Best way forward would be to let everyone decide what car works best for them without being forced down one route

I have had many cars, fast, slow, big engines, small, classic cars.... I am currently driving a temporary banger - 2006 206cc 2.0 petrol. Easily gets 48mpg on the motorway. It will need upgrading soon of course, but I can't help but feel, the constant need for everyone to have their cars upgraded - the manufacturing and recycling/scrappage alone of the huge turnover of cars is worse for the environment than my little 206 2.0... I could be wrong but that's why I don't feel guilty at all right now.

Been driving my VW diesel since 2007, 400 000km plus. I have been lucky with very few repairs. Still driving it today 17 years later. 16km/L in town, up to 20km/L on highway. Show me what is more environmentally friendly than that. People changing their cars often is the real issue, not the energy it consumes. Manufacturers won't want this!

These days I look more at the purchase price, maintenance cost, repairs, insurance, taxes, fees, depreciation. The cost of fuel or electricity, is a fair bit down the list.

What this has demonstrated to me is :- a large proportion of drivers buy and drive second hand cars , as diesel cars residual values have fallen below petrol, it makes sense to buy a used / newish / ulez complaint car, for the best fuel economy. / price per mile.

The price of rapid charging in the UK for the most part is really expensive. It always gets me

Diesel is the winner 🏆🏆, you're welcome, I saved you time 😅😅😅😅😅😅

The thing that loads of people seem to forget in these comparisons is that driveway charging is a privilege and not accessible to the majority. Most of us don't even have access to an owned driveway, and not many have a driveway which can actually be used for charging (yet). The price for these comparisons, therefore, should be the public charging point price by default. I'm glad you guys included that because it makes the data more relevant in real life.

When looking at the overall cost, it would be good to include the ever increasing insurance costs and car tax as well as the purchase and PCP costs to get a full comparison.

Which is EXACTLY why I run a £1,500 old diesel for the very long journeys and a BEV (charged at home) for all journeys within 100 miles from my home. My BEV cost £25/mth in electric.

One thing to consider is that the 1.2 3 cylinder petrol engine in that car, which is shared across many Stellantis group vehicles, will be trashed before 60,000 miles. I have seen hundreds in BCA, Manheim, Aston Barclay with "excessively noisy engine" listed on the mechanical reports. Even some with under 30,000 miles.

Errr initial purchase price , Finance costs , depreciation ,maintenance,over 3 years old + repairs average add all this up now which is cheaper?

I got good mpg out of my petrol, about 48-50, but I get well over 60 in my diesel, and unless diesel costs over 20% more than petrol, which it doesn’t, it should be pretty simple maths. Plus the diesel is the same on insurance, it’s more powerful, and the torque is nearly 300nm, vs 160 in my last petrol. I really don’t see why diesel isn’t more popular. Since when does the average driver care about an emissions scandal rather than cost?

Good comparison and nice to see a balanced view to fuel types. One fuel type doesn’t suit everyone & you have shown this nicely 👍🏻.

I have noticed using premium unleaded with the golf petrol really improves fuel economy. I got 56mpg on a motorway run using the e5 super unleaded and that means close to 600 miles (53mpg). With standard unleaded that's probably nearer to 520 miles (48mpg). Makes much less difference in town

I bought a 2.0L turbo diesel Cruze in 2012 and I didn't buy it for the fuel economy, that was just a bonus. The alternative engines were a 1.8 petrol engine and a 1.4T turbo petrol engine. The diesel was far more driver friendly with it's massive torque. Living in Australia long distances are normal if you use your car for a holiday, or simply going for a drive. I still use my car as a daily driver and had my first problem just before the car turned 11. I had to fit a new intercooler pipe. What repairs would an electric car have in 12 years, if the battery lasted that long, also what would it cost to insure?

Hi Guys, greetings from Oxford. I’m 58, I’ve owned 14 cars in my time and do much of my own maintenance. Modern diesels can be a nightmare to own if your usage is not appropriate. This is due to the (mandatory) anti-pollution technology. EGR and DPF components will clog up quite quickly when used for short cold journeys leading to explosive repairs. Only buy a modern diesel if you do regular long journeys. As for my current car, I bought a BMW i3 in 2019; fully electric. No regrets at all, I’ve only used public charging 5 times in 40k miles, charging at home on cheap overnight electricity, costing me about £1.50 per session; about 25% to 90% charge and a range of 120 miles in the winter, 160 miles in the summer. In addition I have never had the i3 serviced. Even BMW will only bleed the brakes and change the cabin filter for a service, both are not really necessary at 2 year intervals. 5 years, then yes.

