Another car thread

[Tashyboy]

I was gonna post this last week but the VW comps thread has given me a nudge.

When Missis T finishes work in July, we are on about getting rid of her truck ( Mazda CX-7) it is gorgeous and one of the best cars we have owned. 2 wheel drive which slips into 4 wheel if req. she used it for work and it has been brilliant. However when she finishes, we won't really need a big car. We have had it six years. So.

I bought the car as the Government said at the time it was cleaner for the environment. car makers also stated this and that they are cheaper to run than petrol long term. Diesel was the future. However recent events have seen diesel cost more than petrol when it is cheaper to make, the emissions are not as specified on the tin. City's are banning them. So where does that leave Mr and Missis Tash.

Back to petrol, stick with diesel, Hybrid, electric. Flippin eck me head is spinning. Long gone are the days you didn't buy a car coz it had rust on it.

Thoughts please.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I'm in a similar position although my barge is 13 (Skoda Superb) and whilst in very fine condition is starting to have small signs of age. I do like the driving characteristics of diesel and that is my preferred option, however the current hysteria from many angles is making me think long and hard. I have to consider that I will have the next car for another 10 years at least, so some sort of future protection is being thought about.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

How many miles are you going to be doing? That is the starting point. Then, how much space do you need?

Diesel may rule itself out if you are doing low mileage, electric due to space and cost.

If certain cities ban diesel cars, a while off yet and possibly only older diesels not modern ones, then will that actually affect you? Personally I would never drive into London, the other cities muttered about the same. It will not impact me so it doesn't come into my own equation.

Give more details of what you need and we can give you a perfect selection to choose from

 

[Crazyface]

Don't you have your bus pass?

 

[philly169]

Mrs169 has a Toyota Auris Hybrid, its pretty nice to drive. It it was faster I'd consider a hybrid. For now i'll stick with the ST

 

[GreiginFife]

Previously had a diesel 3 series and then a Merc A Class diesel. New car I went for petrol as I like the response better. I do that odd amount of mileage that makes neither considerably better than the other but the driving pleasure of the turbo petrol is far higher than that of the diesel. Ok torque is great on the diesels but the lag does my head in. I notice this lag much more now if I drive the A and then get in to the C.

For me, petrol efficiency has come on I leaps and bounds and will continue to do so, not sure we have heard the end of the diesel furore, less for a CO2 perspective and more so from the hydrocarbons one.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

How many miles are you going to be doing? That is the starting point. Then, how much space do you need?

Diesel may rule itself out if you are doing low mileage, electric due to space and cost.

If certain cities ban diesel cars, a while off yet and possibly only older diesels not modern ones, then will that actually affect you? Personally I would never drive into London, the other cities muttered about the same. It will not impact me so it doesn't come into my own equation.

Give more details of what you need and we can give you a perfect selection to choose from

Mileage isn't an issue....the Barge has just under 70k on it after nearly 14 yrs. It is my weekend drive, my golf course car and any rare non work weekday driving.
I don't want an estate and prefer the versatility of a hatch type next time, but it must be big enough to hold the clubs and trolley under the hatch cover out of sight.

My requirement aren't that easy to accommodate when talking to anyone sensible

 

[Lord Tyrion]

If you are doing low mileage then you should be able to rule diesel out. Diesels don't like short journeys, and you don't get the mpg benefits either. For what you have described then either a petrol Octavia or Superb sounds about right.

Ha ha, just re-read your post. You already have a Superb. Get another in petrol guise. I'm likely to go for a diesel Superb next time around as I am still doing decent miles and the hybrid options are not really there yet. VW do a plug in hybrid Passatt estate but the price is silly so that is still not an option yet.

