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PETROL vs DIESEL (vs ELECTRIC!) – which is REALLY the cheapest? | What Car?

#WhatCar #PetrolvsDiesel #EVvsPetrol

Everybody understands a cars and truck is more effective than an equivalent gas cars and truck. But what's the real distinction in running expenses? And how does it all compare to an electrical ? We take 2 Peugeot 5008s and a Tesla Design Y on a journey to find out!

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Comments

62 responses to “PETROL vs DIESEL (vs ELECTRIC!) – which is REALLY the cheapest? | What Car?”

  1. @naferemix Avatar
    @naferemix

    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?

    Reply
    1. @AJGGs007 Avatar
      @AJGGs007

      Diesel fuel used to always be cheaper than petrol in the UK. The UK government increased the tax revenue on diesel fuel to make diesel cars less popular!!

      Reply
    2. @Tom55data Avatar
      @Tom55data

      ​@@AJGGs007no, North Sea oil is light grade suitable for petrol, but cannot be used for much diesel. Most refined diesel came from Russia until the war, so diesel prices increases more than petrol. UK has refining capacity for petrol. Of course fuels are traded on international markets, but imports cost more.

      Reply
    3. @trevorberridge6079 Avatar
      @trevorberridge6079

      International Law cares about diesel and the toxic emissions that car companies have been lying about for decades.

      Reply
    4. @burnttoast9890 Avatar
      @burnttoast9890

      Ever heard of diesel gate ? It’s hard to make diesel combust as clean as petrol

      Reply
    5. @teabagtowers3823 Avatar
      @teabagtowers3823

      ​@@burnttoast9890 Yeah that was 10 years ago most diesel engines these days are incredibly efficient. That in terms of combustion emissions very low.

      Reply
  2. @dirkdiggler69 Avatar
    @dirkdiggler69

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

    Reply
    1. @p3k4y Avatar
      @p3k4y

      Agreed but WhatCar don’t seem to mention this in any EV comparison- in fact I’m surprised they decided to use superchargers for the Tesla (albeit at an inflated rate).

      I think it’s fairly disingenuous to have a conversation about a low cost option for a high mileage driver and not mention the fact that you can charge an EV for 7.5p per kWh, which would reduce your annual fuel bill by *thousands*!

      Reply
    2. @gregb1599 Avatar
      @gregb1599

      Did you even watch the video? They pointed out all that in the cost breakdown. They used the average home plan rate but clearly pointed out there are much cheaper off-peak rates.

      Reply
    3. @bikeman123 Avatar
      @bikeman123

      What about long journeys where you have to use a public charger… a bit like this.

      Reply
    4. @bikeman123 Avatar
      @bikeman123

      Of course they used the Tesla superchargers, that’s what Tesla drivers do.

      Reply
    5. @gregb1599 Avatar
      @gregb1599

      @bikeman123  So, the Model Y is not an SUV? That’s a new one

      Reply
  3. @layzygaming945 Avatar
    @layzygaming945

    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.

    Reply
    1. @kagander8619 Avatar
      @kagander8619

      Bmw did B series engines so well

      Reply
    2. @bikeman123 Avatar
      @bikeman123

      Did you allow for the speedo overeading by 10%. I find that an indicated 50mpg is actually 45mpg.

      Reply
    3. @trevorberridge6079 Avatar
      @trevorberridge6079

      @@bikeman123 You are clearly confusing speed with consumption. The fact that your speedo overreads has no impact on how much distance you travel per gallon. lazygaming945 didn’t specify an average speed. You can’t extrapolate reduced consumption from that, never mind factoring in how much time he spent at his optimum economical speed (generally a constant 50-60mph with no stop-start). In the case of electric cars any amount of slowing down will create power and improve efficiency.

      Reply
    4. @chrishannibal5309 Avatar
      @chrishannibal5309

      @@bikeman123 MPG doesn’t over read you lunatic, that’s just maths. It’s the speedo which isn’t exactly accurate.

      Reply
    5. @Jisei13 Avatar
      @Jisei13

      ​@@trevorberridge6079speed directly impacts mpg…

      Reply
  4. @ricco123tube Avatar
    @ricco123tube

    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.

