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And they are not that efficient out of town, either.
Are you worried about the future of diesel cars?
- Thread starter iaind
- Start date
And they are not that efficient out of town, either.
I'm currently considering the situation as after various "restructuring" resulting in a new company being formed my current company car is the old company run around (B6 Passat) which is feeling a bit past its best. My mileage is sporadic, last 2 weeks I've done no business mileage, today... 365 miles with only slightly less tomorrow. Averaged out I do 10 - 13k business miles a year but my commute is only 12 miles each way when I'm in the office and a big chunk of my social mileage is done in my MX5.
At the moment I'm considering either;
Plug in hybrid company car - not sure if they'll go for it and it really limits my choice. The need for an estate probably rules this out.
Diesel company car - best for business miles, not so good personally. Increased pump price (if it happens) should be absorbed by HMRC rates for fuel on business miles.
Petrol company car - probably better all round but may cost me for work use. Also concerned with something like a 1.2 TSI in a big car.
Personal car with an allowance - I think they'd go for it but I wouldn't want to spend more than £10k on my own motor. Petrol again would be better all round but diesel could work out well if prices do drop.
My wife's situation is equally uncertain. She is a perfect candidate for an EV and a Zoe would be perfect but we don't want the battery lease. So we've just spent more than the trade in value on maintenance on her Grande Punto so she can run that for a few more years while the second hand market populates itself with EV options and/or Renault scrap their battery lease scheme.
At the moment I'm considering either;
Plug in hybrid company car - not sure if they'll go for it and it really limits my choice. The need for an estate probably rules this out.
Diesel company car - best for business miles, not so good personally. Increased pump price (if it happens) should be absorbed by HMRC rates for fuel on business miles.
Petrol company car - probably better all round but may cost me for work use. Also concerned with something like a 1.2 TSI in a big car.
Personal car with an allowance - I think they'd go for it but I wouldn't want to spend more than £10k on my own motor. Petrol again would be better all round but diesel could work out well if prices do drop.
My wife's situation is equally uncertain. She is a perfect candidate for an EV and a Zoe would be perfect but we don't want the battery lease. So we've just spent more than the trade in value on maintenance on her Grande Punto so she can run that for a few more years while the second hand market populates itself with EV options and/or Renault scrap their battery lease scheme.
I’d seriously look at EV or plugin hybrid if I didn’t live in a terrace with on road parking. We’ve got charging points (well, 13A sockets in the car park) at work but it’ll be a very long time until I can charge a car at home. Which is a shame - something like a GTE could suit my needs quite nicely
It’s a weird situation really, it’s what prompted me to post. Diesel v petrol has always been a thing and people have strong opinions - especially on car forums where people like to repeat the same view over and over.... but it’s not really about opinions and pros and cons now, I really couldn’t give a stuff what my car sounds like at idle for example. It just seems to have become a huge minefield for mr average who just wants something half decent to get around in.
Part of the difficulty is the unknown - if you slap a reasonably modern 2.0ish 150ish bhp diesel in a midsize hatch, I can be pretty certain I’ll get about 50mpg from it. But change that to a 1.4 turbocharged petrol and it’s a complete unknown - some people claim big numbers from the TSI, others saying that the Vauxhall 1.4 is barely cracking 30 in the new Astra. It’s not like you can test one for a meaningful amount of time either
It’s a weird situation really, it’s what prompted me to post. Diesel v petrol has always been a thing and people have strong opinions - especially on car forums where people like to repeat the same view over and over.... but it’s not really about opinions and pros and cons now, I really couldn’t give a stuff what my car sounds like at idle for example. It just seems to have become a huge minefield for mr average who just wants something half decent to get around in.
Part of the difficulty is the unknown - if you slap a reasonably modern 2.0ish 150ish bhp diesel in a midsize hatch, I can be pretty certain I’ll get about 50mpg from it. But change that to a 1.4 turbocharged petrol and it’s a complete unknown - some people claim big numbers from the TSI, others saying that the Vauxhall 1.4 is barely cracking 30 in the new Astra. It’s not like you can test one for a meaningful amount of time either
Easy. Rebate.
The government could increase diesel taxes 1000% and the trucking companies could just reclaim it, leaving private motorists as the ones that pay, just like VAT. Doesn’t have to be done at the pump.
Worth trying a dealer to see if you can arrange an extended test drive of a 1.4T, if you appear serious enough that you might actually buy it should it meet your requirements, it's not unheard of to get a day or two test.
Some of the small turbo engines are a bit crap tbh. They don't get any where near the official figures and I would be worried about the amount of stress on such a small engine long term. Some of the bigger engines can get around the same in the real world and are less likely to go wrong.
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Not really, had our Euro 6 mondeo for just over a year now. Probably going to run it until it dies so it won't effect me if prices crash. A petrol wouldn't have come close.