 

[Maninblack4612]

I had serious problems doing short journeys all winter in my diesel. It was a Zafira 1.9 CDTi, went great until the soot gummed up the works. Modern diesels need lots of mods to keep the pollutants down, some with a tank of pig's pee which is injected into the exhaust which needs topping up every so often. I got a Zafira Tourer with a 1.4 petrol turbo engine & it goes almost as well as the 150 BHP 1.9. I've just had a tuning box fitted, which has further improved the performance.

In my opinion, small petrol turbos are the way to go.

 

[Chisteve]

I have a hybrid

VW Golf GTE - great for the enviroment and a good car lots of tech in it and all the extras

Its a company car and low tax

I would not buy one myself - very expensive from the showroom and averages around 50 MPG, the initial cost is far too high to get your money back in cost of running

Cost about £ 40.00 to fill the tank for around 400 miles

If I was buying a car for myself would get a small petrol runaround - the new cars have far better petrol engines nowadays IMHO

Hope this is a little help

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Chisteve - I'm looking at the Passat estate version of this as it fits the bill and c/car tax is low. How far do you genuinely get on electric only? My daily commute is 14 miles each way and official stats claim it has a 30 mile range. I don't expect to get there and back without the engine kicking in but if it can get close then that would be great. What is it like in reality?

Also, any flaws, any reasons not to go for it (assuming I can get a lease at a viable price)

 

[MegaSteve]

I was gonna post this last week but the VW comps thread has given me a nudge.

When Missis T finishes work in July, we are on about getting rid of her truck ( Mazda CX-7) it is gorgeous and one of the best cars we have owned. 2 wheel drive which slips into 4 wheel if req. she used it for work and it has been brilliant. However when she finishes, we won't really need a big car. We have had it six years. So.

I bought the car as the Government said at the time it was cleaner for the environment. car makers also stated this and that they are cheaper to run than petrol long term. Diesel was the future. However recent events have seen diesel cost more than petrol when it is cheaper to make, the emissions are not as specified on the tin. City's are banning them. So where does that leave Mr and Missis Tash.

Back to petrol, stick with diesel, Hybrid, electric. Flippin eck me head is spinning. Long gone are the days you didn't buy a car coz it had rust on it.

Thoughts please.

When we purchased our retirement vehicle we plumped for a mini MPV... Not too big for when there's just the two of us but plenty big enough when we've got the three grandsons with us... We still do a round trip of about 180 miles a couple of times a month, so bearing that in mind, we went for a diesel [1.4l]... However, a year or so on with the change in thoughts with regard diesels would now most probably have gone with petrol [1.6l]...

 

[IanM]

I'm in a similar state of confusion.... I have a 5 year old Freelander 2 - approaching 60k miles, I usually change about now, BUT what to get? I live in a rural spot so the 4x4 is useful... don't like the FL2 replacement (Disco Sport) , fancy a Range Rover, but not the expense... not much else I like.

Good old 4x4s now look like jelly moulds!

 

[Bunkermagnet]

If you are doing low mileage then you should be able to rule diesel out. Diesels don't like short journeys, and you don't get the mpg benefits either. For what you have described then either a petrol Octavia or Superb sounds about right.

Ha ha, just re-read your post. You already have a Superb. Get another in petrol guise. I'm likely to go for a diesel Superb next time around as I am still doing decent miles and the hybrid options are not really there yet. VW do a plug in hybrid Passatt estate but the price is silly so that is still not an option yet.

My journey to golf is a 20 mile motorway jaunt....sometimes at legal, sometimes less.............My Barge has the 1.9 pd 130 diesel, and has a dose of Millers fuel additive with each tank for which I get about 600 miles per tank minimum. The car averages between 44 and 55 mpg which I consider an excellent figure for a car of its size ( and that's brim to brim and worked out myself)

As for another VW stable group, I have a real problem now with VW after their mega cock up, plus I don't like having to have a cam belt change every 4 years regardless of mileage. I do really love the torquey performance of a diesel and find it so much easier to drive.

