Fuel efficient car recommendation

William Gates

Hi all, I'm looking for a bit of advice for a car purchase as I know nothing about cars.

I currently drive an older petrol Mondeo but I will shortly be starting a new job which means that I will be on the road a lot covering a bit of distance so I don't want it costing me a fortune in fuel therefore I was thinking of getting a diesel car.

I need a 4-door as I have a kid. Cars that I was looking at that I like are the A5 or BMW 4 Grande Coupe.

I am open to all suggestions though.

Thanks in advance, WG.

Atlantic Dawn

What kind of budget have you in mind?

William Gates

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

What kind of budget have you in mind?

Under €30k

bazz26

How old is the child? If it's an infant/toddler is a booster seat then the low roofline and short rear legroom of the A5 or 4 Series will be a right pain everytime you go to put the child in and out of the rear. These cars may well have 4 doors but they are still coupes not designed with family practicality in mind.

Shefwedfan

Ok so you mention covering a bit of distance but what distances are you talking about? what will daily commute be? will you need to travel long distances everyday or once off's?

Or will it be lots of small trips per day?

I work on the road and but majority of my trips are short but regular rather than long distance and irregular if you know what I mean.

It does depend on those sort of things to pick right

William Gates

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Ok so you mention covering a bit of distance but what distances are you talking about? what will daily commute be? will you need to travel long distances everyday or once off's?

Or will it be lots of small trips per day?

I work on the road and but majority of my trips are short but regular rather than long distance and irregular if you know what I mean.

It does depend on those sort of things to pick right

Probably like 100 miles a day 5 days a week

William Gates

bazz26 wrote: »

How old is the child? If it's an infant/toddler is a booster seat then the low roofline and short rear legroom of the A5 or 4 Series will be a right pain everytime you go to put the child in and out of the rear. These cars may well have 4 doors but they are still coupes not designed with family practicality in mind.

Child is 3, had A7 in mind too

thierry14

William Gates wrote: »

Probably like 100 miles a day 5 days a week

You'd spare €160 a month in fuel alone in an electric car

New 150bhp, 250km range Leaf would cost about €400 a month over 5 years

When you factor in cheaper motor tax and much less maintenance, it will be incredibly cheap motoring

Cheaper than any diesel

Shefwedfan

William Gates wrote: »

Probably like 100 miles a day 5 days a week

With that sort of mileage you are looking at diesel or as mentioned above electric.

If diesel I would recommend the A6, they are a beautiful car and really great for motorway driving/long distance. You will love the comfort as well. I prefer Audi to BMW so people will say 5 series as well. I was getting around 5-5.5ltr/100km on motorway, but I sold as I was doing all city driving

The space in back is great for kids. Also a huge boot. With the budget you have you would be able to pick up second hand one no problem

Electric has been mentioned so either Leaf or Ioniq would do mileage

dil999

thierry14 wrote: »

You'd spare €160 a month in fuel alone in an electric car

New 150bhp, 250km range Leaf would cost about €400 a month over 5 years

When you factor in cheaper motor tax and much less maintenance, it will be incredibly cheap motoring

Cheaper than any diesel

Surely the leaf is only practical for city driving.

250Km range?
Thats would barely get you from Dublin to Galway. Would it do that with 2 adults, and a child in a child seat? Add a couple of suitcases for a weekend? On a cold wet day with the lights & heater on and wipers going full blast?

Edit:
According to the Nissan site, it doesn't go close to 250Km:

https://www.nissan.ie/vehicles/new-vehicles/leaf/range-charging.html

"The Nissan LEAF is engineered for the real world. For motorway driving with the air conditioning on, you can drive between 100 and 160 kilometers or between 125 and 200 kilometers respectively with 24 kWh and 30 kWh*. For most people, that will easily cover their daily commute. The Nissan LEAF also gives you the information to get more out of every charge. These include energy-saving driving modes and the Multi-Function Display Drive Computer, which informs you of power used/generated, battery charge, charging times and more.

*Driving range assumption in moderate driving conditions. Various factors can affect driving range including driving style, road conditions, outside temperature, air conditioning."

William Gates

Thanks but I'd have no interest in an electric car as I would have to do longer distances on occasion too.

