Petrol or hybrid to do 60mpg on motorway commute?

mcbert

Hi,


I'm doing 500km per week commuting Galway to Dublin and back once a week. Otherwise I work from home so other trips are just short local. Fuel costs are high in my old Astra.


Diesels have better fuel consumption on motorway journeys, but they pollute more and I expect fuel & tax costs to rise, so I'm wondering are there any petrols that can compete?


I don't have time to stop for charging and few if any EVs have enough range, so I have to rule them out for a few more years. Prices too high for me too.


I'd consider a hybrid if the fuel consumption was good for the full motorway journey but I think many are not, only good when good portion of your journey is electric. There won't be much electric on a 2h motorway journey.



I'll be driving at the speed limit too, I'm not willing to add 30min to my journey to reduce fuel consumption. I don't have time for that.


Anything come close?


Thanks!

punisher5112

What's your budget?

Ev could well do it for you.

Ioniq or Kona, maybe even the newer leaf.
BMW i3

The hybrids are a bit of a gimmick to be honest as when at motorway speeds they aren't much use imo.

Diesel would still be for you until others are more affordable.

mcbert

punisher5112 wrote: »

What's your budget?

Ev could well do it for you.

Ioniq or Kona, maybe even the newer leaf.
BMW i3

The hybrids are a bit of a gimmick to be honest as when at motorway speeds they aren't much use imo.

Diesel would still be for you until others are more affordable.

Thanks. I don't want to get into merits of an EV. I've gone through a lot of threads on them and I'd love if they would work, but they just don't suit my needs at the moment.


I know I can probably get a diesel, like perhaps an Octavia, but I'm wondering about a petrol or hybrid for motorway driving.


Ignoring budget, are there any petrols that can do 60mpg on motorway?


My budget depends on how long I expect to keep the car and how much value I expect it to have at the time. E.g I'll pay less for a diesel

colm_mcm

Diesels have better fuel consumption on motorway journeys, but they pollute more and I expect fuel & tax costs to rise, so I'm wondering are there any petrols that can compete?

Meh. Your driving is suited to diesel

Bigus

A second/third gen Prius will easy do 55 mpg on a motor way journey and can be eased up to 60.
Also a Prius with cruise control is a very relaxing place to do along journey.
Where you’ll really save on a hybrid is long term maintenance over a diesel of the order of thousands ( dpf, dmf, turbos, injectors and timing belts ,dirty diesel etc) along with lack of hybrid breakdowns .

tphase

mcbert wrote: »

Hi,
Diesels have better fuel consumption on motorway journeys, but they pollute more

Modern diesels are less polluting than petrols

mcbert

Bigus wrote: »

A second/third gen Prius will easy do 55 mpg on a motor way journey and can be eased up to 60.
Also a Prius with cruise control is a very relaxing place to do along journey.
Where you’ll really save on a hybrid is long term maintenance over a diesel of the order of thousands ( dpf, dmf, turbos, injectors and timing belts ,dirty diesel etc) along with lack of hybrid breakdowns .

That's the kind of info I'm looking for! Thanks! How common is it to get 55+ mpg

vandriver

The cheapest way to do your commute is in the car you already own.

mcbert

vandriver wrote: »

The cheapest way to do your commute is in the car you already own.

Sure, unless it's on its last legs and repair costs are more than its worth.

Bigus

mcbert wrote: »

That's the kind of info I'm looking for! Thanks! How common is it to get 55+ mpg

Will do it no bother all the time except in very cold weather, 64 mpg would be achievable with a very light foot and loads of concentration, but 55 mpg is a good compromise of speed vs time and mpg . They’ll do 55 on cruise set to 120 Kmh which is about 115 Kmh real speed. Tyre pressure needs to be up to or above 40 psi and tyres need to be a good brand like Michelin not budget crap.
Also when buying a sechondhand Prius don’t be afraid of high mileage ones if the price is discounted accordingly.

Heres Johnny

500kms per week @ 50mpg is using 6. 25 gallons of fuel

At 60mpg its using 5.2 gallons

So thats a weekly differential of a gallon of fuel or about 6 euro

Yearly 300 euro. Tiny money savings in the scheme of things.

Don't go out and spend money needlessly in the search of a 60mpg car when there are plenty that will do 50. Just back from Galway myself funny enough and my A6 is showing about 48mpg for the run there and back.

mcbert

Heres Johnny wrote: »

500kms per week @ 50mpg is using 6. 25 gallons of fuel

At 60mpg its using 5.2 gallons

So thats a weekly differential of a gallon of fuel or about 6 euro

Yearly 300 euro. Tiny money savings in the scheme of things.

