Tom's absolutely right. I have a CTDI but test drove the petrol a fair bit, and my previous car was an old gen civic. The diesel has a lot of grunt and it is economical (the main reason for getting it, I do 25,000m+ a year) and I really enjoy it. But, with careful gear changing i think the petrol is a better drivers car because the power delivery is super smooth - with the diesel, the torque kick and turbo lag combined can make coming out of corners a little rough! I think I'd certainly be looking to make my next car a petrol, this being by first foray into turbo-diesel land and finding it an interesting experience.
Also, the economics are different. Yes, you get more mpg but diesel is more expensive and the diesel costs more to buy from the outset. The tax difference (is there one actually?) is negligible because it's far outswamped by fuel and depreciation costs. From my calculations, buying secondhand (1-2yrs old) the diesel only made sense if I was doing 20,000m+ a year. Otherwise the petrol is actually the cheaper option. If you buy new, you actually need to be doing more miles to justify it financially.
BTW driving a
VTEC in the higher rev ranges isn't "thrashing", it's designed to be driven like that! The sight of 7000rpm shouldn't scare you
Courant