Shefwedfan

William Gates wrote: »

Thanks but I'd have no interest in an electric car as I would have to do longer distances on occasion too.

Have a look for A6 as mentioned above

Some people are BMW and some people are Audi. I am an Audi person.

Really if you are doing long driving spent a few quid and get something comfortable. People will be on about Skoda's and the like but you just don't get the same sort of drive.

Other option as mentioned is 5 series BMW....

The Merc is for some people but I aint old enough yet to know about them :P

dixiefly

Honda Accord diesel?

William Gates

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice everyone.

deathtocaptcha

Regular hybrid is your man. Lexus IS300h. Cheaper and more fuel efficient than an A5 and you'll be saving the planet at the same time...

Shefwedfan

deathtocaptcha wrote: »

Regular hybrid is your man. Lexus IS300h. Cheaper and more fuel efficient than an A5 and you'll be saving the planet at the same time...

Hybrid would be for city driving, I guess 100 miles a day means the OP is on motorways etc which means diesel is best option.....

All for Hybrid and electric cars but they are not for everyone

unkel

For someone doing 100 miles a day (long commute) and not very regular trips that are a lot further than that, EVs are ideal and will save a lot of money in fuel (and never mind the very low tax, insurance, maintenance). The new model Leaf and the Ioniq are both about €25k-€27k on the road (same as a similar size and spec diesel) and can both easily do this distance

dil999 wrote: »

Edit:
According to the Nissan site, it doesn't go close to 250Km:

That's the old model. It won't even do 100km at motorway speeds (24kWh)

The new one is a different beast altogether. It will do Dublin to Galway in a fully loaded car at motorway speeds without stopping

Lantus

unkel wrote:

The new one is a different beast altogether. It will do Dublin to Galway in a fully loaded car at motorway speeds without stopping

That remains to be seen based on real world use. The EU testing is not as realistic as us standards and 250km theoretical will be nearer 175 to 220 in most cases. Still excellent but not an ice killer. The battery they are planning on putting in after the initial 2018 release will swing it though. I'm seriously looking at a 2019 switch to even.

Bigus

deathtocaptcha wrote: »

Regular hybrid is your man. Lexus IS300h. Cheaper and more fuel efficient than an A5 and you'll be saving the planet at the same time...

I'd second this suggestion, petrol hybrid is300 a great all rounder and totally reliable ( no dpf,no clutch or dmf no turbo, no alternater , no starter ), and equally efficient as a good diesel not only in town but motorway too in the real world. Also with the 2.5 cyl engine they sound a lot better than the other smaller engined hybrids when pushed .

bazz26

Still only 4 cylinders though which is a bit disappointing considering it's capacity.

unkel

That's the way it is going bazz. 6 is the new 8, 4 is the new 6, 2 or 3 is the new 4

And in a few years times, there will be no cylinders left at all

pm1977x

deathtocaptcha wrote: »

Regular hybrid is your man. Lexus IS300h. Cheaper and more fuel efficient than an A5 and you'll be saving the planet at the same time...

The weird 70s dash clock though! :eek:

William Gates

deathtocaptcha wrote: »

Regular hybrid is your man. Lexus IS300h. Cheaper and more fuel efficient than an A5 and you'll be saving the planet at the same time...

Cheers, that's a very nice motor alright, looks like a bit of a beast!

colm_mcm

pm1977x wrote: »

The weird 70s dash clock though! :eek:

It's nice in real life though.

Idbatterim

30k? I see no point, either go really low cost i.e. electric or stick with what you have. How much will a newer diesel or petrol car save you in fuel E20 a week? you will be losing a multiple of that on depreciation and finance...

The new model Leaf and the Ioniq are both about €25k-€27k on the road (same as a similar size and spec diesel) and can both easily do this distance

just read the drag coefficient on the new leaf is .28 , isnt that pretty poor?

unkel

It's much better than the old one which is 0.32. To put things in perspective, the new Leaf is 0.28 and the Ioniq is 0.24. But the latter has the best aerodynamics in the world of any car. Or it had until the Tesla Model 3 will show up in the market.

s15r330

thierry14 wrote: »

You'd spare €160 a month in fuel alone in an electric car

Cheaper than any diesel

I've a diesel that'll do 2,000 miles for €160, how much would it cost in an ev

unkel

s15r330 wrote: »

I've a diesel that'll do 2,000 miles for €160, how much would it cost in an ev

That's almost 70MPG (at €1.20 per l diesel). What kinda car is that and what kinda driving do you do?

