Average daily milage in the UK
Average daily milage in the UK
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Discussion

McWigglebum4th

Original Poster:

32,414 posts

234 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
So seeing we have so many EV threads around recently and we know the range is just not enough what do you think is the normal usage of a car in the UK?


So what do you think is

Average yearly milage

Average journey length

Average time a car is not moving for



I'd give an answer but mine would just be silly compared with the experts

Snappy89

418 posts

158 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
I do know that in 2010 the DFT released the findings of their survey which stated the average annual car mileage was estimated to be 8,430 miles. I'd say it's probably similar now.

jamieduff1981

8,092 posts

170 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
Honestly?

I'll answer for myself and just for the commuter car because the others just get driven for the hell of it.

12,000 miles per year(ish)

40 miles round trip per day

9-10 hours parked up between 20 mile segments during daytime, more at night.


We also have a 700 mile distance between Aberdeenshire and Carmarthenshire to visit inlaws/the kids' grandparents which we do in one go with fuel stops at least once a year, plus 500 mile distance at least once a year from Aberdeenshire to Cambridgeshire (and similar radii) for airshows and the like.

In general, I could live with an EV for day-to-day use. In practise, whilst I'm happy to pour money down the drain paying for TVRs and MGs to zip about in for fun, I probably wouldn't want to pay to maintain a vehicle just for long distance drives. I don't use public transport other than airliners, because I hate sitting with strangers, it's more hassle than driving door to door and frankly I can afford to avoid it. It's also piss poor up here. I've been trying to persuade myself to buy an old Range Rover for the past 4 years for winter use, but get bored within 30 seconds of searching classifieds and find myself browsing sports cars instead.


In summary - EVs will in reality work for many, many people. For me, I'd want a hybrid I think for work use yet retain the option of longer legs for the cross-UK drives several times per year.

Slow

6,973 posts

167 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
Averaging 2k miles a month with no motorways. Cant be bothered getting a average from that as some days I dont drive atall due to no commute.

McWigglebum4th

Original Poster:

32,414 posts

234 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
Snappy89 said:
I do know that in 2010 the DFT released the findings of their survey which stated the average annual car mileage was estimated to be 8,430 miles. I'd say it's probably similar now.
We don't want your accurate figures here

V88Dicky

7,373 posts

213 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
Well my average is 22 miles each way, Monday to Friday. And no, there isn't a charging facility at work. Those s wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire anyway.

poing

8,743 posts

230 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
Based on the miles on second hand cars for sale I'd say overall it was roughly 12,000.

Edit: just spotted you said daily. Oh sod it, based on all the clocked cars I'll just leave it!

chrisw666

22,655 posts

229 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
Her car does 35 miles a day Monday - Friday and occasional weekend stuff probably 8-10k a year in total.

My last car did 12k in a year, the current one has done 1800 miles in 4 weeks and will over the year probably cover 16-20,000 miles but that will be mainly long trips as I'll be walking to work 3 or 4 days a week.

The Moose

23,683 posts

239 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
I do 25 miles 5 days a week. One day a week an extra 25 miles. One day a month an extra 25 miles on top of that. Weekends probably average circa 100 miles.

The misses' car does 8 miles 5 days a week. And probably 250 extra a month.

Jayyylo

986 posts

177 months

Wednesday 6th November 2013
quotequote all
My commute is 8 miles per day and I rarely travel far at the weekends.

Last year I covered 8000 miles including a few trips between N. Ireland and the Midlands then a holiday around the Highlands. This spring I intend to buy a bike to cycle into work so I predict my annual mileage will be <5000 miles.

Bullett

11,183 posts

214 months

Thursday 7th November 2013
quotequote all
I don't have a commute as I'm home based.
If I go to the office it's a 44 mile round trip. I go once a week, sometimes more sometimes less.
I do the morning school/nursery run and that's 5miles return, evening is the same but the wife normally does that.

I average 12-15k per year. Mostly client visits anywhere from 100 to 400 round. Over that I'll fly or go by train.

I also do 3-6 trips per annum to the relatives. Up to 500 miles per journey.
Best mate is 70 miles away 6 times a year maybe.
Holidays are in the car at the moment, alternating Cornwall and France 500-1500 miles.

So, realistically my day to day motoring would be fine with an EV. My wifes as well probably but we both do long journeys for work on a regular basis so it would be a major juggle to make sure we each had the right car available then I'm sure there would be clashes.

Maybe a good solution for us would be EV, petrol family wagon and a sports car for spare. I can't bring myself to pay that much money for a compromise vehicle though so we will probably stay as a 2/3 car family all on petrol.

Ilikebeaver

3,227 posts

211 months

Thursday 7th November 2013
quotequote all
I work only a mile from home, but the car is fully used on weekends and driving holidays through Europe and uk.

Will average 4500 miles per year.

I start a new job where I will be commuting 10 miles each way soon though, so that will change

sjj84

2,396 posts

249 months

Thursday 7th November 2013
quotequote all
My commute is 34 miles round trip, which I do 14 times in 5 weeks. Got an old banger that I use for that and various trips to the tip etc, think I did about 6k between mot. Got another car for days off which again I did about 6k between mots.

richtea78

5,574 posts

188 months

Thursday 7th November 2013
quotequote all
We were discussing it at work. About half the office had a commute of about 20 miles each way. Other half were longer

Electric cars would work a lot better when the charging is in place for them. Eventually they will become mainstream. I'm looking forward to it as it will keep petrol more available for me to use for pleasure. I couldn't care less about my commute. It's stuck in traffic so a self driving electric car wouldn't bother me in he slightest

CYMR0

3,940 posts

230 months

Thursday 7th November 2013
quotequote all
An electric car would work very well for my commute and even my typical weekend use (two or three weekends a month).

For the long monthly weekend trips, I would either have to rent or use public transport.

Then there are the business trips, some of which would be feasible by public transport but not all.

I think one of the greatest public policy "successes" from EVs would be moving some of those extended trips off the roads, rather than just the immediate CO2 reduction of switching commutes to electricity.

98elise

32,714 posts

191 months

Thursday 7th November 2013
quotequote all
I do 6 miles a day to the station monday to friday, then about 25 miles a day at weekends.

That means a tesla model S would would go about 5 weeks before needing a charge.

Pints

18,451 posts

224 months

Thursday 7th November 2013
quotequote all
An 80 mile round trip each day makes me well above average in our office.

Engineer1

10,486 posts

239 months

Thursday 7th November 2013
quotequote all
20 miles in, 36 out - through Birmingham city centre before 7 on the way in and motorway home so 56 miles a day on with an extra 3 if I'm picking my daughter up from her grandparents so between 56 and 59 miles a day 5 days a week, 280 a week commuting so say 320-350 a week including weekends. Generally parked up for 8 hours a day though.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

220 months

Thursday 7th November 2013
quotequote all
McWigglebum4th said:
So seeing we have so many EV threads around recently and we know the range is just not enough what do you think is the normal usage of a car in the UK?


So what do you think is

Average yearly milage

Average journey length

Average time a car is not moving for



I'd give an answer but mine would just be silly compared with the experts
Is that mean average or mode average? Personally I think it makes quite a difference.

And do you want average from different demographics, locations or vocations? Or maybe just an average of averages?