Thinking of a Hybrid.....

[SlowCar]

Am going to change car in the next few months & am thinking of a hybrid/PHEV. Perhaps a Kia Niro. Budget is 15/16K, so won’t stretch to a Prius. Planning on buying a car that’s 1-2 years old & taking out a low APR loan.

I do about 12-15K miles, mostly by motorway for work, the rest is shorter journeys locally. Don’t know if I’m better just sticking with a normal petrol car, or not?

[jonwm]

You could get a nice 330e for that money. I've got one as a company car. Does a great job on the motorway. Normally see 40 to 45 on a good run if not charged.

Charged at work today and drove home circa 35 miles of A roads and was showing 94mpg when I got back. I can get over 100 on this route normally I just had a duel carriageway blast with a merc.

[ZX10R NIN]

At 16k I'd be picking the Infiniti Q50 they're a very good Hybrid I have 3 family members with the Q50 & I will be changing to one once my Mondeo Vignale needs to be moved on:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...


Other options

335ah

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

A6 Hybrid

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[jjr1]

jonwm said:

You could get a nice 330e for that money. I've got one as a company car. Does a great job on the motorway. Normally see 40 to 45 on a good run if not charged.

Charged at work today and drove home circa 35 miles of A roads and was showing 94mpg when I got back. I can get over 100 on this route normally I just had a duel carriageway blast with a merc.

94 mpg or 20mpg is the least of your concerns on a 35 mile drive. Whether the car is depreciating like a falling piano or costing a fortune in repairs would be of a higher concern.

It is the intangibles or the less obvious costs that people should be concerned about not the mpg or ved cost.

[SlowCar]

My biggest concern is that my commute is up to 25-30 miles each way, mostly motorway at 70ish MPH - from what I have read, you’ll need to use fuel at that point- so this in combination with higher purchase price will mean a false economy.

Am I right in thinking that PHEV’s are best for low mileage city commutes?

[ZX10R NIN]

I wouldn't limit myself to 1-2 year old cars I'd go 3-4 year old models as the worst of the depreciation will have passed & you'll still be able to extend the Manufacturer's warranty.

Yes that's where they make the most sense & work best, the Q50 will see you with a real world 40-44mpg on the Motorway runs, I'd say a petrol hybrid will suit your type of journey more so than a PHEV:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

M

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Hyundai Ioniq

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

IS300 F Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Also if you're doing mainly motorway miles a diesel makes a lot of sense especially when you consider the lower purchase price & running costs:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Petrol

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or you could go for a diesel hybrid:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

508

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Saturday 13th July 13:03

[SlowCar]

I was thinking of the Hyundai Iconic.

Would prefer a newer car as need Satnav for work & a lot of the older ones don’t have this.

Just trying to weigh up if it’s economically worth it, or if I should just stick with a normal petrol car.

[ZX10R NIN]

SlowCar said:

I was thinking of the Hyundai Iconic.

Would prefer a newer car as need Satnav for work & a lot of the older ones don’t have this.

Just trying to weigh up if it’s economically worth it, or if I should just stick with a normal petrol car.

All of those have Nav the Lexus & Infiniti Navs are pretty good I've been in 2015 cars of both that have found properties that were finished in 2018 updates are available on all listed above. With your usage I would go for a diesel but if you're considering a petrol then the Lexus & Infiniti are both very good shouts considering your budget, they'll be better on fuel & very nice places to spend your time.

[SCEtoAUX]

ZX10R NIN said:

At 16k I'd be picking the Infiniti Q50 they're a very good Hybrid I have 3 family members with the Q50 & I will be changing to one once my Mondeo Vignale needs to be moved on:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

The Autotrader reviews on those seem to be "mixed" at best. I know you know your stuff, so I'd be interested in your comments on what others have written.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

SlowCar said:

I was thinking of the Hyundai Iconic.

Would prefer a newer car as need Satnav for work & a lot of the older ones don’t have this.

Just trying to weigh up if it’s economically worth it, or if I should just stick with a normal petrol car.

The Ioniq is just about to be facelifted so there might be some deals to be done.

[SlowCar]

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of stock around of the Infiniti Hybrid; nothing much within a 50-100 mile radius of me (Scotland).

But there are a few Ionic’s around, or Kia Niro’s.

[dmsims]

Can you charge at work ?

