Do I need a diesel?

[Neil]

Rejoice Project Puma, it's a good old fashioned Neil car debate, just like the good old days!

So, I'm going to be attempting a bit of commuting in the next few weeks. It's a 96 mile round trip to and from work, and I'll be doing that for all of the working week and a lot of weekends too. Doing that in the ST is likely going to be rather pricey unless I learn to drive like a monk (option one). I've been looking at small cheap diesels, but around my price range of £1500 most are looking pretty ropy. My dilemma is this:

- Keep using the ST for a while and see what the fuel bills work out like.
- Would a cheap diesel be a false economy? They seem to have quite a premium over a small petrol equivalent.
- Would a small capacity petrol be a better bet?
- I could speak to the nice man at Ford and see if I can swap the ST for a diesel Focus or something (not a huge fan of this idea).

It should also be noted that once I've factored in insurance, maintenance and running costs, would any of this make financial sense?

Just a few of my random thoughts, yours would be most welcome, and in the best traditions of Neil Car Procrastination, don't hold back!

 

[ArtfulHussy]

I got a diesel because I thought it would be better for fuel economy (although admittedly I don't always do long runs, and it was a 3.0 V6 turbo..) and I got worse fuel economy in it than I get in my 1.4 puma now... My lead feet are a curse on my bank balance.

Personally I would give it a couple of weeks driving like a monk to see how you get on (I managed two weeks in the puma before reverting back to driving like my hair is on fire), and then you at least have an MPG to compare to whatever potential runaround cars you're looking at. The other thing I guess to consider is whether or not you want to be piling miles onto the ST?

 

[red]

I used to do 80+ a day in the FRP and I would still do it. I also car shared with my bro and used to alternate with using his and my cars..that meant we also regularly did this commute after the FRPs in a VX220 and a Focus ST (2.5l).

We bought the TDCi Focus with little plan to really, it's £30 a year tax and often gets 56-60mpg. From that perspective it's great because through the year we do a number of 500+ mile trips. It's ok to look at in the ZS trim but it's not very exciting otherwise being the 1.6.

You make a good point regarding the apparent premium on Diesel cars, potentially just keep you options open as the offset cost could negate any savings on the fuel and even be more cost effective.

In short, just see how you get on just using the ST, by the time you've factored in the cost of buying, running and maintaining a second car you may just have well accepted a bit of a hit on the fuel and a bit of extra servicing on the ST.

I mainly use my Fireblade to do my commute on now, only time I don't usually is if I have to arrive presentable, not at my usual office.

 

[oilburner]

Have you had a look at the diesel Focus ST Neil?

 

[yippeekiay]

Just drive steadily, 96 mile round trip should only be a couple of gallon a day. Hardly bank breaking I would have thought compared to buying another car. Plus, you'll likely enjoy the drive more & be more relaxed.

A few years back I was doing a 220 mile daily weekday round trip for 7 months solid, luckily at the time I had an LPG Omega which was comfortable & mega cheap to run at the same time. I was getting 40p per mile in expenses when LPG was less than that per litre so win win as I was making a big profit every day. Made the journey very enjoyable for the most part :lol:

 

[Puma Babe]

Lets assume it would cost you a total of £2000 to buy, insure and tax a second vehicle. This dsn't take into account that you're also going to have to fuel this vehicle to do your commute.

if it cost you an extra £15 a day in fuel on your current vehicle you could travel for 133 days for £2000. ( I have no idea how much the ST does to a Gallon). It would seam like false economy to me to buy a second car to do this

 

[Neil]

I'm coming to this conclusion too. The cost of insurance also seems to be prohibitive as you can only use no claims on one vehicle at a time.

 

[Dal]

What's the depreciation difference in a year between your Fiesta with and without an extra 25,000 miles odd from a years worth of commuting?

If it's going to be worth 3k less with high mileage compared to not? Got to work out the true bottom line to know true worth.

 

[SLEEMAN]

what about a swap for a 1.0 ecoboost instead? fiesta would be a nice swap focus would be too heavy or go funky with a transit connect 1.0 ecoboost lol

 

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

[post]364886[/post] I'm coming to this conclusion too. The cost of insurance also seems to be prohibitive as you can only use no claims on one vehicle at a time.

Hi,
If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

 

[DOH]

Hi Neil .
Apart from the mileage issue of your commute which involves running costs of fuel oil Tyre wear etc, there is also the issue of the time taken to do the commute . Which can vary depending on if it is motorway runs or cross country through villages etc.
We are also now approaching shorter evenings again ,So you are likely to be driving on headlights a lot of the journey until the spring.

All of these factors are worth considering as not only does the commute take i guess 3-4 hr + out of your day, but it can be pretty tiring on regular basis.

My initial thoughts on this are is there some cheap accommodation available that would cut your commute to say 20 miles /day near to work ? ( that's assuming your travelling to the same place each day)?

As it's off season perhaps even a holiday mobile home might be available to keep costs down.
That way you keep the fuel and wear and tear on down on your St , without buying another car and the associated costs.

Then having the option to return home at various times as and when you wish to, will then not be so much of an ordeal doing the 96 mile trip.

 

[gingerdave]

Did a similar commute for about 3 years(maybe few miles less.)Used my Ford ka (petrol)got about 45mpg never found it a problem.No problems at all and when I got to work did another120 miles/day driving my cab round London.Think I would stick with a small petrol car.

 

[Fanwheel]

I used to drive a 2l diesel Ford C-Max for a 50 mile commute - loved the turbo and it was very reliable. But overall it didn't seem to save me much in fuel. Possibly my heavy right foot.

Whilst your 96 mile commute is suitable for a Diesel, personally I wouldn't buy another one. I think think the mass produced diesel is on its way out- moderns just have too many flaws as they are frankly unsuitable for the average drivers short journey. DPF failures are common and expensive, and the recent news about dubious atmospheric pollutants worry me for my kids. I reckon turbo petrols/hybrids are the future now