PETROL, DIESEL, ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPARISON
Owning a VW Polo is fairly easy but when the exorbitant costs of unforeseen repairs and regular servicing are added, it becomes really expensive. To make matters worse, with the regular petrol price hikes, maintaining that VW Polo can become a bit of a burden. The distance traveled by the average motorist, based on "official trade figure" is estimated at 20 000Km per annum which directly translates to about 1667km per month or 55 km per day. At the current price of petrol (R12.89 per litre), that 55km would cost you about R43.00 subject to your Polo's Km/litre average consumption and your personal driving style. Extrapolated over a period of one year would cost you a cool R15,480.00-plus per annum and over the 60 months finance period, a whopping R77,400.00.
Suddenly a diesel powered VW Polo TDI seems more financially attractive, especially considering that its fuel consumption of 4.6 litres / 100 km is far lower than the 5.9 litres / 100km of the low end VW Polol 1.4 Trendline. If truth be told, its a saving of at least 25 percent comparatively speaking but it's really not that cut and dried. My hesitancy towards a Diesel Vehicle gravitates around the fact that Volkswagen as a company had 'cheated on the fuel consumption and emissions figures globally', so I'm wondering how true these stats released by Volkswagen really are. Surprisingly, independents tend not to do comparative consumption studies or rather if they do, they don't make the results public. However, my consolation is based on my wife's Mercedes Benz C250D, that uses a sight less fuel than her previous petrol powered C230E model over the same distance. Besides, virtually every heavy duty delivery vehicle out there is diesel powered because big business would invariably choose the more economical option. 'Diesel vehicles also tend to be less troublesome than petrol powered trucks'. They may not be as fast as their petrol powered versions but they have enormous torque, far great than their petrol counterparts. Then there is always the turbo version to consider that is much faster. Be that as it may, I'm not completely convinced whether or not to go that route.
There is a third alternative that I should explored and that is an electric powered vehicle. I quite like the VW e-Golf because its completely silent. It goes up to an estimated 133km per charge which I deem sufficient for short distance city driving. Unlike other manufacturer's purpose built electric cars, the VW e-Golf is essentially a normal VW car with an electric motor sitting in place of a petrol or diesel engine, with the fuel tank space occupied by its battery pack. Several car manufacturers are currently producing a small number of electric vehicles but it's painfully obvious that their range will expand in the coming years. So it's a good idea to embrace the newer zero emissions electric technology now, rather than later, in preference of further polluting our eco-system with carbon dioxide emissions. But these EV's are a lot more expensive than both the petrol and diesel versions and the cost of electricity for charging its lithium-ion batteries still needs to be added. There is a likelihood that government will subsidize electric cars above a certain price range. It would probably work along the lines similar to the Eskom subsidy which is available to those home owners who intend installing a heat pump in their homes. My hesitancy revolves around recharging the EV when not near the home-based power unit. Regardless, it makes more sense to buy the electric car, rather than a petrol or diesel car? My biggest concern though, is that lithium-ion batteries are still in its infancy or rather hasn't properly matured yet. Though, there is a battery leasing option that comes at a monthly cost which will bring the overall monthly cost to more than than of maintaining a diesel VW Polo. Somehow this EV isn't looking that great anymore. But what I need to say is that I am very impressed by the distance that the Tesla can go on a single charge, as well as the overall quality of their new battery pack.
Owning a VW Polo is fairly easy but when the exorbitant costs of unforeseen repairs and regular servicing are added, it becomes really expensive. To make matters worse, with the regular petrol price hikes, maintaining that VW Polo can become a bit of a burden. The distance traveled by the average motorist, based on "official trade figure" is estimated at 20 000Km per annum which directly translates to about 1667km per month or 55 km per day. At the current price of petrol (R12.89 per litre), that 55km would cost you about R43.00 subject to your Polo's Km/litre average consumption and your personal driving style. Extrapolated over a period of one year would cost you a cool R15,480.00-plus per annum and over the 60 months finance period, a whopping R77,400.00.
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| Volkswagen e-Golf EV Charger Connection |
Suddenly a diesel powered VW Polo TDI seems more financially attractive, especially considering that its fuel consumption of 4.6 litres / 100 km is far lower than the 5.9 litres / 100km of the low end VW Polol 1.4 Trendline. If truth be told, its a saving of at least 25 percent comparatively speaking but it's really not that cut and dried. My hesitancy towards a Diesel Vehicle gravitates around the fact that Volkswagen as a company had 'cheated on the fuel consumption and emissions figures globally', so I'm wondering how true these stats released by Volkswagen really are. Surprisingly, independents tend not to do comparative consumption studies or rather if they do, they don't make the results public. However, my consolation is based on my wife's Mercedes Benz C250D, that uses a sight less fuel than her previous petrol powered C230E model over the same distance. Besides, virtually every heavy duty delivery vehicle out there is diesel powered because big business would invariably choose the more economical option. 'Diesel vehicles also tend to be less troublesome than petrol powered trucks'. They may not be as fast as their petrol powered versions but they have enormous torque, far great than their petrol counterparts. Then there is always the turbo version to consider that is much faster. Be that as it may, I'm not completely convinced whether or not to go that route.
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| Petrol and diesel fuel consumption comparison chart |
There is a third alternative that I should explored and that is an electric powered vehicle. I quite like the VW e-Golf because its completely silent. It goes up to an estimated 133km per charge which I deem sufficient for short distance city driving. Unlike other manufacturer's purpose built electric cars, the VW e-Golf is essentially a normal VW car with an electric motor sitting in place of a petrol or diesel engine, with the fuel tank space occupied by its battery pack. Several car manufacturers are currently producing a small number of electric vehicles but it's painfully obvious that their range will expand in the coming years. So it's a good idea to embrace the newer zero emissions electric technology now, rather than later, in preference of further polluting our eco-system with carbon dioxide emissions. But these EV's are a lot more expensive than both the petrol and diesel versions and the cost of electricity for charging its lithium-ion batteries still needs to be added. There is a likelihood that government will subsidize electric cars above a certain price range. It would probably work along the lines similar to the Eskom subsidy which is available to those home owners who intend installing a heat pump in their homes. My hesitancy revolves around recharging the EV when not near the home-based power unit. Regardless, it makes more sense to buy the electric car, rather than a petrol or diesel car? My biggest concern though, is that lithium-ion batteries are still in its infancy or rather hasn't properly matured yet. Though, there is a battery leasing option that comes at a monthly cost which will bring the overall monthly cost to more than than of maintaining a diesel VW Polo. Somehow this EV isn't looking that great anymore. But what I need to say is that I am very impressed by the distance that the Tesla can go on a single charge, as well as the overall quality of their new battery pack.
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| This impressive 115-hp electric motor with 269nm of torque makes for a really enjoyable drive. |
EV Fuel Cost Comparison Example
| Units | BE | Petrol | Diesel | |
| Combined Fuel Efficiency | 150Wh/km | 8L/100km | 6L/100km | |
| Annual Mileage | km | 120,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| Annual Fuel Requirement | Litres | 0,00 | 1600 | 1200 |
| kWh | 2,400 | n/a | n/a | |
| Energy / Electricity Prices / Unit | Litre /KW | 11.75 | 12.98 | 10.69 |
ReplyDeleteI check my vw polo tire pressure every week. It is very helpful.