum?

joe32F, the government makes a "recommendation" but it is not binding and you'll find prices vary in different parts of the NL. Driving south to BE yesterday, the price on the A4 Highway was as high as 2.22E per liter (Euro95). Just before we pulled onto the highway, we passed a station in-town (The Hague) at 1.98E per liter. The taxes per liter are much higher than other neighboring countries and pre-covid it was quite common for border-town NL locals to cross the border to fill up in Germany or Belgium. It got to be a little tougher in covid-times.

But filling up today - while in Gent - we saved about .47E cents per liter. And when you think in terms of the US gallon, that's a savings of about $2,00 USD per gallon (at today's rate of exchange). So, certainly an incentive to fill up before heading home!

We explore Europe a lot by driving and the lowest cost fuel we've found lately was in Luxembourg, which I think today is about 1.49E per liter (according to a friend who lives there that we talked to this week). That's more than $3.00 USD per gallon in savings versus the A4 prices. So prices are quite variable in Europe. Granted this year, like in places around the world, the NL is projecting the highest home-energy costs... and we're forecasted to have a colder & longer winter than last year. UGH!

In Luxembourg the prices are government controlled. They will all be within a few tenths of a cent regardless if on a motorway or in a town.