Don't go out and spend money needlessly in the search of a 60mpg car when there are plenty that will do 50. Just back from Galway myself funny enough and my A6 is showing about 48mpg for the run there and back.

Fair point. 50mpg vs 60mpg isn't much. I'm in a dodgy Astra now doing closer to 35mpg so the difference is much larger there. I'm just asking about 60mpg as an upper limit of what might be possible. I'll then have to decide if the price is worth it

Heres Johnny

mcbert wrote: »

Fair point. 50mpg vs 60mpg isn't much. I'm in a dodgy Astra now doing closer to 35mpg so the difference is much larger there. I'm just asking about 60mpg as an upper limit of what might be possible. I'll then have to decide if the price is worth it

Every 5mpg you improve is worth about 150 euro to you a year. I went from a 6 cyl 523i petrol to diesels last year and have gone from about 25mpg average to 40mpg and my mileage is about the same as yours a week but I have diesel card for work so my expenses for fuel are zero now. Remember diesel is a bit cheaper too but this might not always be the case

Oops!

Skoda Octavia TDI....

whippet

My 2011 superb is still averaging about 59-61mpg (1.6tdi) .. about 70% motorway. I have just gone over 350,000km on the clock.

The fuel consumption is measured on Fuelly for the last 250,000km

Tenzor07

mcbert wrote: »

Diesels have better fuel consumption on motorway journeys, but they pollute more and I expect fuel & tax costs to rise, so I'm wondering are there any petrols that can compete?

Not sure what your budget is, though I agree a petrol is a more refined choice and great for short journeys around town too..

An Octavia with a 1l Tsi engine would work out at 16.28 Kilometers per Liter, and as you're one who'd stick to speed limits.

PaulRyan97

mcbert wrote: »

Fair point. 50mpg vs 60mpg isn't much. I'm in a dodgy Astra now doing closer to 35mpg so the difference is much larger there. I'm just asking about 60mpg as an upper limit of what might be possible. I'll then have to decide if the price is worth it

50mpg vs 60mpg results in a extra 15g CO2/km. That's enough to put you in a the A2 tax band over the A1, which granted, is only a €10 difference.

I'd recommend looking at the Corolla hybrid, can be got in a saloon if that's what you're looking for. I've seen people regularly getting 60mpg+ out of them even on motorway trips. Probably an average of 55-65mpg if I had to guess.

L-M

Buy a used diesel from a main dealer where most now (At an extra cost) can offer a 2/3 year unlimited mileage warranty.

That’s the simplest way.

Also more modern diesels are better for the environment then petrols, contrary to popular belief.

Older diesels are bad for humans.

Mike9832

L-M wrote: »

Buy a used diesel from a main dealer where most now (At an extra cost) can offer a 2/3 year unlimited mileage warranty.

That’s the simplest way.

Also more modern diesels are better for the environment then petrols, contrary to popular belief.

Older diesels are bad for humans.

Hyundai only ones offering unlimited?

L-M

Mike9832 wrote: »

Hyundai only ones offering unlimited?

No, lots of manufactures offer warranties that you can buy with their used cars.

Vw/Skoda you can buy a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty with any used car under 5 years old.

BMW offer a 2 year warranty with theirs.

I’m sure there are others

traco

Bigus wrote: »

Where you’ll really save on a hybrid is long term maintenance over a diesel of the order of thousands ( dpf, dmf, turbos, injectors and timing belts ,dirty diesel etc) along with lack of hybrid breakdowns .

I'm going to get flamed here but I think the above gets over stated. I will concede that buying a modern diesel to pop to the shops is bonkers and you can expect problems. However if you are getting them up to temp and a proper run every now and again their maintenance costs should not be higher than a petrol or hybrid.

We run a fleet of cars and vans, all diesels for the last 19 years. I'm guessing in that time I've covered 900k+ kms in my cars and many others will have done similar as would the vans.

In that time over all the vehicles there has been one dpf and one turbo. Timing belts are routine service (100k kms) and not expensive and we've never seen dirty diesel. Servicing costs of diesels are not expensive as its only an oil filter and a fuel filter every whatever. Petrol will require coil packs and plugs and also have timing belts so are not exclusive to diesel.

Zubeneschamali

For a long commute, I would worry more about comfy seats and driving position, aircon, cruise control, and a decent stereo than I would about 5 or 10 mpg.

