Van fuel consumption question

jd87

I need to hire a vehicle to get around over christmas (no public transport when I need to travel), and I also need to hire a large van at some point just for one day to move some furniture. My christmas travelling will involve driving about 200 miles and could be done with just a car. My furniture moving is only about 15 miles and I need something like a SWB Transit.

Looking at hire companies it seems I have two options:

1. Hire a small van like a Renault Kangoo for xmas (just because a van is cheaper than a car) for £100. Do my 200 miles in it, then take it back and hire a large van for one day for £45. Hire cost = £145. Fuel cost = ???

2. Hire a large van for the entire period. It means I have to drive this big van empty for 200 miles, but then I have it to do my furniture moving afterwards. Hire cost = £110. Fuel cost = ???

So will the fuel needed to drive a big van 200 miles (compared to just a car/small van) outweigh the £35 saving I make on the hire?

Delivery_Driver

You should be able to get 40mpg out of the van over 200 miles if you don't have a lead foot, so it would work out cheaper just getting the Transit.Plus its less messing about toing and froing from the hire place.
It would also be a good time to take old crap down to the tip and other little jobs.

sw67

My van - VW transporter gets 36.2 mpg or 17p per mile

thefishdude

deff go with the large van option. its gonna be empty for the long drive fuel economy should be ok on it reckon 35mpg+ wouldnt even consider teh swap option

mikey72

You would have save 17.5p a mile to get the cost back. At 30 to the gallon in the big van it would cost you about 20p a mile, if you got 60 to the gallon from a small van you're only saving 10p a mile. The big van would have to go down to nearly 20 to the gallon.

forgotmyname

Big van driven gently, Wont be that bad on fuel as long as its diesel.

70 - 80+ on the motorway will see the figures drop, 65 will see a saving.