Petrol, diesel or hybrid/Phev?

[Coba3]

Howdy,

New to pistonheads, looking for some motoring advice.

I have a 30-40mile daily commute each way, mainly motorway with 5-10 miles A/B roads either end. Plus some leisure driving averaging ~360/week

Currently have a 2008 1.8L petrol civic and looking for a replacement with a focus on mpg to make my miles as financially pain-free as possible. I don't get any mileage or reimbursement etc for travel. I don't have any experience with diesels or hybrids.. so I'm looking for some advice on what would best suit my daily driving.
As it's mainly motorway at 70-80mph I assumed a diesel would be good for this but I'm not sure what mild hybrids or phev can do or how they would fare at this kind of use? For what it's worth, my budget was initially 10k but if phev/mild hybrid would be worth it, could stretch to 15 as they seem to be pricier but is it worth the extra?

Edit: not able to charge phev/ev at work, only at home each night

Anyone with experience that could please help me out here?

Thanks

Edited by Coba3 on Monday 6th March 08:50

[J1990]

Any preference on features of the vehicle?


If you're open to most things, we had one of these from 2017-20 and did 20-25k miles per year in it, the gearbox isn't particularly nice and I wasn't a fan of the looks of it but as a mile muncher it was an absolute bargain and our frequent trips from Yorkshire to London would see us get an indicated 63mpg.
Plenty of gadgets on the Premium spec (Heated seats/wheel, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise, carplay etc) and buttons to run.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303044...

[RizzoTheRat]

In the true PH tradition of suggesting things out of scope of the OP's original questions... a Nissan Leaf would do that mileage easily wouldn't it? Assuming you could fit a charger at home and don't need to drive 600 miles every weekend like half the PH membership seems to need to.

As a long term diesel owner, I wouldn't buy another that's pre Euro6. Mine's a Euro4 and I'd need to pay to enter a few places in UK and a lot more around Europe now, and I'd expect more LEZs to appear in the future. On the other hand if you never drive in to a city I suppose it keeps second hand prices of pre Euro6 diesels down.

I'm having the dilemma between petrol "mild hybrid" and PHEV at the moment. Not convinced the fuel saving pays the difference in purchase cost for the cars I'm looking at.

[Lecket]

Been looking at similar recently, and the Lexus CT200H seemed a good option. Based on a Toyota Auris, but a much nicer place to sit, and didn't seem to be that much more expensive.

[mike13]

Lecket said:

Been looking at similar recently, and the Lexus CT200H seemed a good option. Based on a Toyota Auris, but a much nicer place to sit, and didn't seem to be that much more expensive.

Until it comes to servicing and the price of spare parts, they don't go wrong often but brake calipers seem very expensive compared to auris prices.

[p4cks]

Got a similar challenge potentially coming up, should I be offered a job I've applied for. Currently got a Golf GTE (plug in hybrid) which, when I did the same route I'd potentially have to do, only gave me 50mpg at best. Hybrids are better suited doing your standard commute which is a mix of driving, not medium distance motorway journeys. At the moment I manage 70mpg+ on average (13 miles in total, there and back).

For this reason, and it pains me to admit, that only diesels would be any good for me as they'd deliver 55-60mpg for what I need (and maybe what you need).

[dmsims]

p4cks said:

Got a similar challenge potentially coming up, should I be offered a job I've applied for. Currently got a Golf GTE (plug in hybrid) which, when I did the same route I'd potentially have to do, only gave me 50mpg at best. Hybrids are better suited doing your standard commute which is a mix of driving, not medium distance motorway journeys. At the moment I manage 70mpg+ on average (13 miles in total, there and back).

For this reason, and it pains me to admit, that only diesels would be any good for me as they'd deliver 55-60mpg for what I need (and maybe what you need).

But on the OP's commute you are going to get much more then 50mpg in a GTE

And on a long run over 200 miles ours gave 55

and diseasel is about 20p a litre more

OK the battery charge is not free but it's under a £1

[dmsims]

OP your commute mileage is 7-8K p.a.

How much would it cost to change cars ?

[p4cks]

dmsims said:

p4cks said:

Got a similar challenge potentially coming up, should I be offered a job I've applied for. Currently got a Golf GTE (plug in hybrid) which, when I did the same route I'd potentially have to do, only gave me 50mpg at best. Hybrids are better suited doing your standard commute which is a mix of driving, not medium distance motorway journeys. At the moment I manage 70mpg+ on average (13 miles in total, there and back).

For this reason, and it pains me to admit, that only diesels would be any good for me as they'd deliver 55-60mpg for what I need (and maybe what you need).

