Diesel or Petrol

[Cliffhanger]

I am looking into changing my car in the next few weeks and coming from a Honda CRV 1.6 diesel I still need a fair sized car to carry me at 6ft4 and my wife and two kids on weekends.

So I am leaving the SUV world and going towards an estate car as this fits my size better.

I am test driving a new Ford Focus Active next week and still undecided on whether to have petrol or diesel.

My journey warrants an automatic as in the morning it’s stop start traffic then on the way home it’s 50% traffic and 50% motorway.

I only cover 8,000 a year so you think a petrol would suit, but given the size of the car and it’s occasional occupants surely a diesel would suffice.

I don’t want to buy a petrol then realise after a few months that it’s very thirsty cos it’s too late after purchasing a new car.

But then again the power of the petrol sounds better for pulling away when I need it to.

Any thoughts?

 

[LiE]

Yes to Petrol.

 

[Steedie]

Petrol

 

[glenimp617]

Depends on the engine. The newer ones which are small with turbos are quite economical and have a decent amount of power.

I believe they are better suited for town driving over diesels. Plus you don't have any DPF/Adblue issues.

Petrol gets my vote.

Personally I'm chomping at the bit to get a hybrid/full ev but the one I want isn't out till the end of the year (or maybe even next year).

 

[kindai]

Petrol.

 

[Semple]

If you're only covering 8k/yr and 50% is on motorway, that's roughly ~16miles per day on the motorway.

That's definitely not diesel territory, so i'd stick with petrol.

 

[Bickaxe]

I do approx the same distance with the same split (although in a Focus ST so fuel consumption is quite different).

Petrol.

 

[Cliffhanger]

Thanks for the replies about petrol being better.

I’ll try and get a test drive of one and let you know the outcome.

 

[inflames]

Go with a petrol.

 

[LiE]

Thanks for the replies about petrol being better.

I’ll try and get a test drive of one and let you know the outcome.

I'm not sure how the ford auto boxes are especially mated to a mid powered petrol, may want to drive a few different cars from various marques to compare.

 

[Uther]

My last 4 cars have been diesel, but I've just noticed I've only covered 16000 miles in the last couple of years, so I suspect my next car will be petrol.
I like DSG gearboxes though so would look at Seat/VW etc

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Aren't diesel cars a bad buy with how the market is going? I don't intend to buy another diesel now; I own a 2.0 diesel Kuga and intend to run it until a proper alternate is available.

I wouldn't buy a new diesel.

 

[vanpeebles]

Aren't diesel cars a bad buy with how the market is going? I don't intend to buy another diesel now; I own a 2.0 diesel Kuga and intend to run it until a proper alternate is available.

I wouldn't buy a new diesel.

Used diesels are a good buy at the moment, you can get all kinds of fancy stuff.

 

[weathmatth]

Aren't diesel cars a bad buy with how the market is going? I don't intend to buy another diesel now; I own a 2.0 diesel Kuga and intend to run it until a proper alternate is available.

I wouldn't buy a new diesel.

I bought a new diesel 6 months ago, absolutely no regrets. Like you though i will be keeping it for a while until a decent alternative for high mileage comes about.

 

[jpaul]

I wouldn't buy a new diesel.

Presumably the PCP market and their final values, give an insight into diesel futures. ? (ie. if you will want to sell are the high-mileage/economic benefits, being offset)

edit ran a comparison on fleet news 10K a year - what you loose on petrol running cost, you regain on final value ? is there a better free site ?

 

[cmrastra]

For what reason are you all stating petrol? I am having the same thoughts about getting an estate. I do approx 11000 miles a year. My daily commute is only 3 miles but on weekends I do 50-200 miles in a band across the South West and travel for wild camping etc. My initial thoughts are diesel would suit me more for those longer journies.

 

[Lashout_UK]

Petrol. As an aside, try the Fiesta Active if you can (and there are no other immediate hurdles). It's infinitely more pleasant than the new Focus, which is a bit of a dog as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Imran Mohamemd]

I think the reason people are stating petrol is due to modern petrols getting relatively high mpg. Also with modern diesels you'll get issues with the dpf eventually so if you keep the car in the long run and do short journeys the dpf will get clogged quite quickly.

 

[Hades]

Petrol. Mileage is too low to consider a diesel.

 

[smilertoo]

It's a nice Honda Jazz you want.