A recent trip to Europe landed me behind the wheel of three different diesel press vehicles. This was no accident. I know how much gas costs per litre and it hovers around the $2.00/L mark in Budapest, Hungary -- sometimes even more.

While diesel fuel is slightly higher in price (around $2.20/L), I know from experience that I can get almost double the mileage from one tank. And with all the driving I was doing, every last drop counted.

Round 1: The Mazda CX-5 Diesel

Photo: Alexandra Straub

The Mazda CX-5 is the Japanese automaker's latest crossover vehicle. It came to Canada earlier this year, but this was the first time I'd had the chance to take it for a spin. I'd heard positive comments and read rave reviews from other journalists on it and couldn't wait to try it.

Was I disappointed my first go with it? Absolutely not. In fact, it was a complete pleasure to drive. The interior is really nicely finished, it has a comfortable ride and seats five. And I needed all the space I could get since most of the time there were four passengers on board.

Making it even better was the inclusion of a 2.2L, 4-cylinder diesel engine linked to a 6-speed automatic transmission. I drove about 1,300 km, if not more, and only filled up one and a half times. Fabulous.

Round 2: The Nissan Qashqai Diesel

Photo: Alexandra Straub

Nissan's compact crossover, which is unfortunately not available in Canada, came with a 6-speed manual transmission. You don't see that very often. Although my frequent battle with city traffic made me wish I'd had an automatic transmission, I wasn't complaining.

A trait that carries over into most Nissan vehicles is its ease of use. It's not an uber fancy vehicle on the inside, but it gets the job done. This vehicle also seats five with room to spare in the trunk. It made a great companion for a weekday overnight outing with my mom and grandparents to Lake Balaton.

As for its looks? It's a cutie. And its bright red exterior really made it pop.

Round 3: The BMW X6 xDriver40d

Photo: Alexandra Straub

With this Beemer, I was livin' large -- literally. However, I didn't feel that largeness in the wallet, especially when I filled it up.

Backtracking to when we first met, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that the digital range metre showed over 900 kilometres until empty. I thought I must be hallucinating. I wasn't. My lack of hallucinations were further solidified when I filled the tank up at the end of my test period and saw 976 kilometres until empty. Wow. And for a vehicle of its size, that is beyond impressive.

Why the Love?
I heart diesels because they're efficient. I heart them because they're not smelly and not loud. Yes, the older models used to have these traits, but not anymore. With emissions laws being as stringent as they are, there is no room for black clouds of smoke coming out these modern engines. I also heart them because they have range, baby. While you might pay a tad more to fill up a tank, you can get some crazy mileage out of it in the end.

We might not have the three specific diesel models I drove in Europe here in Canada, but we do have a few to choose from, and more are on the way. Woohoo!