But on the OP's commute you are going to get much more then 50mpg in a GTE

And on a long run over 200 miles ours gave 55

and diseasel is about 20p a litre more

OK the battery charge is not free but it's under a £1

The OP can have my Golf GTE then

[Coba3]

dmsims said:

OP your commute mileage is 7-8K p.a.

How much would it cost to change cars ?

No my commute is more like 19k p.a.

And I’d like to upgrade regardless rather than driving my old civic forever. I’d like working central locking and air con for a start

Edited by Coba3 on Monday 6th March 16:36

[p4cks]

Coba3 said:

dmsims said:

OP your commute mileage is 7-8K p.a.

How much would it cost to change cars ?

No my commute is more like 19k p.a.

Same as what I'm facing. OP I found this site very useful... https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/real-mpg/

[dmsims]

Yes, apologies, forget to multiply x 2

What else do you require from the car ?

Coba3 said:

dmsims said:

OP your commute mileage is 7-8K p.a.

How much would it cost to change cars ?

No my commute is more like 19k p.a.

Edited by Coba3 on Monday 6th March 16:36

[Coba3]

dmsims said:

Well I'm just trying to figure out the best fuel type for my usage and I'll probably pick a fairly good trim with some toys etc. Looking for something mid-size, like a 3 series, civic, focus, A3/4, octavia etc, nothing small or city car type.

My quandary is solely around engine/fuel type and whether something like a 330e for ~£15k being plug in hybrid would be beneficial for 60-80 mile round trips or because most the journey would be motorway on petrol it would make any electric gains pointless and therefore better off with a 10k diesel or a MHEV etc.

[dmsims]

Full electric is going to be ~£500 p.a. "fuel" costs (assumption is you home charge)

Leaf, Ioniq etc

[ZX10R NIN]

At 19k P/A I'd be looking at a diesel but there are some diesel hybrids that come into play if you go nearer to your 15k max but you can get some very good diesels with sensible miles for your 10k budget.

V60 D5 Hybrid:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302244...

D6 Hybrid:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207117...

Kia Ceed diesel hybrid you'll also have 5 years of Warranty left too:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301123...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303024...

DS5 Sport e-HDI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302104...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301203...

With all of the above (apart from the Kia's) if you're Indy isn't familiar with the Hybrid drivetrains the servicing costs will be higher so savings made at the pump may be eaten in maintenance.


Now with regular diesels your options are pretty much unlimited, but with nigh 20k a year I'd want something with around 60k on the clock so you've got 3-4 years of usage in the car.

DS5 DStyle 160:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212302...

DS5 Prestige 180:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302094...

Facelift Insignia SRI/Elite Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302164...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301163...

A years Network Q warranty that you can extend on a yearly basis upto 100k:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303034...

Nearer to your 10k are the Infiniti Q30/50/70 SE/Sport models that are also ULEZ compliant & have Mercedes C220d drivetrains:

Q30 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201191...

AWD Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302234...

Premium Tech:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205165...

Q50 SE:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303034...

Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207207...

Sport Tech:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302043...

Q70 Premium:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211231...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302284...

308 GT 180 AUC warranty on both:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302144...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303034...

508 GT:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211141...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302043...

V60 R Design D4 190:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301283...

All the above are great options you'll maybe need to narrow your criteria to see what your wants/needs push you towards, as you can see you have a wealth of options.

[georgeyboy12345]

I wouldn't bother with a PHEV or hybrid with the kind of usage you have. A Euro 6 (2016 or newer) diesel will be better for your needs.

How about... another Civic? Here's a 1.6 i-DTEC
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303014...


BMW 320d ED Plus are capable of mega mpg
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301052...


Alfa Romeo Giulietta 2.0 JTDM Speciale
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210100...


Audi A3 2.0 TDI Sportback
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301263...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301153...


Ford Focus 1.5 TDCi Zetec S
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208118...

Edited by georgeyboy12345 on Monday 6th March 22:59

[LJF_97]

A diesel C-class would do the trick.

Not a very PH car but it would be comfy, practical, nice enough to drive & good on fuel.

Parts and mechanics shouldn't be an issue either, unlike a PHEV.

[ZX10R NIN]

Any of those options work for you OP?

[p4cks]

ZX10R NIN said:

Any of those options work for you OP?

They did for me, especially the Infiniti. By the way is the 1.5 any good? I know it’s an old Renault engine that goes in everything but I wondered how it was in one of these

[Coba3]

Thanks for all the replies and car suggestions, will have a good look through and reply back, just been busy recently.

Seems like diesel is likely the way to go!

I guess because anything hybrid benefits more from shorter journeys/stop start traffic and lots of regen braking? Whereas constant 70-80mph for 20-30 miles motorway is more practical with diesel? Shame as a would have liked to electrify some of my driving, but seems the mileage and budget don't agree.

Thanks