As much as I like my dCi I am concerned about the longer term repair costs of any modern common rail diesel. Mine has so far been 100% reliable but now it's out of warranty any bills are mine
Modern petrol engines are just as expensive to maintain and repair, and as long as you service a Diesel when it needs it you should have no problems. Having driven Diesels for the past 13 years I could not go back to a petrol, I had a Laguna 2.0 as a hire car a few years ago and boy was it thirsty!
If you only do short journeys and a low mileage each year, a Diesel will still make more sense.