Fuel efficient car purchase?

[snow hope]

I will be replacing my current company car (Honda Accord CDTi) in the new year - and this weekend I happened to be discussing cars with somebody - it made me think of what I needed.

I may just purchase the Honda (it does 45mpg - diesel) but then again I think it might be sensible to go for a smaller car which does about 65mpg or more?

Really I just want a car that has enough power to drive a hundred miles to Dublin and overtake safely when necessary. It needs to be able to carry 5 people very occassionally, sometimes 4 people, but mostly just one or two. My work does require that I visit customers and I can't do this on a bicycle - as some ar 50-100 miles away and there are no sensible bus or train options.

Are hybrids worth considering? Or am I better getting a small, light car that can do high mpg? I am fortunate that I don't have a 1 hr commute sitting in motorway traffic jams - only takes me 15 mins in and out of work at the worst - but it is up and down steep hills. I live at 450ft but work is at sea level - 6 miles away from my house.

Any sensible suggestions from you good people will be gratefully considered?

[mikepepler]

Citroen and Renault make some very efficienct small diesels, but my friendly local mechanic was wary on reliability, and advised me to go for Toyota or VW group (Skoda, Seat, VW, Audi). I got a 2001 VW Polo 1.4 TDi. Note that the newer models are heavier and slower.

I've had average consumption reach 65mpg, and never managed to get it below 55mpg, even when deliberately trying! The engine is 75bhp and 0-60 is about 12 seconds, but that ignores that fact that there is very high torque around the middle, so the time for 30-50 or 50-70 can be quicker than the 0-60 time would lead you to think. Another neat thing with the engine is the PD injection system runs at a higher pressure (and may be more robust) than common-rail systems, improving the potential efficiency and reducing emissions. It also works beautifully on veg oil! Overall I'm very pleased with it.

If you can get away with an even smaller car, the Lupo 1.4TDi is quicker and more efficient with the same engine.

[clv101]

To echo what Mike?s said really, Japanese or German (including Seat and Skoda). I would avoid hybrids due to expense, long term reliability/maintenance concerns and economy that?s not any better than a good diesel. I guess you are only considering new cars, rather than taking a cash alternative and buying something like a 4 year old TDi Seat Leon?

I have the Skoda Fabia with 130bhp diesel, it gets 55-60mpg on a motorway run and never less than 45mpg (official figure 53mpg). That?s not too different to the Honda Accord or Civic CDTi though.

The new Toyota Yaris has an official figure of 62mpg from an 88bhp 1.4 litre diesel. Given than the 138bhp 2.2 litre CDTi Honda engine has an official figure of 55mpg in the new Civic, the 103bhp 1.9 litre TDi in the Seat Leon has an official figure of 57mpg and the Ford Focus with the 107bhp 1.6 litre TDCI engine says 58mpg I would suggest that going for something very small and light means a lot less car for pretty small efficiency improvements.

The little Toyota Aygo with it?s 54bhp diesel engine returns 68mpg and a 0-60 of 16sec. Is that 20% improvement worth it over the Honda?

[mikepepler]

I would suggest that going for something very small and light means a lot less car for pretty small efficiency improvements.

That depends on what's most important. For example, you can get a Polo or Passat with roughly the same engine in (1.9TDi), you can compare the figures here:
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new_cars/polo/engines#
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new_cars/pa ... on/engines#

Polo:
Fuel Consumption
Urban 43.5mpg - 6.5l/100km
Extra-urban 68.9mpg - 4.1l/100km
Combined 56.5mpg - 5.0l/100km
Engine emissions 135g/km
Engine noise levels n/a
Engine maximum Speed** 117mph - 188km/h
Engine acceleration 0-62mph 10.7secs
Maximum output PS 100
at RPM 4000
Maximum torque 177 lbs.ft / 240 Nm
at RPM 1800

Passat
Fuel Consumption
Urban 38.2mpg - 7.4l/100km
Extra-urban 57.6mpg - 4.9l/100km
Combined 48.7mpg - 5.8l/100km
Engine emissions 157g/km
Engine noise levels 72.0dB
Engine maximum Speed** 117mph - 188km/h
Engine acceleration 0-62mph 12.1secs
Maximum output PS 105
at RPM 4000
Maximum torque 185 lbs.ft / 250 Nm
at RPM 1900

So the Polo is more than 10% more efficient, and faster at the same time. And it's cheaper too. It certainly is "less" car, but that means less embodied energy as it's lighter.

Going back to snow hope's original question though, if it's cheap to buy out your company car, then that might be best - new car = more consumption of materials, and more depreciation once you've got it. And remember, it might not be too many years before you have to stop using it for one reason or another, so it's probably not worth spending a lot of money on it.

[skeptik]

It needs to be able to carry 5 people very occassionally,

Any sensible suggestions from you good people will be gratefully considered?

Diesel. You'll need the low end torque with 5 people on board.

Efficient small petrol engined cars I find to be a pain in arse with all the gear changing when carrying heavy loads.

[Philip W]

See your Petrol or Diesel thread for my comments on LPG

Cheers

Philip