But FWIW, I've done 9000km in my EV and it has cost me about €9 in electricity. All public charging is still free in Ireland (32 counties)

s15r330

unkel wrote: »

That's almost 70MPG (at €1.20 per l diesel). What kinda car is that and what kinda driving do you do?

But FWIW, I've done 9000km in my EV and it has cost me about €9 in electricity. All public charging is still free in Ireland (32 counties)

No competing with that

It's an Audi a2 1.4tdi, mostly long motorway, bought it for commuting. The previous owner reckoned they got just over 70mpg a few times

Idbatterim

It's much better than the old one which is 0.32. To put things in perspective, the new Leaf is 0.28 and the Ioniq is 0.24. But the latter has the best aerodynamics in the world of any car. Or it had until the Tesla Model 3 will show up in the market.

I am assuming it doesnt make a massive difference .28 v .24 unless you are talking motorway speeds?

unkel

s15r330 wrote: »

It's an Audi a2 1.4tdi

The second most economical car ever made! After the A2 1.2TDI

colm_mcm

And The lupo 3L


And Octavia 1.9 TDIs if you’re to believe the owners

s15r330

colm_mcm wrote: »

And The lupo 3L


And Octavia 1.9 TDIs if you’re to believe the owners

unkel wrote: »

The second most economical car ever made! After the A2 1.2TDI

I actually went to Germany for a Lupo 3L and there was a feckin gearbox fault when I got there that "never happened before".

Got a couple of days in Munich though so wasn't a total loss.

I'll get one yet.


What engined Octavia?
I have an afn b5 a4 and the absolute best I can get is 66mpg

unkel

If you get a kick out of spending as little as possible on fuel, don't waste any more time with internal combustion engine cars

s15r330

unkel wrote: »

If you get a kick out of spending as little as possible on fuel, don't waste any more time with internal combustion engine cars

Its sad but I do

unkel

s15r330 wrote: »

What engined Octavia?
I have an afn b5 a4 and the absolute best I can get is 66mpg

It was a bit of a joke. If you hear some owners going on about their Octavia, you would think it could do 70MPG, carry the contents of 3 lorries (this is true) and do 0-100km/h faster than a rocket

Shefwedfan

unkel wrote: »

It was a bit of a joke. If you hear some owners going on about their Octavia, you would think it could do 70MPG, carry the contents of 3 lorries (this is true) and do 0-100km/h faster than a rocket

That is every Octavia owner....

99nsr125

Skoda Superb TDi
A truly wonderful car

Audi A6 TDi
Excellent

Volvo S60 diesel
Quiet, comfortable, safe,

Try a test drive in those and you'll have a better idea of what you're looking for

Casati

unkel wrote: »

It's much better than the old one which is 0.32. To put things in perspective, the new Leaf is 0.28 and the Ioniq is 0.24. But the latter has the best aerodynamics in the world of any car. Or it had until the Tesla Model 3 will show up in the market.

Not sure abou that claim, isn’t the Merc CLA a Cda of 0.22?

unkel

According to this you are right, well it is 0.23. I wasn't aware of that. Already beaten by the Tesla Model 3 though, which is 0.21

And to put things into perspective, the GM EV1 from the mid 90s had 0.19. That car was decades ahead of its time in many ways.

_Brian

There’s almost as much inappropriate forcing of electric cars onto every query as there are those forcing diesels onto everyone for the cheap tax.

For many, many people outside urban areas electric vehicles aren’t suitable at all.

Shefwedfan

_Brian wrote: »

There’s almost as much inappropriate forcing of electric cars onto every query as there are those forcing diesels onto everyone for the cheap tax.

For many, many people outside urban areas electric vehicles aren’t suitable at all.

I agree. I am all for electric cars but for some people they will not work.....

