Car Conundrum???

[rab19]

Thanks for all the replies and recommendations. Trying to convince the wife to go diesel, maybe the Dacia but may have to be diesel/boidiesel mix.
So the next questions are.
Does anyone still use biodiesel or is/was it a passing fad?
Has making it improved over the years, so causing less damage etc?
Does it damage the rubber in new engines?
Is it viable e.g. cost of making it, changing filters etc over buying it straight from the pumps all the time?

Thanks

 

[Orion]

There was an interesting article in The Times last weekend regarding electric, hybrid and other cars, and how they are shaping up for the future change over from petrol/diesel.

One thing that really got my attention was the current situation of diesel engined vehicles, as it was stated that the latest Euro 6 diesel cars can be less polluting overall than equivalent electric vehicles! This was due to the stringent anti-pollution measures now installed on diesel engines - DPF, AdBlue - which have dramatically reduced NOx and particulate emissions, (CO2 produced is lower than petrol), and the fact that electric vehicles, being heavier, have pollution issues of their own with regard to increased braking and tyre wear pollutants. This was only comparing 'on the road' use and didn't consider the other aspect of environmental impact from constructing the vehicles and producing the fuel/energy to power them.

It was even suggested that in some circumstances, driving a modern diesel in a heavily polluted city environment (think Delhi etc.), it could be producing cleaner air from the exhaust than that which went into the engine! Maybe we should stop beating ourselves up about using diesels?

 

[bogtrotter]

How do you plan to get one or more mature red stags into a family Dacia or jimney?

Seriously, has to remain hygienic too

Should manage I got three stags in a SJ 410 and thats about the same size.

 

[User00003]

Should manage I got three stags in a SJ 410 and thats about the same size.

I’ve had 6 hinds in a Volvo estate, but it looked like some kind of sick murder scene!

That’s a looong time ago though!

 

[kes]

I am looking for a new car too - so far I'm stuck on the 'mild hybrid' hyundai now my Ix 35 has died from drowning. £27K for a 1.6 mild Hybrid and north of £33k for a direct replacement for mine. It will have to be 'pre-registered' or SHand but diesel or petrol ? - I am leaning towards petrol since it appears no-one, especially HMRC recognise how un-polluting the mild Hybrid diesel is.
Whatever happened to Hydrogen fuel cell technology or is that being held back for the next massive cost increase?

 

[Apthorpe]

Thanks for all the replies and recommendations. Trying to convince the wife to go diesel, maybe the Dacia but may have to be diesel/boidiesel mix.
So the next questions are.
Does anyone still use biodiesel or is/was it a passing fad?
Has making it improved over the years, so causing less damage etc?
Does it damage the rubber in new engines?
Is it viable e.g. cost of making it, changing filters etc over buying it straight from the pumps all the time?

Thanks

Everyone uses biodiesel. It's blended into the normal forecourt diesel - usually 7%. So you can at least feel 7% virtuous going with diesel.
Biofuels were a stupid fad instigated on by cretinous greens which has destroyed huge areas of foreign environments and wasted grotesque amounts of crops. I'd rather burn coal in my car.

 

[Essexsussex]

Interesting to note that Dacia are expected to release an electric car soon, and also expected to be based on the duster. Who knows if it will be 4wd, but you can guarantee it will be fairly good value, based on Renault electric car tech (which isn’t that bad) and won’t have a market-leading long range.
Will suit us fine and then I get the wife’s 4wd duster!

 

[Youngjm]

Go Suzuki vitara, mine is bomb proof. It’s 15 years old and spent £500 in the last four years, that was mainly tyres and breaks. I hardly service it and just keep an eye on the fluids. I use it regularly for lamping and do about 18,000 miles a year getting to work and back. It’s a 2 litre petrol . You really can’t go wrong .

I have a 2004 2.0 litre petrol 5 door GV. It is gleaming. I drove it two seasons on cheap road tyres - the ones it came on - and it is so light that I have not yet got stuck. I paid £2900 for it when it was 13 years old with only 34,000 on the clock. It gets some reasonable abuse across the deep ruts, grass and some x-country training areas. It is mega cheap to service and I expect it to last well. I have just put some General Grabber AT3s on for when it get really nasty - I'm looking forward to seeing how they get on!

I should however add that aboue 65 mph its fooking noisy - not recommended for long motorway journeys.