The Bishop Basher

traco wrote: »

I'm going to get flamed here but I think the above gets over stated.

It's a myth that gets parroted here all the time.

I'm driving diesels years and like you, i've no idea what drives these imaginary costs.

Maybe Bigus knows

Bigus

The Bishop Basher wrote: »

It's a myth that gets parroted here all the time.

I'm driving diesels years and like you, i've no idea what drives these imaginary costs.

Maybe Bigus knows

Are the Diesels you’re driving relatively new and disposed of before they are very old , if so you’re lucky not to have to deal with expensive to repair problems.

Regarding reliability talk to any Indy mechanic and they’ll soon give their opinion on older diesels.
It’s also a case of when diesels go wrong you’re into thousands not hundreds to repair common faults, so for somebody on a budget that’s effectively a write off their car.

Plus a lot of modern diesel problems are a result of emissions related ad ons , be that swirls flaps and on bmw, dpfs on Peugeot Citroen, egrs on vw Ford, general dual mass clutch and fly wheel issues, glow plugs on opels particularly the expensive one with the sensor, injectors system faults on Renault’s and head gaskets on d4d avensis.
Just look at whats keeping independent mechanics busy or ending up immobile in their yards as the cars get older.
It’s all well and good poster traco above saying a fleet hadn’t a huge amount of diesel issues, but if I’m not mistaken fleets are normally bought Brand new and disposed of within 5 years ? So anything less than good reliability would be unacceptable.

Ask any taximan who now has a Prius what he thinks of previous diesels and he’ll fill you in on past horror stories.
Also for those who don’t know, a Prius has NONE of the following, DMF,DPF,timing belt,turbo,alternator or starter motor
plus it’ll never need glow plugs or expensive diesel high pressure pump,or diesel injectors

L-M

To be fairly literally everything you said it contradicted by what the previous poster said.

He said all the cars get driven and they’ve no problems.

You go on then to name all the stuff that goes wrong (Dpfs, egrs) all clog up because they’re not driven properly.

And then you go on to say that Taxis will commend hybrids when they mostly do all start stop city driving.

bfa1509

I have to make frequent trips between Galway and Dublin and also sit in a lot of traffic every other day.

I got a 2017 2L petrol Mazda 3 last year. It claims to have 65mpg motorway (44mpg urban). It has a 6th gear and glides down the motorway. It has a very nice interior (+ comfortable seats, air-con) which makes all the difference on long trips.

+ it looks fab:

https://m.atcdn.co.uk/a/media/w1024/3f007ca51c934385b4c81915d46e151f.jpg

Lantus

500km a week is good solid diesel territory.

Hybrid efficiency is poorer on motorway as primary benefit is at lower speeds only.

Hybrid efficiency savings are just marginally better than good diesels and the journey type needs to suit the hybrid.

If you can get a hybrid for the same money and it meets all your needs then great but price up the equivalent in a diesel first and check your getting like for like in features and comfort.

I pay 150 a year to service my diesel octavia. Nothing wrong with it so far. Just 2 new tyres in 3 years. Most cars have similar servicing needs and costs.

Leonard Hofstadter

bfa1509 wrote: »

I have to make frequent trips between Galway and Dublin and also sit in a lot of traffic every other day.

I got a 2017 2L petrol Mazda 3 last year. It claims to have 65mpg motorway (44mpg urban). It has a 6th gear and glides down the motorway. It has a very nice interior (+ comfortable seats, air-con) which makes all the difference on long trips.

+ it looks fab:

These are great cars. They've very comfortable and are fun to drive on country roads also.

As for mpg, well I had one before for a long weekend in England before, and I got 42 mpg on a motorway spin, I did a similar journey in a 2.0 diesel Mondeo a few weeks before that and got 45, so just 3 mpg more in a diesel. I did a shorter journey on country roads and while I wasn't hammering it, I wasn't going that slowly either yet it still did 47 mpg, so they are definitely economical for what they are.

Only real problem is they're not very fast for a 2.0 petrol and if you're used to the low down grunt of a diesel (or turbo petrol) you'd miss that because it's naturally aspirated (but on the other hand it sounds nicer and has the superior throttle response that's part and parcel of a naturally aspirated engine, so swings and roundabouts really).

Failing that, the OP should get a diesel, motorway spins are ideal for them, better mpg than a hybrid and stuff like the DPF, DMF and so on won't give trouble with that kind of driving. Therefore, there won't be any reliability risk other than the usual kind of issues one might suffer from because of not servicing it on time, etc.