I suppose I shall be wanting something chain driven next time, and possibly Korean simply because of my dis tastes with VW group now, won't have BMW and Merc's are just stupid expensive for what they are. I won't have French or Italian, would happily have Japanese but don't like CVT, also their boots aren't always of the required size.

Confused? I am

 

[Lord Tyrion]

BM - Kia Sportage is ridiculously popular, 7yrs warranty etc. Look pretty good as well.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

BM - Kia Sportage is ridiculously popular, 7yrs warranty etc. Look pretty good as well.

Have looked at it, but a bit pricey for what I want compared to my eclectic list currently on the thinking mat....

Honda Civic, petrol manual.
Hyundai Ioniq , hybrid
SSamgyong Korando, diesel auto.

As you might tell, I'm not a car badge snob just look for value for money.
All 3 will take my Sun Mountain C130 with all clubs in, pockets loaded and my Golfstream trolley.
All available with leather, climate, electric and folding mirrors, bluetooth, sat nav.

 

[drdel]

Here's my response to Scienceboy's post...




If you're mostly doing local runs of less than a 10 mile radius you might consider the Mitsubishi PHEV, about the same inside space as the Xtrail. We've added one to our family and we're getting over 90mpg in and out of town; we thought it would be the 'additional / occasional car but it get used as first pick.

When we put the grand kids in on trips of 30 0r 40 miles we get about 50mpg. On 100+mile long motorway runs at about 70 it settles around 38mpg because its using its petrol engine the majority of time. Charges on the normal mains - we usually do it overnight

Come with 5 year warranty and 8 years battery warranty. Try getting an 2016 ex-demo. No road tax (changes March 2017) and no congestion charges.
Read more at http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/showthread.php?89722-New-Car#DyMZ5dZs46oIuJpH.99

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Have looked at it, but a bit pricey for what I want compared to my eclectic list currently on the thinking mat....

Honda Civic, petrol manual.
Hyundai Ioniq , hybrid
SSamgyong Korando, diesel auto.

As you might tell, I'm not a car badge snob just look for value for money.
All 3 will take my Sun Mountain C130 with all clubs in, pockets loaded and my Golfstream trolley.
All available with leather, climate, electric and folding mirrors, bluetooth, sat nav.

If it was me I'd go with the Honda first, Hyundai second. I'd keep away from the last one. Either of the first two are good options.

 

[xcore]

Get a big petrol v8, life's too short for this hybrid rubbish!

 

[Smiffy]

If you are buying a brand new car, and not doing a high mileage I would recommend a petrol car to you.
There is usually quite a big difference in price between the two power units and despite the fact that you are getting better mpg out of the diesel, you have either got to be doing a high annual mileage short term or plan to keep the car for many years before you even recoup that difference.
Second hand, it's not so clear cut because the price differential would have come down significantly.
A difference is usually still there, but it might be as low as say £500.00 which makes a Diesel more of a viable proposition.
Don't get caught up in the scare stories of DPF filters. Most of the newer Diesel engines have got around this problem and it's nothing a regular, "longer" journey won't sort out.
I have been driving Diesel Qashqais for the last 6 years, and the vast majority of my driving is the 3 miles to work and back every day, most of the time in heavy traffic. I have never had a DPF warning light come on.
And don't forget, a 7 year warranty is only really any good to you if you are planning to keep the car 7 years. Most (most) people who buy a brand new car change after 3 or 4.
If you are buying a 3 year old car, the remaining 4 years of a 7 year warranty are obviously to your benefit though.
Remember too, that the cars that come with a 5 or 7 year warranty (Hyundai, Kia etc) tend to suffer the worst depreciation (percentage wise) than other makes so what you gain on the swings, you lose on the roundabouts.
Depreciation is your biggest running cost and it is un-seen. If you really want to buy a car with a longer warranty, you may (may) be better off buying a better make of car that doesn't depreciate so quickly and paying the extra for a manufacturers two years extended warranty. A £500.00 or so outlay at the beginning is much better than a 20% additional depreciation hit.