We live in Akaroa and car does high mileage, approx 40,000 km per year (almost daily trips to Chch with 3/4 passengers). Need to replace current vehicle and wondering if people with experience of hills and high mileage may have any advice on car that gives good fuel economy with low maintenance in these conditions. These are the main criteria. Budget is around $10k to $12k.
brapbrap8,
Mar 10, 7:07pm
A diesel vehicle would probably be your best option. Petrols start drinking the gas as soon as you get a slight hill or increased load, diesels just keep chugging away with very little difference. A diesel Ford Mondeo or similar would be my pick in the passenger car market.
intrade,
Mar 10, 7:15pm
diesel if you do each day 50 km non stop driving in one hit because that is what a diesel needs to regenerate the particular filter sucessfully .
richardmayes,
Mar 10, 7:29pm
Some sort of small diesel VW or Peugeot?
A small car that likes going around corners, and an engine with a bit of bottom end grunt so that you don't have to wring it out in every gear, is what you want for easy driving on a road like that.
Doing 40,000km each year you'll probably wear the car out in a few years, hopefully before too many european gremlins** have a chance to get out of their bottle. ?
(**The existence or non-existence of "european gremlins" is controversial. )
towelynz,
Mar 10, 7:34pm
?
Regenerate the particular filter successfully? That sounds like a bad Chinese/English translation! lol
brapbrap8,
Mar 10, 7:40pm
What would you call the act of the filter that removes particles from the exhaust regenerating itself then? Most people know that Intrade struggles with the english, but is probably the most knowledgable poster here if you make the effort to read between the lines and follow what is being said.
jmma,
Mar 10, 7:47pm
What is your current vehicle and milage? Has it served you well?
tamarillo,
Mar 10, 7:48pm
If this were a new citroen you'd be taking the piss. 'The BlueHDi badging is a . new generation of turbo-diesel engines. In order to keep the exhaust clean, it uses liquid urea, added every service interval.'
intrade,
Mar 10, 7:51pm
re * 9 i would say we can rule a car with urea injection out simply on the 10 grand budget alone.
henderson_guy,
Mar 10, 7:53pm
Also known as AdBlu. Some trucks have been using it for years. Not a new idea.
ldra,
Mar 10, 7:55pm
Thanks for advice so far - diesel message coming across loud and clear. Jmma - Have a 2l Nissan Primera - over 300k on clock. Has been pretty good- a few big bills in the last while so time for a change. Great to get all this advice from people who are independent and not trying to sell to you.Thanks all.
Hi intrade, thanks for passing on your knowledge and sources. Much appreciated.
jmma,
Mar 10, 8:03pm
I guess OP not really interested in the inner workings of a particle filter, so how about suggesting some diesel cars and why. I'm not into diesel cars so I will butt out. One suggestion though OP is maybe look at a later model Nissan or Toyota petrol as this has been good to you. (o:
bwg11,
Mar 10, 8:04pm
Well, I'ii go against the flow and suggest petrol. It would be totally different if you were shopping in the 30k - 40k bracket, and buying new. A 10k second-hand diesel is a different matter.
Carrying 3/4 people every day for 80 kms, for comfort you need to be one size up from the minis and super-minis, Something like the size of a Mazda 3 (or Axela).
I know your area, only 20 km of your daily 80 km, one-way trip is hill work, so I wouldn't let that unduly influence you choice, unless your current car is under powered and the hill does become a chore.
Staying with a Mazda 3, don't even contemplate a 1.5, go for a 2.0 or 2.3.
The Mazda 3 is in your price range, known for their reliability, if you buy one with under 100k on it you could expect no more than routine servicing until, say 250k. Added bonus is they are chain driven cams and don't require the expense of cam belt replacement at around 100k.
Personally I would not go diesel, do your sums carefully to calculate what your actual savings would be after RUC and added rego costs are considered. The gap between petrol and diesel prices will continue to narrow in the future. Also consider the world-wide backlash against diesel emmissions as below:
According to that spreadsheet, diesel is pretty hard to beat regardless of mileage traveled. I prefer to drive diesel vehicles most of the time too, their high torque output and low revs makes for a relaxing drive and easy performance when you want it.
tmenz,
Mar 10, 9:16pm
The word that 'intrade' is meaning is 'particulate' - a filter for removing particles.
towelynz,
Mar 10, 9:33pm
So it is a bad translation. Fair enough. As for the most knowledgable poster here? Big fish in a tiny pond maybe?
bwg11,
Mar 10, 9:34pm
Agreed, hard to beat on direct running costs, but I've seen some pretty horrific repair bills on relatively low mileage diesel (like less than 200k).
I prefer to drive petrol, I had a diesel Terrano for 5 years, a diesel Prado for 5 years, an petrol FJ for 4 years, and would not consider going back to diesel.
Just for the record, lifetime fuel consumption for the 3 vehicles was, Terrano 14.6 litres/100 km, Prado 12.7 litres/100 km, and FJ 13.6 litres/100 km. Hard work, a lot of towing, but the Prado and in particular the Terrano were so gutless they had to have to boot hard up them all the time, with the resulting poor economy.
ldra,
Mar 10, 9:50pm
Based on our mileage there is not a lot of difference in running costs for petrol/diesel. Am I right in the impression that, in general, diesel will need more regular maintenance and service costs are higher than petrol?
bigfatmat1,
Mar 10, 9:53pm
nothing new about adblue been around a long time
tamarillo,
Mar 10, 11:45pm
Sorry, Urea filter stuff was simply a joke - taking the piss. Didn't mean to start off topic.
But economy can be greatly better and with your milage that might swing it, plus they tend to me more relaxing on open road pulling up a hill - the torque does the pulling nicely. A colleague of mine was running a Mondeo diesel whilst i had Honda Accord euro petrol. I was averaging 8.5 litre/100 km whilst he was at 6 and he was in Auckland me in Nelson - though we both did plenty of open road miles. I used a relative Skoda Octavia diesel in UK few years back and found it great on open road, so relaxing and right kind of power.
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