The Bishop Basher

Bigus wrote: »

Are the Diesels you’re driving relatively new and disposed of before they are very old , if so you’re lucky not to have to deal with expensive to repair problems.

I drive 8 to 12 year old diesels, have done for years and I’ve experienced none of the issues you’ve mentioned. I don’t know anyone else who’s experienced them either. I’m not saying they don’t happen, of course they do. But no where near as often as you wound like to believe and try to make out.

The most expensive repair problems I’ve had on cars have nearly all been electrical and none had anything to do with the fuel type.

Cars break and can be expensive to fix.

The OP would be mad to consider a Prius for 500km a week, especially on Motorway and not just for fuel economy.

Idbatterim

Depreciation will be a relatively big consideration with that mileage. The Mazda six are gorgeous looking

There is a 1.5 diesel laguna on bangernomics 2008 e270 tax. 158, 000 km. That is true budget motoring

wetoutside19

Bigus wrote: »

Where you’ll really save on a hybrid is long term maintenance over a diesel of the order of thousands ( dpf, dmf, turbos, injectors and timing belts ,dirty diesel etc) along with lack of hybrid breakdowns .

What a load of rubbish. You have basically googled diesel car problems and then assumed that every single one of these happen all diesel cars.

Bigus

wetoutside19 wrote: »

What a load of rubbish. You have basically googled diesel car problems and then assumed that every single one of these happen all diesel cars.

You’ve 7 posts and joined boards yesterday what’s your qualifications?

The Bishop Basher

Bigus wrote: »

You’ve 7 posts and joined boards yesterday what’s your qualifications?

2 other posters with nearly 20 years combined on boards and 5k posts are also challenging you on what you've posted.

Why pick on wetoutside19

And what are your qualifications ?

Anyway,

Can you break down these increased maintenance costs on diesels please ?

I'd like to be aware of them in case I ever encounter them.

And i'm already aware of the spurious one that I may have to replace my front tyres more frequently due to the extra weight of the engine so i'll give you that one ignoring how ridiculous it is for now..

Can you break down all the other additional costs for those of us that, according to you, will definitely encounter them.

Thanks.

Zubeneschamali

I ran an S-Max on the Motorway commute for 10 years, racked up 400,000 KM. Never had an issue with dpf, injectors, gaskets, or sensors, just routine maintenance for 350,000 km.

Then, it is true that the flywheel let go and I needed a new clutch. Car did not owe me much at that stage.

garv123

Bigus wrote: »

You’ve 7 posts and joined boards yesterday what’s your qualifications?

So the longer you're on boards/more posts you have, the more qualified you are to give advice.


Well I've more posts than you, so I'm qualified to tell you that you're wrong!!

Im only a 1000 posts away from getting a PHD!

:pac::pac:

punisher5112

If a diesel vehicle is driven as intended then it tends to run well and of course maintenance is carried out....

Some cars can take so much abuse but the newer stuff not so much....

Leonard Hofstadter

Aside from the DMF in some models, diesels will not give trouble if they are driven as the manufacturer intended.

The problem is many people, especially after the tax changes in 2008, bought diesels but they really shouldn't have. They didn't do the mileage for a diesel, or the type of driving that keeps all the emissions stuff in a diesel happy and that's where they got the reputation for giving expensive repairs.

My Dad's 2010 diesel Avensis is on 385,000 km or 240,000 miles. It's still on the original clutch, turbo, DMF, DPF, EGR valve. In fact, the only engine related fault it developed was a need to replace the battery a few years ago.

I think that's very reliable by any measure. Of course, we always service it on time, which helps.

Diesels are a riskier proposition than a petrol used because they are a bit fussier than a petrol but a well cared for one will give no more trouble than an equivalent petrol and will just save the owner money.

DaveyDave

Petrol with those distances isn't going to kill you. Won't be as cheap but feck it. I get 4.7-5.2L/100km in my 1 liter Golf on the notorway. Most recent 5.2L was with 2 passengers and fully loaded luggage in the boot and back seat and this was Dublin to Mayo so not all motorway like Galway and I was also avoiding the tolls, speed limit the whole way.

If money isn't a huge concern and you don't want to drive a diesel on your normal Monday to Friday I don't see the issue. My local VW had a GTI that had 60,000km in less than 18 months.

Comfort is important. Air con, heated seats, cruise control, decent sound system etc.