    Reply
    1. @annieluctor7524 Avatar
      @annieluctor7524

      And BEV depreciation appears to have been forgotten in the summing up.

      Reply
    2. @SpartaThisIs Avatar
      @SpartaThisIs

      Diesel doesn’t cost that much outside of London either. Octopus charge the same irrespective of where you are.

      Reply
    3. @Mizzkan Avatar
      @Mizzkan

      Indeed but that tariff will be going soon.

      Reply
  5. @yvs6663 Avatar
    @yvs6663

    diesels are great and stuff. but with the type of driving i am doing for about 350 days a year, they wouldn’t be happy. anyways, glad this test is somewhat fair to EVs by not simply ditching out the price for DC charging and claiming thats the price of driving an EV, despite the EV being fully able to do the trip on home charging. sure, some tarrifs are apperently much lower than the one used to calculate the final price.

    Reply
  6. @Abcwoolley Avatar
    @Abcwoolley

    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.

    Reply
    1. @zerocool801 Avatar
      @zerocool801

      I have lost so much money on depreciation in my Tesla that I could drive a 3.0 petrol for years with that money.

      Reply
    2. @harmhoeks5996 Avatar
      @harmhoeks5996

      ​@@zerocool801maybe if you have a new model S/X?
      I don’t think so for 3 and Y. Solid second-hand sellers, €25000 minimum. Used.

      Reply
    3. @BRMCaptChaos Avatar
      @BRMCaptChaos

      “is still developing” i.e. appalling. When the current tranche of Model 3s come up for battery replacement this may come as a shock.

      Reply
    4. @fredfred2363 Avatar
      @fredfred2363

      Totally agree. I don’t get why no one takes that into account.

      You buy a car for example for £24k. Sell for £12k. Drive it 12,000 miles. That’s a £ a mile without including ANY other costs. Madness.

      Reply
    5. @tomsdaddy Avatar
      @tomsdaddy

      If you’re a private buyer, the used EV Market is your friend.

      Let someone else take the depreciation hit, and just enjoy the minimal running costs …

      Reply
  7. @boomerau Avatar
    @boomerau

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

    Reply
  8. @davidj819 Avatar
    @davidj819

    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.

    Reply
    1. @BRMCaptChaos Avatar
      @BRMCaptChaos

      So a 2019 diesel Volvo with 200k miles and hasn’t replaced any of that has saved £15k?

      Reply
    2. @JackLondonen Avatar
      @JackLondonen

      Everything else in a diesel car usually works fine, except adblue (urea) systems which cannot handle very low tempeartures with full tank of urea. In a cold conditions adblue tank should be kept almost empty since the liquid freezes at -11’C. Urea tank can be damaged with -20’C if it is full.

      Reply
    3. @FoppoLeeuwerke Avatar
      @FoppoLeeuwerke

      Can you prove that/@@JackLondonen

      Reply
    4. @drxym Avatar
      @drxym

      And having to dump adblue into the things every few thousand miles.

      Reply
    5. @andreydavydov6417 Avatar
      @andreydavydov6417

      Periodically servicing/cleaning the EGR would not be anything complicated, but it is often located in such a place that you literally have to dismantle half the car to get to it

      Reply
  9. @markjohnathanappleton8642 Avatar
    @markjohnathanappleton8642

    These 2 car reviewers are my favourite car reviewers

    Reply
    1. @georgepelton5645 Avatar
      @georgepelton5645

      They are quite good. I like their style of presentation, and how this comparison test was done.

      Reply
    2. @st-ex8506 Avatar
      @st-ex8506

      That was indeed a good test… with one major flaw, though! No EV owner charging at home pays 29p for the kWh, but a third of that or less! That piece of data was dishonest!

      Reply
  10. @JonathanPalfrey Avatar
    @JonathanPalfrey

    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.

    Reply
    1. @oldgitflying Avatar
      @oldgitflying

      Agree. If you are lucky enough to be charging at home you should be charging at 7.5p / KWh – possibly a little less in the near future

      Reply
    2. @waynesimpson2074 Avatar
      @waynesimpson2074

      @@oldgitflying Confirmed 😉

      Reply
  11. @markdance574 Avatar
    @markdance574

    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.