 

[Tom D]

Regarding the Petrol / Diesel thing, if the majority of your driving is short runs then petrol is best but if you do longer distance (+20 mins) or tow at all then get a diesel. Diesels are more fuel efficient and the latest ones with DPF and AdBlue are pretty clean...

Thats the inside of the exhaust on my 110, it is the original one. 6 years old, it has done 140,000 miles, its still clean! Diesels aren't that bad.. I do average runs of 40 mins plus and am often towing.. Remember diesels are much more fuel efficient too.

 

[rab19]

Have convinced the wife to go down the diesel side, so now looking at the Duster 1.5 diesel Laureate with steel wheels and not too expensive or chunky AT tyres.
Can't wait till I tell her I need a new .243 to go in the back!!!!!!

 

[hammo]

Subaru Forester.

At your budget you'll probably find a 2011 / 2012 car with 80-100k miles and a good service history. They'll do 30mpg running around, more like 35 on a longer trip.

I was forced to take the plunge as I was slowly but surely wrecking my Golf Estate up and down farm tracks. A shame as it was the Bluemotion model which returned @ 65mpg most of the time, 70mpg on a motorway run with ease.

I went for a Diesel Subaru Forester, which I see about 45mpg ave use. Would expect 50mpg motorway. Pulls really strong for a 2 litre. And Good ground clearance, all wheel drive really works well. Some more aggressive tyres would see it tackle anything within reason; my mud+snow tyres are plenty for mild off road and deep rutted Farm tracks.

 

[Essexsussex]

Have convinced the wife to go down the diesel side, so now looking at the Duster 1.5 diesel Laureate with steel wheels and not too expensive or chunky AT tyres.
Can't wait till I tell her I need a new .243 to go in the back!!!!!!

As a Dacia duster owner - the older model (available about a year or two old) was preferred by my wife as better visibility and I don’t think gives much away on the new model in other areas. Visibility point didn’t bother me. The 4wd has significantly more responsive handling than the 2wd so if you test drive a 2wd and find it spongy don’t fret.

 

[JockStalk]

Have convinced the wife to go down the diesel side, so now looking at the Duster 1.5 diesel Laureate with steel wheels and not too expensive or chunky AT tyres.
Can't wait till I tell her I need a new .243 to go in the back!!!!!!

Now that’s out the way you can compare the environmental life cycle analysis of Toyota Prius vs Land Rover. Guess which had lower lifetime env footprint.......

 

[Orion]

Now that’s out the way you can compare the environmental life cycle analysis of Toyota Prius vs Land Rover. Guess which had lower lifetime env footprint.......

Got to be the LR surely?

Mainly one static footprint in the garage or dealership!

 

[Warren79]

31 years and counting on my daily driver and over 500,000 miles with me! My wife thinks it might be Stockholm syndrome!

 

[kes]

Been test driving the new 2019 Hyundai Tucson GRDI premium? Its very high on extras, sunroof and blind operating independently, warm steering wheel, proximity sensors, video front and back, all electric windows, seats and seat heating, central locking etc etc £28k new but second hand? This is the one with adblue/ blue ten. Returns 42.00 MPG for the diesel 1.6 - it even has a sport mode.

 

[Beretta V]

I’m not sure I like any hybrid cars. They have some serious high voltage that could cause serious problems down the line. They will also be very costly to repair when they go wrong.
I would much rather a standard old engine.
Diesel motors need to get hot or you could get dpf problems.
All the emissions control has done is cause problems. The cost to produce everything to get emissions down and the environmental issues to get emissions down all just seems to much of a pain

 

[Jelen]

Dacia Duster - great little 4x4 (assuming they do a 4x4 petrol!)

Yes they do a petrol 4x4 (pre 2019 models). With BFG AT tyres they go anywhere the L/Rs and Pickups go on the 3 shoots I do. Sadly only does 30MPG, though loads of room inside, especially with the rear seat squab removed and seats fully folded down.

 

[glasshalffull]

I've an AWD xc70 and she'll go almost anywhere so I vouch for Volvo if you could pick up an AWD xc60 it'll be high mileage on ur budget but it'll be cheaper in petrol if you can get one?

 

[Essexsussex]

Yes they do a petrol 4x4 (pre 2019 models). With BFG AT tyres they go anywhere the L/Rs and Pickups go on the 3 shoots I do. Sadly only does 30MPG, though loads of room inside, especially with the rear seat squab removed and seats fully folded down.

I was really surprised at how poor the mpg was for a 1.2l turbo petrol. But our one doesn’t do a lot of miles so it’s not the end of the world.