It has been recommended that the car dealerships actually have a lifetime assessment of the cost of running a vehicle on their adverts. This is similar to the mpg that can be obtained from the engine and I suspect would be based on absolutely best efficiency of the vehicle - ie a porche driven constantly at 50 mph for a year would cost x in petrol.
It is a good idea but these sort of statistics always get twisted by advertising. It would be fun to see the 3 year cost of my car - in fact I should be able to work it out! Will try and post an assessment later, though I will have to assume the petrol costs because I don't keep a record. . .
There was another post recently that suggested it took the equivalent of 113 barrels of oil to produce a new hybrid Toyota, the full hybrid. This means it will take to 47,000 miles before you can start to reap an environmental reward. It was suggesting that the best way to be environmentally friendly would be to buy a second hand car (the energy to manufacture having already been 'paid' for) and ensure it is as efficient as possible. It was an interesting article.
It seems to be an often-overlooked point. For anyone intending to do only low mileages, a second-hand car might be a better option, despite the possibility of slightly worse fuel economy and emmisions. For people like my dad a Prius would begin to pay off in a year or so though!
An Audi A2 has the same fuel efficiency as a Toyota Prius. From their websites and from the tax bands they are in. Also a Second Hand Prius would start to pay itself off immediately. I wonder if you can get those. Off to autotrader I go!
You can get a 2005 (05) reg Prius with the modern body shell for £11k not too bad they usually have about £50k on the clock and have lost approximately £6-8k in value when compared with a new vehicle. Not bad but still. . .£11k is rather steep!