    Reply
    1. @synthmaker Avatar
      @synthmaker

      What really matters is monthly cost of ownership, for almost everybody the best choice will be an EV ( actually a Tesla due to the Supercharge network, high range, high efficiency etc ), specially around London where you have ULEZ and congestion charged. Most people don’t know that parking in central London on the street with an EV will cost you less than £2 for a full day. With electricity cost at 7.5p/kWh, it’s not worth installing solar unless you want some resilience. In the UK power cuts are really rare, I can probably remember 1 or 2 in the last 30 years.

      Reply
    2. @bobstirling6885 Avatar
      @bobstirling6885

      @@synthmaker 🤣🤣🤣

      Reply
  12. @inrtime Avatar
    @inrtime

    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 🤔.

    Reply
    1. @BudahOfBirmingham Avatar
      @BudahOfBirmingham

      Good points however if the Tesla had been charged at home on cheap rate, it would have cost about £6.00 for that longer journey and would cost a lot less in servicing, not thrown any poisonous gas out the back, and been a safer car to boot. Not to mention that it will be compatible with self driving and is able to have over the air updates and a brilliant charging infrastructure and it would be quieter and much faster and smoother.

      Reply
  13. @andys5841 Avatar
    @andys5841

    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.

    Reply
    1. @USUG0 Avatar
      @USUG0

      …. never mind, the model Y did 123 mpg equiv. on motorway, and 91 mpg equiv. in the city (which doesn’t make any sense), including 10% charging losses.
      In city driving during winter the model Y should average at least 3.6miles/kWh or 131 mpg equiv….

      Reply
    2. @AdrianMcDaid Avatar
      @AdrianMcDaid

      Most ev drivers charge at night, overnight rate.

      Reply
    3. @paul_london Avatar
      @paul_london

      they massively undervalues EV cost, the real price is 0.79p per kwh. The entire trip is twice as expensive as diesel car!

      Reply
    4. @luketurnbull3712 Avatar
      @luketurnbull3712

      @@paul_london No it’s not – it’s 7.5p per kwh for at least 95% of the charging that is done in real life. For the vast majority of users, there is no need at all for public charging.

      Reply
    5. @paul_london Avatar
      @paul_london

      ​@@luketurnbull3712 you probably live in a house. For people living in flats, the min charge cost is 29p.
      For any long road trip you’ll end up charging on public chargers 100%

      Reply
  14. @christopherroughton Avatar
    @christopherroughton

    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.

    Reply
  15. @mikadavies660 Avatar
    @mikadavies660

    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.

    Reply
  16. @wayneoxborough351 Avatar
    @wayneoxborough351

    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

    Reply
  17. @Mizzkan Avatar
    @Mizzkan

    Let’s be honest. The Y is several grand more so that’s the fuel saving lost. . And the only way the government has been able to convince people to buy an EV is Cheap home tariffs. And that’s not long for survival as demand increase’s going by what Octopus and Eon are saying.

    Reply
  18. @simplygregsterev Avatar
    @simplygregsterev

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

    Reply
    1. @CarsofGlasgow Avatar
      @CarsofGlasgow

      it is! I think I was 65p per kw last time I used Instavolt

      Reply
  19. @lordpetrolhead477 Avatar
    @lordpetrolhead477

    Each vehicle has its advantages but the killer here is depreciation. A new Model Y will cost you £52,990 and a one year old with 20k miles is on Autotrader for £34,350. That’s a 36% drop in price whereas the diesel 5008 new is £36,378 and a one year old with 20k miles is £28 ,598. That’s a 17% drop in price.

    Reply
    1. @soosandras555 Avatar
      @soosandras555

      Those numbers doesn’t mean anything, unless you actually sell your 1 year old car. If you plan to use it for a long time, depriciation will probably be much closer. And if buying a used care is an option for you, fast depreciation can actually be very attractive, since you can buy a 1 year old model Y at a much lower price. So it’s not the numbers what are important, but making the good decision for you.

      Reply
  20. @beegdawg007 Avatar
    @beegdawg007

    Between 1999 and 2004 I owned a VW Beatle Diesel car. My mpg was 42mpg in city and 50 mpg on the highway. In addition because of the torque provided by the diesel engine in the Co. mountains the diesel delivered smooth pulling power which resulted in steady speed when going up the steepest grades.

    Reply

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