[SlowCar]

No, generally can’t charge at work - only a couple of locations have points that it could use - on average once a week.

[ZX10R NIN]

SlowCar said:

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of stock around of the Infiniti Hybrid; nothing much within a 50-100 mile radius of me (Scotland).

But there are a few Ionic’s around, or Kia Niro’s.

Infiniti Glasgow have couple you can go & take a look around which will help you decide if it's worth traveling to buy one:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new...

Normally one of the sales staff will have one as their personal car so a test drive should be doable, if not Hillington have this Q70 which uses the same drivetrain & has a two year warranty too which you'll be able to try:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Lexus Glasgow has a few F Sports in stock:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[C.A.R.]

I got an Ioniq company car purely for the tax reasons (well, actually ordered a Golf GTD but the lead time was 30 weeks back in December...)

For my use it's fine. I chose it over the regular Toyota / Honda hybrids because of the dct gearbox, which is a far easier transition from a 3-pedalled car and if you really want to you can use the paddle shifters and affectionately-named 'Sport Mode' to go from "sluggish" to "mildly entertaining" speed

My average commute is a motorway munching 120-mile round trip stuck mostly in dense traffic, this is where the hybrid is at home - Not short city-based trips like people wrongly assume- that's where you want a plug-in hybrid or pure electric car.

As an outright purchase I'm less sure whether they make sense. As alluded to above, a facelift is due imminently so depreciation on a used one is set to get perhaps worse in the near future - it may be worth waiting a few months.

What is your reasoning to gravitate towards a hybrid? If it's purely to save money on fuel you're likely better off getting a something like a 1.4/1.6 turbo petrol somethingorother.

My temp car whilst waiting for the Hyundai to be delivered was a very nice - albeit entry-level - VW Golf 1.4T, 125bhp.

I got an indicated 54mpg out of that without really trying.

I get an indicated 68-72 out of the Ioniq- but in actual fuel costs this isn't as massive as it may look on paper- unless you do stratospheric mileage or the cost of fuel jumps by another quid you'll probably be better in a less-complicated modern-ish petrol car.

[Jag_NE]

Get a euro6 2017 diesel, you could have something half decent like a 3 series or C-Class with your budget. It will be a nice drive, good quality and great mpg with your usage. A Hyundai is utterly awful by comparison.

[Evanivitch]

Vauxhall Ampera is worth a look. Should get 30-35 miles.on motorway.

Ioniq hybrid and PHEV also good cars and a bit newer.

[ZX10R NIN]

Jag_NE said:

Get a euro6 2017 diesel, you could have something half decent like a 3 series or C-Class with your budget. It will be a nice drive, good quality and great mpg with your usage. A Hyundai is utterly awful by comparison.

Most Euro6 spec diesels are from 2014 onwards.

[Jag_NE]

ZX10R NIN said:

Jag_NE said:

Get a euro6 2017 diesel, you could have something half decent like a 3 series or C-Class with your budget. It will be a nice drive, good quality and great mpg with your usage. A Hyundai is utterly awful by comparison.

Most Euro6 spec diesels are from 2014 onwards.

Yes, but for his budget he can get a 2017 car.

[Jonny_]

SlowCar said:

I was thinking of the Hyundai Iconic.

Would prefer a newer car as need Satnav for work & a lot of the older ones don’t have this.

Just trying to weigh up if it’s economically worth it, or if I should just stick with a normal petrol car.

Have had my Ioniq hybrid for about a year now, would highly recommend one. I've just returned from a 300-odd mile round trip, mostly on motorways, at an average of 70.5mpg ("at the pump" figure, dash readout was something around 73). Generally the car averages about 65mpg, at current fuel prices it works out around 8.5p per mile.

Not the last word in excitement but it's comfy and pleasant to drive. Outright grip is limited by the narrow tyres. There's enough power available for comfortable overtaking. Sport mode makes quite a decent difference to throttle response and gives more control over the DCT gearbox. The Ioniq's more at home on the motorway than the equivalent Toyota hybrids, although the Toyota system is smoother in traffic. Mine is the top trim level with all manner of gadgets, the cooled seats are ace and it's got a nice Infinity audio system. Mid range Premium trim is still pretty generous mind. Boot space is miles better than a Golf or Focus hatchback. Nice comfy seats with plenty of adjustment. Service interval is every 10000 miles, no idea what the servicing costs though as it's a company car.