How refreshing to see a video on comparing the three honestly and not missing out things that don't confirm the bias of the reporter. Well done.

Good simple test, no messing about straight into it. Well done 👍🏻

This is the most informed, honest review I've seen. Of course the results are predicated on buying a new car. Some years ago I bought a 2 year old diesel on PCP. The purchase price was broadly similar to a 2 year old petrol model. It's probably worth less now but I have no plans to change it so I'm happy and keep up with the servicing. I've never driven through London and probably never will as I live up north.

Let’s face it, most ev owners are on a night time tariff, would cost £8 to recharge the Tesla

Why not do this test with a hybrid car?

What's also interesting is that every petrol I've had the trip over reads by about 3mpg. With every diesel it's nearly spot on and that was your experience too.

Great video, well done guys!

Excellent comparisons 👌. All have their pros and cons depending on the individual needs of their owners. For my needs, a small engined light weight petrol car is the best solution at this time...enter the Dacia Sandero. Cheap to buy, run and economical with the only real negative, running it will never he as environmentally friendly as an electric car. I would never recoup the additional costs of a diesel powered car nor the initial outlay required for an electric powered one. From this video what does seem apparent with electric powered vehicles is that unless you have the option to charge them at home, they will be no cheaper and in many cases much more expensive to run than the vehicles they are supposedly replacing 🤔.

The infrastruckture for EV charging is still terrible where I live. So few charging points.

Think you should have added how long it took you to do the trip fuel vs elic and topping up only takes few mins while with elic pends on how often it need to charge and how long it takes to charge?

Excellent test and consumer advice gents. Thank you

Wait what? In the UK a less refined fuel cost more then petrol? Guess the politicians really want to let you think diesel is the wrong choice

A well considered video with some context to help explain the variables. IMO, you really should add the cost of running an EV using the night time tariff, for example 0.075p on octopus energy intelligent, as EVERYONE I know is on this.

I've owned several diesel cars over the years and the one major life limiting feature of the modern diesel engine is the introduction of the particulate filter. Yes, it needs to be there to satisfy emissions regulations. But anyone buying a diesel to do short trips needs to remember that these filters will clog up very quickly with this type of use. The cost to remedy a blocked DPF can run into the thousands. I now drive a petrol purely because of the hassle DPFs have caused me.

Hello from the west coast of Canada. Petrol here is $1.65/L right now (was $2.10/L in the summer). Charging my '23 Chevy Bolt euv at home -- at $0.1406/kwh -- costs 1/3 of what it cost to put petrol in my '19 awd Prius (for the same commute), which averaged a calculated 4.1L/100kms over 88,600kms.

I bought an old style Leaf for commuting to work, and charge it at home. It's by far the cheapest car I've ever owned after 5 yesrs taking into account 'fuel',, charging at home most of the time reduced taxes, cheaper parking rate, next to no maintenance cost. Insurance is about the same as an equivalent hatchback. It all depends on the your personal situation

I own a Model Y now. Before that I had a 2013 BMW X3 3L Diesel. My running costs are lower and for my mixed profile (which is most important to consider) I don’t need to think about the car getting warm and for Highway driving (yes in Germany) the dual turbos getting cooled down properly and so on. I just get in and drive. If it’s sub 5km or over 500km doesn’t change a thing. You will destroy your Diesel if you mostly use it for short commutes. If you drive like a Trucker, aka only long distance on Highways, then the Diesel is the best choice. If you mostly drive short routes and hate electric, then petrol is the only way to go. See… driving profile dictates what is best for you. Then comes preference and cost. Destroying a Diesel with short commutes over 5years will cost you the most

Was this route the same as what you did foe the EV car test? This would have been useful to get a comparison across your other videos

I've gone uber geeky and have a spreadsheet for my fuel consumption going back a few years over several cars. Almost every fuel purchase has gone into it logging where I was when I fuelled up, how much, price per litre and calculating my pence per mile, MPG and more. Happy to let What Car? have a copy of this if interested... One of the best mpg I've achieved was 72mpg out of an old M-reg Vauxhall Astra diesel. The automatic gave me the lowest MPG.