Also recommending a hybrid seems to be strange for a person doing 100miles per day. The up front cost will be more expensive than a diesel and the cost of fuel as well.

Diesel is really the only option in this scenario for TCO

Idbatterim

For many, many people outside urban areas electric vehicles aren’t suitable at all.

I dont think is the case for the new electrics that are about to be launched...

ELM327

_Brian wrote: »

There’s almost as much inappropriate forcing of electric cars onto every query as there are those forcing diesels onto everyone for the cheap tax.

For many, many people outside urban areas electric vehicles aren’t suitable at all.

I'm not going to force anyone to buy anything.
But your statement that EV don't work outside of urban areas is factually incorrect.
The people making the most savings from EV are those who are living outside the urban areas and commuting to work.
I myself do nearly 1k km per week in my 24kWh leaf. From the sticks to the city.

ELM327

Idbatterim wrote: »

I dont think is the case for the new electrics that are about to be launched...

+1 It certainly isnt, the "next gen" EV (including the Ioniq) would perfectly cover the needs of the vast majority of Irish motorists with range to spare and then some.

It's not that the cars dont work, it's that john down the pub needs to get used to plugging his car in at home at night and having a full car every morning instead of chucking 80 quid of diesel a week in.

Casati

_Brian wrote: »

There’s almost as much inappropriate forcing of electric cars onto every query as there are those forcing diesels onto everyone for the cheap tax.

For many, many people outside urban areas electric vehicles aren’t suitable at all.

What gets me the most is that EV owners don’t own up to the real fact that charging for EV’s is coming, both in terms of potential additional tax for home consumption and more immediately for charging at public locations.

Monthly smart card charges as well as costs per unit were planned to be introduced but stopped because the infrastructure is so sub par but long term this is a big question mark in my mind of overall e.v benefits. When advising somebody making a 30k investment I’ve never seen anybody state they should be warned about these charges

ELM327

Casati wrote: »

What gets me the most is that EV owners don’t own up to the real fact that charging for EV’s is coming, both in terms of potential additional tax for home consumption and more immediately for charging at public locations.

The dog on the street is aware that nothing is free forever and charging is coming. There is no proposal anywhere to tax home charging. The public network will be pay to use, possibly from Q1 2018.

Casati wrote: »

Monthly smart card charges as well as costs per unit were planned to be introduced but stopped because the infrastructure is so sub par but long term this is a big question mark in my mind of overall e.v benefits. When advising somebody making a 30k investment I’ve never seen anybody state they should be warned about these charges

The difference in fueling an ICE and an EV will still be heavily weighted in favour of the EV. When you can "fill" your EV at home for €2-€3 and drive 200+km real world like the Ioniq or Zoe ZE40, you don't rely on the public network.

Idbatterim

What gets me the most is that EV owners don’t own up to the real fact that charging for EV’s is coming, both in terms of potential additional tax for home consumption and more immediately for charging at public locations.

that may well be the case, even more of an argument for getting max benefit now before it does, if an electric will work for you. When people want a cheap car to run, the new electrics would probably work for most people. No point in asking for a cheap to run car and then ignoring it, when it will be vastly cheaper to run than a diesel...

Shefwedfan

Casati wrote: »

What gets me the most is that EV owners don’t own up to the real fact that charging for EV’s is coming, both in terms of potential additional tax for home consumption and more immediately for charging at public locations.

Monthly smart card charges as well as costs per unit were planned to be introduced but stopped because the infrastructure is so sub par but long term this is a big question mark in my mind of overall e.v benefits. When advising somebody making a 30k investment I’ve never seen anybody state they should be warned about these charges

I would always warn. Personally I have used the charging system twice since I purchased the car.....I cant wait for a private company to take over the system because it is a joke at the moment

I have reduced my fuel 80 euro per week and tax by half.....insurance also down

But as mentioned I dont see electric cars for everyone.....

Idbatterim

I have reduced my fuel 80 euro per week and tax by half.

you also have no servicing and no diesel problems... could petrol stations not offer electric charging? even if they just had one charge point...

unkel

Casati wrote: »

charging for EV’s is coming, both in terms of potential additional tax for home consumption

That's not technically possible.