The choice between petrol versus diesel is part economic and part driving style. Diesels are easy to service, cheap to run (my Audi 2.0TDI gets 55mpg), and have great low end grunt if you pull a boat/caravan.
I miss the high revving petrol engine when you want to get some pleasure from driving but love the diesel economy when I get 650 miles from a tank.
Horses for courses I think