These 2 car reviewers are my favourite car reviewers

Petrol also has the benefit if you dont drive long stretches like only 5 or 10minute drives. Diesel have issues in that driving style bc they cant rly heat up the particle filter and might get blocked by then at some point and then you have to hammer it on the autobahn. Personaly allways used petrol as i get headache from diesel fumes. Got myself a tesla model 3 in 2019 and love it. Yea winter isnt the strength of EV, but my average over the whole year is way lower and dont forget the best part of a EV especially Tesla: NO ANNUAL SERVICE FEES, which bring down the cost even faster

Also, there is about a 13% difference in energy density between diesel and petrol. Let us say petrol engine consumption is 5L/100km, then equal energy from diesel would be 4,35L/100km.

Bought my Diesel Volvo new in 2017, does 40mpg general pottering around. Sails through the MOT every year, and was £30, now £35 road tax. The last service was a 129k service, but just 45k on the clock. Someone will get a sweet car when I decide to change it.

Interesting. Although the 5008 may be happy lugging around 1 passenger (similar to this test) and economy seems reasonable. As soon as you load them up it doesn't deal so well, especially the smaller engine models. I have the 1.2 petrol 5008 (23 plate)....and when loaded up with 3 kids, a passenger and a boot full......averaging between 30-35mpg. Engine far too small for the target market. Diesel option would be much better when the car is fully loaded. But I hear there is an electric/hybrid 5008 on the way?? Would be good to see how that compares.

Depreciation is the highest cost (either in cash terms or linked to the HP), in many instances this makes the cost of fuel far less important. For EVs the picture is still developing.

The point here on which vehicle fuel or energy type, you pick whether Petrol, or Diesel or Electric vehicles, also whether pure Electric battery Vehicle (EV) or a Hybrid Electric (HEV) too? It is up to the individual driver and owner's personal situation and choice, plus how many miles a year you will cover, where you live, or what type of driving you are doing basically? Whether city driving mostly, or urban and city driving mostly, or motorway and countryside driving mostly, or a combination of two of them or a combination of all three of them, on either a daily, or weekly or month;y basis too? Also will you have to pay congestion charges on a daily, or weekly or monthly basis too? As well as pay Ultra Low Emission Zone charges on a daily, or weekly or monthly basis too? Or similarly will just need to pay for use of a home charging points machines, on either a daily or weekly or monthly basis too? Or equally will you need to pay for use of public charging points machines, on either a daily or weekly or monthly basis too, on top of home charging too? Or you can afford to install domestic solar electric panels or wind turbine generator, that recharge a home domestic electric energy pack, which intern recharges your EV or HEV free of charge as it were,. That is less the costs of installing and operating plus maintenance costs, of your domestic green energy production system, over say a 25 year period too? It is which suits the individual driver and owner's own pocket basically, though it does mean do your research properly first before deciding what you may buy? Or before you buy on a loan or you lease your next new vehicle or second hand nearly new vehicle, or an older modern vehicle, or buying a classic vehicle over 40 years of age, or buying a vintage vehicle of over 60 years of age too. Lastly don't for get parking charges you may have to pay, as this could be affected by the types of vehicle you drive these days, or its fuel and energy type too? Lastly the annual motoring insurance costs, you will have to pay along with Vehicle Road Fund Taxes too? Or the vehicle annual maintenance costs, or possible breakdown costs and accident repairs costs, you could face over the vehicle lifespan too? The likes of having to buy a new electric battery energy pack, for your EV or HEV, find out how much this could costs, before buying any EV or HEV too? Or do you need a special insurance policy, just to cover the possible replacement costs, of an EV or HEV's own electric battery energy Pack too? Then finally not forgetting the cost of buying and operating plus installing, your own domestic electric charging point machine too, plus who you get your electrical energy from do you need to change your domestic energy provider as well?

Why is nobody mentioning the Adblue that you have to buy for the diesel car? While Adblue itself is not expensive, it does add a lot of risks because suddenly you have 2 different containers to fill. And I heard sometimes Adblue container can either heat up too much or it can leak, which will affect diesel engine.

