Buying a new car but concerned over fuel type

Richard53

Car_54 wrote: »

But a few years ago we were being told the opposite. Predictions are always tricky.

Indeed. I have followed the red wine good-for-you/will-kill-you-in-minutes debate for many years. Same for butter. But the 'diesel is good' campaign was based on poor science, and the govt are now frantically rowing back against the tide of private diesel vehicles that their predecessors' policies produced. I doubt very much if new research will suddenly make diesel out to be greener than the alternatives and force a re-think. The VW emissions scandal was just one of the nails in the coffin.


Would you gamble on diesel suddenly becoming acceptable again? For me, the only question is how long before diesels are effectively banned. It won't be tomorrow, but I doubt if any diesel cars will be still being made in 2030.

AdrianC

Mr_M_Cox wrote: »

I currently drive an 11 plate diesel mondeo and am looking to get something new.

Everything I see and hear in the press suggests that I should be avoiding diesel, if only for the charges I will face in years to come from congestion and clean air zones.

They appear to be forgetting the pertinent detail there - Euro6.

Your current Mondeo will be Euro5 emissions - so will not be exempt from low emission zones restrictions.
A newer, Euro6, diesel will be - NOx emissions from them are within spitting distance of those from Euro4+ petrols, which is why older petrols are exempt.

Do you drive in inner London regularly? Some other cities are getting zones, but far, far smaller. I'm not aware of any forthcoming zones that wouldn't be trivially easy to avoid simply using alternative means of transport. The London ULEZ will be, so long as you don't live within/near it, or need to move things that aren't relatively easy to carry on public transport.

scaredofdebt

Diesel doesn't make economic sense for the mileage you're doing, you pay a premium for a diesel engine and the savings in fuel won't mitigate that.

Look for an efficient petrol car, or a hybrid or an EV. You'll need to run the figures through with your own circumstances but petrol overall is likely the cheapest, but leasing an EV may be quite affordable too.

reeac

Richard53 wrote: »

Indeed. I have followed the red wine good-for-you/will-kill-you-in-minutes debate for many years. Same for butter. But the 'diesel is good' campaign was based on poor science, and the govt are now frantically rowing back against the tide of private diesel vehicles that their predecessors' policies produced. I doubt very much if new research will suddenly make diesel out to be greener than the alternatives and force a re-think. The VW emissions scandal was just one of the nails in the coffin.


Would you gamble on diesel suddenly becoming acceptable again? For me, the only question is how long before diesels are effectively banned. It won't be tomorrow, but I doubt if any diesel cars will be still being made in 2030.

Just a quibble. The info was there regarding diesel emissions but the politicians wanted to give the motor industry a boost so, by stressing the CO2 emissions rather than the nastier nitrogen oxides and particulates, claimed that diesels were cleaner and gave VED concessions accordingly.

hollie.weimeraner

Given that diesel is about 10p a gallon dearer than petrol as well I'd go for something else (petrol or hybrid). I opted for hybrids a couple of years ago and am very pleased with them. The Auris is a better car than the Yaris. I personally wouldn't opt for an EV at the moment as there are issues with range.

lg13mza

hollie.weimeraner wrote: »

Given that diesel is about 10p a gallon dearer than petrol as well I'd go for something else (petrol or hybrid). I opted for hybrids a couple of years ago and am very pleased with them. The Auris is a better car than the Yaris. I personally wouldn't opt for an EV at the moment as there are issues with range.

Not near me, its only around 2-3p more expensive.

wobbley

Richard53 wrote: »

Indeed. I have followed the red wine good-for-you/will-kill-you-in-minutes debate for many years. Same for butter.

I heard a few months ago that lard is not that much worse than veg oil now!

Stick with diesel, and if the emissions are all that bad, don't worry, it will all blow over our old friends in Europe, carried by the wind.

Johno100

reeac wrote: »

Just a quibble. The info was there regarding diesel emissions but the politicians wanted to give the motor industry a boost so, by stressing the CO2 emissions rather than the nastier nitrogen oxides and particulates, claimed that diesels were cleaner and gave VED concessions accordingly.

Yes, it depends on what you define as 'greener'. When all the focus was on CO2 emissions then diesels were (and are) a greener alternative.

iolanthe07

Given that diesel is about 10p a gallon dearer than petrol

lg13mza wrote: »

Not near me, its only around 2-3p more expensive.

Are you sure you aren't getting your gallons mixed up with litres? I can't believe your local diesel is only 2-3 p more per gallon than petrol.

[Deleted User]

Mr_M_Cox wrote: »

I tend to average 10,000 a year and would expect a 2-3 hour round trip on average once a month. Rest of the time commuting and inner city all under 30min journeys.

Do you have somewhere you could charge an EV? A used one will cover that sort of usage and be extremely cheap to run.