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Petrol Or Diesel?Nowadays it's a whole different ball game with the choice of very economic petrol engines or efficient and quiet diesels. PETROL The general perception used to be that although petrol engines are much quieter and smoother if you wanted economy and an engine that would do well over 100000 miles then it had to be diesel. However petrol engines have developed to such an extent that small 1.0 engines can now easily achieve well over 60mpg and even larger 1.6 engines can still average 40mpg. The modern build quality and engineering combined with super efficient petrol and oils have also meant that high mileages are perfectly possible with regular maintenance. DIESEL Diesel engines are generally more economical and capable of very high mileages. They have now been developed to such an extent that it's quite hard to tell the difference when sitting behind the wheel as they are much quieter and smoother than ever before. So - petrol or diesel? If you are intending buying a very small car and thinking about a diesel then you may want to stop and consider the following. Diesel cars generally cost much more than petrols and therefore unless you do a very high mileage per year it may still take you years to break-even on the price difference. So if you sold the car after 2 or 3 years you may have thrown money away! On larger cars this can still apply, but it becomes less clear, so you really have to get out your calculator to work out the sums! Of course once you've done all that you then have the added factor that secondhand diesels tend to be worth more than petrols - so it's not entirely straightforward! Our advice is to stop and consider the alternatives based on your own situation, don't just jump to the one that looks obvious at first glance. Hybrids and Electrics The jury is still out on them and our view is that the battery problem is still a major obstacle to long term success. For example the Toyota Prius has enjoyed remarkable success but there are still worries over long term value for the car as the current substantial cost of replacing the batteries is likely to be a major concern for anyone thinking of buying secondhand. Electrics: We have an electric car site on which we will try to keep up with all the latest developments - www.new-electric-cars.biz |
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