An interesting comparison would be having passengers in the car and putting some items in the boot.My feelings are the diesel would be the outright winner.

How you drive and engine quality makes a huge impact. I've got a M235i, 2.0L Turbo, 300hp and I've managed to average 50mpg driving from Manchester to London doing the speed limits everywhere. Sensational engine.

As someone who drives up to 5000 miles a year petrol is best option. Can drive an older car given the lower usage too. Don't have ulez fee either for smaller engine.

Plus on a long run you have to calculate how much extra time with charging Ev it will take compared to a petrol or diesel .

I regularly have to drive from Yorkshire to Scotland. I get 65mpg on average in my 2018 Audi A4 Avant Sport Ultra 2.0 TDI. It has lower CO2 emissions and has got Adblue to reduce particulates & NOx. I don't need to do any short journeys mostly, so I have no need for an electric vehicle personally (and still there's none that'll do the journey I can do to the Isle of Skye without needing to charge multiple times and that's a challenge north of Glasgow). The tests you've done here show why Diesel cars are still the most efficient (and cost effective in many cases). Especially if you don't have access to a slow granny charger at home and have to use superchargers / public fast chargers like I would need to.

Truth is that old diesel or petrol car keep its price, while used, 5 years old electric car, it is almost impossible to sell it. Noone wants to buy car with exhausted battery. To me costs of electric cars, their usage is debatable. They make sense only in cities for short trips. It is and still should be time for petrol and diesel, Electric only for cities, but small Electric cars.

Were the Diesel and Petrol cars fitted with automatic or stick shift gearboxes? What about the Diesel Particulate Filter?

Another cost implication; some local authorities (mine for instance) charge a lot more for a parking permit if you have a Diesel not a Petrol.

So why is the y exempt from the congestion charge it still causes congestion?

You should do a TOC comparison between these 3 cars in a period of let's say 5 years, 20k kms a year... Price+insurance+eco premiums+service+gas/electricity... I bought a Model Y RWD in August after comparing it to a Cupra Leon ST Plug-in-hybrid... It won by a significant margin. (I am living in Germany)

Thank you, the price breakdown based on fuel type + driving conditions is really insightful, I am a little surprised that the Tesla network is that expensive.

Does the Peugeot have cod (cylinder on demand) as my Skoda SUV (petrol) does and it makes motorway journeys far more economical?

As most journeys are below 10 miles, for this part of the journey the diesel is definitely on the back foot, so would have been useful to see some more real world testing.

I think we have forgotten the way diesel has been ruined by complexity. With EGR / dual mass flywheels/ particulate filters - they often fail 50-80k and cost £5k to replace the set. And diesel doesn’t like short journeys because of the complexity.

I love diesel cars, but thanks to Diesel being condemned, taxes were being raised and I started paying two thousand (!!) euros in road tax in Holland. So I had to sell it, as these are borderline criminal prices. Such a shame, as they are phenomenal! In my case it was a 508 Hybrid4. Marvelous piece of kit!

thank you for that. as I'm hoping to go for a 5008 petrol or diesel or a e3008..you gave me all the info i needed.

If you aren't doing high km's or long running hours the diesel emissions systems maintenance cost will defeat any savings.

Co2 does NOT cause climate change, the climate constantly changes regardless to how much Co2 there is. Co2 is heavy, it doesn't float away up into the atmosphere. it remains low close to the earth where plants are in desperate need of it if they want to survive and flourish, the only way one could claim Co2 affects the climate is if the claimed that o2 affects the climate as that is the only biproduct of Co2 being absorbed by plant which makes it up high enough in the atmosphere for it to have any chance of effecting global weather events. if anything high amounts of Co2 is bad for humans and animals other than that it is essential for the planet. with co2 we died, without co2 the planet dies, without the planet we die. that f**king simple!

Is there a particular reason that the cost difference of the Tesla and payback time was neglected? Two payback times home charging vs public?

What about factoring residual values, insurance and for EV’s, home charging installation into the mix, particularly for private buyers? It would be very interesting to see the results. According to a well-known dealer on YT, EV’s and particularly VW id3’s and Teslas, aren’t selling at auction at all well.

If you plan to buy a diesel and don’t do regular long journeys, at faster than urban speed, then plan to have the joys of DPF and injector issues long-term.

