Thoughts about my next car
I have pretty much made a decision about my next car. But before I go into details: some background. I have had 6 cars since 1998, from 5 different manufacturers: two petrol and four diesel. I bought my current car, a Ford Focus with a small turbo diesel lump up front, just over eighteen months ago and I made a conscious decision at that point to buy a nearly-new diesel with the intention of keeping it for five or six years. Whether I keep it for that long is now in doubt.
Don't get me wrong, I really like the Focus. It is quiet, comfortable and has sufficient toys and gadgets to keep my inner geek happy, but how it is powered is giving me serious food for thought. The decision to buy diesel boiled down to higher mpg/lower CO2: the EuroV engines were supposed to be clean, certainly compared to the filthy things you could buy 20 years ago, when diesel sales in the UK were way behind those on the continent. But perceptions have changed recently. The VW emissions scandal has cast a rather murky light on official testing and called into question just how clean the modern diesel engine is - in particular the levels of unpleasant nitrous oxides (NOx) being released.
Now, having looked at a Toyota Prius in the past and seriously considering a Nissan Leaf before I settled on the current Focus, I am no stranger to the world of alternative-powered vehicles. I just haven't got round to buying one yet. But with the electric and hybrid vehicle market advancing at some pace, arguments against are rapidly diminishing. By the time I have paid for my current car, the Tesla 3 should almost be here as well as the next generation Leaf, both of which are expected to have a range around the 200 mile (320km) mark. Many manufacturers are in the process of developing EVs, including the likes of Chevrolet and our friends VW. The charging network is pretty comprehensive these days and rapid charging makes even long-distance journeys entirely practical.
So, I have some time to do my research on the current and soon-to-arrive cars, as well as the practicalities of owning such a thing. But when I get my next car I am determined that I will not need to squirt compressed prehistoric creatures in one end, nor will it fart carcinogenics out the other.
p.s. I have recently subscribed to the Fully Charged channel on YouTube, hosted by Robert Llewellyn. Lots of good info there.
p.p.s. On the subject of long-distance journeys and how far things have advanced: in 2011, a BBC journalist drove from London to Edinburgh in an electric Mini. It took four days. Three years later, Robert Llewellyn did the same journey in a Nissan Leaf and it would have taken about 12 hours had he not had to talk to quite so many journalists at recharging stops. I imagine the same trip in a Tesla Model S would take considerably less time. (For comparison: Google Maps reckons around 7:30 non-stop up the A1.)
p.p.p.s. If you are remotely interested: I have owned a 1994 Peugeot 306. 1998 Nissan Almera, 2004 Suzuki Jimny, 2007 Kia Sportage, 2009 Ford Focus and 2014 Ford Focus. Only the Almera and the Jimny were petrol.
Don't get me wrong, I really like the Focus. It is quiet, comfortable and has sufficient toys and gadgets to keep my inner geek happy, but how it is powered is giving me serious food for thought. The decision to buy diesel boiled down to higher mpg/lower CO2: the EuroV engines were supposed to be clean, certainly compared to the filthy things you could buy 20 years ago, when diesel sales in the UK were way behind those on the continent. But perceptions have changed recently. The VW emissions scandal has cast a rather murky light on official testing and called into question just how clean the modern diesel engine is - in particular the levels of unpleasant nitrous oxides (NOx) being released.
Now, having looked at a Toyota Prius in the past and seriously considering a Nissan Leaf before I settled on the current Focus, I am no stranger to the world of alternative-powered vehicles. I just haven't got round to buying one yet. But with the electric and hybrid vehicle market advancing at some pace, arguments against are rapidly diminishing. By the time I have paid for my current car, the Tesla 3 should almost be here as well as the next generation Leaf, both of which are expected to have a range around the 200 mile (320km) mark. Many manufacturers are in the process of developing EVs, including the likes of Chevrolet and our friends VW. The charging network is pretty comprehensive these days and rapid charging makes even long-distance journeys entirely practical.
So, I have some time to do my research on the current and soon-to-arrive cars, as well as the practicalities of owning such a thing. But when I get my next car I am determined that I will not need to squirt compressed prehistoric creatures in one end, nor will it fart carcinogenics out the other.
p.s. I have recently subscribed to the Fully Charged channel on YouTube, hosted by Robert Llewellyn. Lots of good info there.
p.p.s. On the subject of long-distance journeys and how far things have advanced: in 2011, a BBC journalist drove from London to Edinburgh in an electric Mini. It took four days. Three years later, Robert Llewellyn did the same journey in a Nissan Leaf and it would have taken about 12 hours had he not had to talk to quite so many journalists at recharging stops. I imagine the same trip in a Tesla Model S would take considerably less time. (For comparison: Google Maps reckons around 7:30 non-stop up the A1.)
p.p.p.s. If you are remotely interested: I have owned a 1994 Peugeot 306. 1998 Nissan Almera, 2004 Suzuki Jimny, 2007 Kia Sportage, 2009 Ford Focus and 2014 Ford Focus. Only the Almera and the Jimny were petrol.
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