Would you buy a diesel car now?

[Beezerk]

Is there such a thing as a hybrid car which can do long distances yet? Why I ask is my gaffer has offered me a new car to pursuade me to remain in my job, one which will lower my tax bill, looking at BIK the best way to do it is by getting a car with low emissions.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Prius is okay but not brilliant, Passat GTE plug in is better. Delve deeper into the Passat and the mpg is nowhere near the claimed figure, particularly the range on pure electric. The list price is also stupid so killing some of the saving. Look into the future BIK rates and you will also see that the tax on these cars is rising so the gap is not as great as it was or currently is. It's good this year and next but after that the gap is smaller. I'm about to change mine, did all the spreadsheets and went for a Superb diesel hatchback. The gap in tax by 2019/20 between the Superb and the Passat was only £20 a month, it was £30 the year before. The fuel saving alone with the diesel will be more than that and I wont have the hassle of plugging in the car every night.

I can send you a saddo's Spreadsheet to show some figures if you can't be bothered to do it yourself. I suspect in 2-3 years time there will be more on offer as other mfrs catch up and the tech improves.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Is there such a thing as a hybrid car which can do long distances yet? Why I ask is my gaffer has offered me a new car to pursuade me to remain in my job, one which will lower my tax bill, looking at BIK the best way to do it is by getting a car with low emissions.

All hybrids can as they just go to the petrol engine when the batteries run out. Full electric cars like the I3 can go long distances but are currently impractical if you need to do a lot of miles in one day. I think tesla are bringing in a more affordable all electric car next year which may change things again. Current thinking by the VW group is mostly that hybrids will be the way forwards and full electric cars will only be a relatively niche market for the next few years unless battery technology takes a massive leap forwards.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Prius is okay but not brilliant, Passat GTE plug in is better. Delve deeper into the Passat and the mpg is nowhere near the claimed figure, particularly the range on pure electric. The list price is also stupid so killing some of the saving. Look into the future BIK rates and you will also see that the tax on these cars is rising so the gap is not as great as it was or currently is. It's good this year and next but after that the gap is smaller. I'm about to change mine, did all the spreadsheets and went for a Superb diesel hatchback. The gap in tax by 2019/20 between the Superb and the Passat was only £20 a month, it was £30 the year before. The fuel saving alone with the diesel will be more than that and I wont have the hassle of plugging in the car every night.

I can send you a saddo's Spreadsheet to show some figures if you can't be bothered to do it yourself. I suspect in 2-3 years time there will be more on offer as other mfrs catch up and the tech improves.

The VW hybrids are stupidly priced (including the Golf version) at the moment as you can get a 3 series BMW hybrid with much the same range for cheaper than a Passat.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

HK - you forgot to highlight my sentence further on where I also say the list price is stupid . The Passat is worth a look as it is pretty much a normal car but with hybrid tech. No compromise on boot space etc. That price needs to drop though.

 

[srixon 1]

Not if it was anything like the Ford Escort diesel that I had back in 1999. It made more noise than a Sherman tank.

 

[Smiffy]

Current thinking by the VW group is mostly that hybrids will be the way forwards and full electric cars will only be a relatively niche market for the next few years unless battery technology takes a massive leap forwards.

Nissan are supposedly bringing out a new Leaf in a couple of years time that will cover nearly 400 miles on a single charge.
Once they manage to do this I can see electric cars taking off in a big way as long as they keep the price sensible.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Nissan are supposedly bringing out a new Leaf in a couple of years time that will cover nearly 400 miles on a single charge.
Once they manage to do this I can see electric cars taking off in a big way as long as they keep the price sensible.

But if electrics cars really came down in price and their popularity rose significantly where will people charge them? If California can have charging rage with arguements over charging points, why wouldn't we have worse? I can see the hoodlums going around cutting leads, or spurious claims becasue they tripped over the charging lead. Unless they can develop wireless charging straight away I dont see it working. Then of course there is the issue with power generation and the risk of power shortages since we seem to want to close down power stations without the new ones even being built. Electicity prices will sky rocket on the back of profiteering that always comes with the growth of a particular demand.
Hydrogen fuel cell may well be the long term answer, but not probably in my life time.
For now though, its a gamble to which way the Government and eco warriors will go.

 

[Hacker Khan]

My Mrs already has charging wars at work with her hybrid car. You could make it work if the country invested in the infrastructure for the good of the nation. But you just know it will be left to the private sector who will aim to make it as profitable as possible and you will end up with an unregulated hotchpotch of provision.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Nissan are supposedly bringing out a new Leaf in a couple of years time that will cover nearly 400 miles on a single charge.
Once they manage to do this I can see electric cars taking off in a big way as long as they keep the price sensible.

Possibly, but I think a lot may depend on how they play in the autonomous market. My company is involved a bit in that and it is frightening how quickly the technology is advancing. And mass market fully autonomous vehicles will be available much quicker than most people think. I think that is where the main focus will be for car companies, the traditional manufacturers are already spooked by tech companies like Google, apple and Uber playing in this market and taking their market share.

If fully electric vehicles are needed for autonomous vehicles to take off as in the Tesla model then it will happen. If they think hybrids will do the job then possibly that is where a lot of car companies will focus. My wife's BMW seamlessly changes from battery to petrol so they have just about perfected that side of it. I can see a hell of a lot of lobbying by oil companies (who no doubt donate a lot of US politicians) to keep petrol and diesel going in the foreseeable future.

 

[theballboy]

Depends on many different factors really mpg torque size of engine etc and what your priorities are in a xar of course

The newer smaller petrol engines can match the diesels now for mpg and can push along with a turbo in their (ie tfsi etc).
Bottom line is too that they are more reliable imo. Modern diesels pushed the boudries in trying to balance power and mpg and as such introduced a wealth of possible issues, all drivetrain and fuel delivery issues (injectors/flywheels etc) which the petrols dont have to deal with. Can all be very costly.
But it looks like the petrol cars are pushing for the same balance now. Problems potentially rise then with extra fragile parts to deal and deliver that balance.

That said i love the torque of diesels. That mid range shove. But could prob get used to petrol turbo in time too

 

[Hobbit]

Loving my new BMW 420d. MPG isn't brilliant, especially in sports mode but it sure can accelerate...

 

[need_my_wedge]

Love my new Mercedes GLA 2.2d. MPG not too bad 46.3 over all, can get 55 on my daily commute to work running in eco mode, just switch to sport mode for the acceleration on overtakes. lovely car to drive.

 

[drdel]

Might be an idea to buy a few very cheap old diesels for a grand apiece and cash in when the £3k scrappage scheme boots up!

We have a couple of motors (petrol and diesel) plus a plug-in-hybrid which hasn't needed petrol in a couple of months - ideal for 25mile round trips.

 

[theballboy]

Ill most likely go diesel again in a few years time