I bought a Peugeot diesel back in 2017 and the sales guy said that the adblue fluid separates the nitrogen and oxygen atoms from the nox meaning only substances found in the air we breathe come out of the exhaust pipe. Was I duped?

Which will cause issues first, the diesel AdBlue system or the petrol wet timing belt?

Nice to see a fair comparison with all the other upsides and downsides ... Especially confirming what I suspected which is if you can charge at home, an EV is much cheaper, but if you can't, then it is likely to be an expensive choice

My electric provider gives me 3hrs free at night, had MG4 4 months, 4,000 kms, Zero cost. My diesel which I still have (Vito Van) only does 10 litres per 100km maybe 8.5L on a run.

Just a note on how much an EV driver with home charging would actually pay: Motorway trip: £4.16 City trip: £0.65 Also not sure when this was filmed but 52p is above the peak price you’d pay at Tesla Superchargers now. Most of the day it’s around 38p. So £21.12 for the motorway trip.

What about the cost of Adblue been added to the equation of the diesel car. It may be small but it's sill needed for the diesel engine to actually run

A few comments have mentioned service costs which is a factor missing from this test. Are service intervals the same for petrol/diesel nowadays? My Peugeot Expert blue HDi diesel van is Euro 6 and 2 year or 25,000 mile intervals. What's the service interval for EVs? Probably longer still but they are generally heavier so use more tyres/brake components. And what about VE Duty? Motoring should be about total cost per mile.

Put simply, when I compare my two EVs with the last diesel I had that achieved 50 mpg, there is a least a difference of £0.10 per mile. So, over 100k miles I'll save £10k. Every 10k miles, I'll save £1k. Charge over night at home. Also have Solar.

Is electricity that expensive in UK? In UAE, charging at home would be only 1/4 of that.

Nice to see a real world test comparing them! I would prefer to stick on my diesel renault 1.5 dci - Since I am high mileage/highways and combine it it with public transport for travelling in the city - Faster/Cheaper (mainly tube/buses)..

Don’t forget the EXTRA 10% cable\inverter losses in charging the electric car. It would take 60kwh of electricity to charge 55kwh battery capacity (btw still cheaper but inaccurate)

Excellent video, thank you. You seemed to skip the bit about Tesla residual values. Looking at how little you'll get for a 2 year old Tesla must be factored into all these calculations. I can't imagine the Peugeots fairing much better, but ownership isn't just about MPG

I am driving 2,0 TDI skoda superb. 70% motorways and the rest local roads and towns. I drive approx. 100k km a year (65k miles) and average fuel consumption is 4,8l/100km (50mpg).

Would like to see XC40, diesel vs petrol vs hydrid vs BEV comparison & also how much Carbon used for all versions across whole life cycle, including manufacture & disposal

It really depends on your situation, but for me personally, diesel. 1L/22kms at €1,60 a liter is significantly cheaper than an EV equivalent without solar panels to charge at home.

I thought London being the most congested city in the world was a joke at first. But after driving through most of the city for years now, it really really is true. Traffic is horrendous in London.

Is there a tax and insurance difference between the petrol and diesel?

If your car is long term keeper - mine a usually are, so despite doing approx 10k a year now I still prefer a diesel especially for its fuel costs. Which are my immediate concerns as the car was payed for nearly new in one go. However you do have to do some long journeys regularly in modern diesels to keep the particulate filter clean and of course the regular oil changes. The real world average MPG is always nice to see on a diesel.

Hang on for a cost comparison you need to factor in the basic vehicle cost to purchase , then it’s road tax band , then it’s insurance cost , then it’s fuel costs - plus if the user has purchased solar to charge the car that needs to be considered.

