Re: Petrol cars vs Diesel cars

Isn't there a Focus that qualifies for free road tax, so therefore is

Bad form, but it's the Fiesta Econetic that dips under 100 at 98k/km.

But that brings us back to the argument that the only way for a big-ish family hatch to come in with free VED and cheap company car tax is to go hybrid.

I can put up with hateful cars for a pittance a month - but £100 / month for a Focus 1.6TDCI LX Estate is taking the piss.

Intersting, but isn't this really a fiddle? Most company car drivers do a fair mileage, mainly on the motorways, how do the emission stats stack up for the sales rep? Unless I'm missing the point, out on the open road the batteries and electric motor or just dead weight. (save for the odd extra overtaking squirt)

I'm sure they are in the Astra? Having said that my old Pug 1.7D 205 did

Deffo. If you can find a way of keeping your cash rather than donating it to the ''save the bankers' bonuses scheme'' then go for it. By all accounts they are pretty nice to drive.

Julian.

I knew there was something, but I'm not that hot on new stuff lately.

Have you driven a Pious in a cross-wind yet? Try one over the M62 towards Leeds and you'll be spending more than £100 / month on therapy.

I certainly don't want to drive one ever again.

Hmmm, not entirely sure - but the engine is recharging the batteries on the motorway.

I'll be doing a fair amount of city work, as I have several sites in Bristol. Plus the crawl into Cardiff and Newport.

No, the one in the Astra is the Fiat Powertrain 1.3CDTi - and is particularly bad for emissions at 130g/km in a car that size.

Haven't driven one yet - no point, either, as I don't have a choice in the matter.

Just can't wait to get my order in, as this Focus is a hateful car.

Very nice in central London :-) & they really are good on the fuel there.

What happens with the heater I wonder. It's going to be about 0 degrees for the next week, Surely around town you're going to need the engine running to produce hot coolant for the heater. Diesel electric submarines (submerged) and milk floats can't spare enough energy to run a heater...

Julian.

The thinking was that most LPG is flared off at production making CO2. Or the gas gets separated, NG gets liquefied to be shipped and guess what? The LPG that isn't burnt to fuel the refinery gets flared off. So any LPG that actually gets shipped and burnt to do some useful work is a win.

Then someone told them that LPG is made at the refinery. What they neglected to say is that 100% of it is a by-product of NG and oil refining. Volume produced is fixed by refinery activity and due to normal demand there is little waste to be flared off. The USA actually has no waste propane from local oil production and refining, they import 10% from nearby sources that can pipe it in.

What's needed is sufficient demand to make it worthwhile processing LPG from wells and refineries where it's currently flared.

In UK if they put the duty up in line with petrol it will result in people using industrial forklift gas or domestic heating / barbeque propane. They have a problem detecting use of the non duty fuel as it's the same stuff. Even with a different marker gas collecting and storing a sample for testing isn't easy - they can't just dip the tank like they do for Diesel.

Duty on coal making power to EV charge battery as a vehicle fuel is NIL. What's more you get a Road Fund Duty reduction too. Go figure.

Have a Ducati and an older Alfa for weekends already.

Is the correct answer.

Why? A Perodua Kelisa can do UK legal speed limits.

But is entirely useless for the following:

twisty B-roads (Ducati) crossing continents at high speeds (K1100LT) track days (Alfa 75) and dirt / forest tracks (Hongdou)