Our other car hopefully being replaced in a couple of years will be a hybrid the wife only does about 15 miles a day. Where I do about 65 70 miles a day.
Our other car hopefully being replaced in a couple of years will be a hybrid the wife only does about 15 miles a day. Where I do about 65 70 miles a day.
Is this your non-representative experience with a 1.0 Ford Ecoboost talking again?
Recently got another diesel without a thought to resale value, etc, etc.
Basis of purchase was basically "best buy for £" and fitting needs of usage.
Whatever happens concerning resale, road tax, diesel price, etc will be a bridge crossed at the time.
Basis of purchase was basically "best buy for £" and fitting needs of usage.
Whatever happens concerning resale, road tax, diesel price, etc will be a bridge crossed at the time.
Associate
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I currently have a diesel, only a 1.6 focus but with me doing around 25k a year all I really care about is the MPG.
I do want to swap the car soon, and I am looking at 330/335d's not really fussed about petrol at the moment unless I can drop my mileage.
I do want to swap the car soon, and I am looking at 330/335d's not really fussed about petrol at the moment unless I can drop my mileage.
Soldato
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I think all engines in the real world now fall far short of the manufacturers figures
I had a petrol from just before the fixation with MPG, listed as 51mpg combined, i got about 45 real world
I replaced that with a diesel claiming 80oddMpg, i got about 55mpg real world
Large diesel lumps in a heavyish package are certainly far easier to get reasonable balance of MPG to performance, when you go petrol its far harder. Stick a small "high tech" engine in and they are much harder work and lose most of the efficiency benefits as you tend to work them hard to get the performance.
I had a petrol from just before the fixation with MPG, listed as 51mpg combined, i got about 45 real world
I replaced that with a diesel claiming 80oddMpg, i got about 55mpg real world
Large diesel lumps in a heavyish package are certainly far easier to get reasonable balance of MPG to performance, when you go petrol its far harder. Stick a small "high tech" engine in and they are much harder work and lose most of the efficiency benefits as you tend to work them hard to get the performance.
Don't Pedal !!
@Amp34
Easy. Rebate.
The government could increase diesel taxes 1000% and the trucking companies could just reclaim it, leaving private motorists as the ones that pay, just like VAT. Doesn’t have to be done at the pump.
Good point. I never thought of that angle
Associate
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Glad I don't have a diesel.
The thing is most SUVs are diesels and their sale is on the rise. Pretty sure they will start making them hybrid but they are expensive, maybe back to petrol for the smaller ones?
There aren't that many petrol SUV at all, especially 4 wheel drive.
The thing is most SUVs are diesels and their sale is on the rise. Pretty sure they will start making them hybrid but they are expensive, maybe back to petrol for the smaller ones?
There aren't that many petrol SUV at all, especially 4 wheel drive.
Looking for a new car at the moment, had a long line of diesels and they have been amazing really, great everyday drivability and economy when needed but my current diesel experience has put me off a bit, we have a diesel 4x4 as we tow (caravan and car trailer) towing accounts for 10% mileage, so around 1.5k, and for that it’s great, but the other 90% is many small sub 5 mile trips daily and the new emissions control stuff has been a right pain in the arse, DPF and EGR issues, injector failure probably due running max duty cycle so much for continual regens, poor fuel use ~23mpg again due to regens as the small trips never complete regen cycle, it’s just the wrong thing to be driven for that type of driving.
My old pre-DPF diesels were amazing, you could use them anywhere and they were reliable, this new Euro emissons stuff is just crap unless you car doing long runs.
So I am looking for a Petrol tow car that can cope with the small stuff but do a couple of tonnes, most petrol engines in the small SUV/4x4 area we are looking at seem to be boosted downsized rubbish and often without 4wd option on the petrol which is all a bit disappointing. I just want to go back to the simple high capacity 6 cylinder car.
My old pre-DPF diesels were amazing, you could use them anywhere and they were reliable, this new Euro emissons stuff is just crap unless you car doing long runs.
So I am looking for a Petrol tow car that can cope with the small stuff but do a couple of tonnes, most petrol engines in the small SUV/4x4 area we are looking at seem to be boosted downsized rubbish and often without 4wd option on the petrol which is all a bit disappointing. I just want to go back to the simple high capacity 6 cylinder car.
I don't think stopping work will be the first port of call though? Public transport, cycling, moving closer to work, these are all options. People always say that we're lucky to live so close to work that we can cycle, but its not luck at all, its a conscious decision we made when choosing where to buy a house and apply for jobs.
As far as diesels go, I won't miss them. I've always owned petrol cars, really not a fan of the noise, driving characteristics etc of diesels, despite how refined they have gotten recently.