The £100 depreciation cost over the 2 days was missed off the EV car

In Ontario Canada i'am on the ultra low rate program for home charging, only use super charges

You've hit the nail on the head at 7:00. Driving in Central London "so far we've been averaging 9 miles and hours ... I could have ridden a bike ... and paid nothing ... and not had a car ... and not spent £40 grand on the thing to start with ... and I would have got there quicker". Not to mention the health benefits!

you have insane prices of electricity in UK, in Europe where i live is half the cost at the most expensive time, and half of that from 9pm until 7am

You all need to keep in mind the low prices of diesel and petrol right now due to low oil prices. Prices, by the way, lowered in part by all the EVs (autos, E-bikes, E-mopeds and all forms of electric vehicles) displacing about 5 millions barrels of oil per day worldwide. Especially in China, Europe, India with E-bikes and E-mopeds, and the US with now selling more than 1 million EVs (1.2 million) in a year for the first time and growing at a 50% yearly rate. But as we all know, those oil prices don't stay down for too long. Traders and producers will always find ways of raising its price.

hello, I don't really understand what is the best fuel between diesel ⛽ petrol ⛽ and electric cars please

I have just switched my 2 diesel cars to 1 petrol and 1 EV last year end(2023). The comparison result in the video is exactly my expectation. A bit surprise on the consumption of Tesla in town as my EV consumption never less than 3 mi/kWh. I charge my EV at home during non-peak midnight hours (9p/kWh). I'm so happy with my EV because I got both fast acceleration and low running cost at the same time.

I don’t get why they are phasing diesel out. My 2015 bmw averages 58 mpg and gets 600 miles easy on a full tank it’s also £30 per year to tax. And meets euro 6.

I never understand why, when these videos quote charging at home costs, they don't use the rates from the tariffs aimed at electric car owners. If your electric car is your biggest consumer of electricity, why wouldn't you change your tariff to one that's cheaper when charging eg 7.5p per kwh overnight vs the 29p quoted here...ie around a quarter of the cost. Jounalists telling half the story...who'd of thought it!

wondering if you can do the same test between hybrid (non plug) and electric :) but i would say I have some idea already based on the current test in perspective of fuel, will have to drive 250,000km to achieve cost break-even by purchasing an EV over petrol car. still a deal? additionally there are cost of maintenance, repair, insurance and other overheads to consider... after all, regulators have the math sorted out already.

A very interesting watch but a couple of things seem to have been overlooked which is that higher speced vehicles like Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Volvo and more, specify premium petrol. Apart from E10 regular fuel causing pinking and power loss and so almost certainly a lower mpg in those vehicles, using E10 is likely to invalidate engine and associated components warranty. The price of E5/98 octane premium is usually pretty much the same as diesel and sometimes costs more than diesel. All of the above mentioned vehicles have also had 48 volt MH drives as standard for the last several years so their fuel economy is even greater with around town mpg also very good with even less emissions and particulates than just a few years ago when new gen. diesals were, even then, acclaimed to be clean with very efficient DPF and add-blue systems. Peugeot only announced their MHD offering during the first part of last year and just for the 3008 & 5008 with deliveries commencing from summer of 2023 and initially this appeared to be just for the petrol version and not the diesal. So was the petrol 5008 in the test the new MHD and the diesel not so? because the comsumption of the petrol 5008 was stated to be better than Manfrs, figures which suggested it might have been a MH. After all when have you ever heard of a car maker understating their MPG. Many people are running around in MHDs and dont even realise it.

52 pence per kWh? Seriously, this is outrageous. It equates to 0.61 euros per kWh. In the Netherlands, supercharger rates are around 0.35 euros per kWh (Today between 0,32 and 0,36 depending on the hour). Is electricity really that much more expensive in the UK?

Take a look at auto trader.... Tesla model 3 2021 is selling for £16k 😂😂😂😂

10 000 miles is high mileage? Wow, I do about 20 000 living in postage stamp Belgium and the car does school, weekly shopping and going to the grandparents 45 min away. For context, we use bikes a lot and public transport sometimes. At 10 000 miles or below, maybe a rideshare option becomes viable?

I got a 2020 diesel Passat and it does over 70 mpg sometimes over a longer journey I’ve got 80 as well. Equivalent petrol does less than 45 mpg.

There is a hidden cost associated with diesel engines that is not widely known. With the new methodology for measuring exhaust gases (already implemented in some EU countries), it will be determined whether your car is working properly. This means that if you bought a car registered as Euro5 compliant, it would have to adhere to those standards. If it does not, you would have to fix it by changing faulty catalytic converters. When this was first implemented in the Netherlands and Belgium, 10% of diesel cars failed. Some cars have to use more expensive (cleaner) diesel with additives to pass the test, since car makers were labeling their cars quite optimistically at the time of sales.