Petrol Prices

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#329196 12-May-2010 01:00

I spend around $55 per week in my 1.8L Primera. What really pisses me off is the constant subtle rises in prices at the pump which are attributed to 'refining costs'. Seeing those petrol breakdowns shows this is complete BS.

Back when Petrol was $143 US a barrel the cost of petrol at the pump peaked here at something like $2.10. When the price fell back to $45 per barrel we never saw the true reduction as the price only fell back to maybe $1.40 per litre, that's only 30% less.

That is also assuming that the tax on petrol is a % of the refined price, and not a set XXc/L

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richms

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#329197 12-May-2010 01:17

costs me about $110 to fill the car up, that will see me about 450km, perhaps 550 if I am on the open road and nannaing along at 80-90.

Mums getz does 10l/100k on the meter in the car normally around town, I thought small cars were supposed to be economincal. I get 13-14 l/100k in my skyline which is much bigger.

The lantis which is broken at the moment does about 8-9l/100k - I think it having more stages on the auto really helps, the skyline is sitting close to 3000rpm at 110km/h on the motorway. Stupid old 90's autobox :(

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#329203 12-May-2010 05:27

All things being equal then a smaller car with a smaller engine should be more economical. In practice variables such as tyre pressure, engine features, typical length of time driving, use of electrics, heaviness of foot, start stop or more continuous nature of travel etc. all play a part.

Geese

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#329264 12-May-2010 11:15

When I got my licence, petrol was 86 cents.

Out of all the (12?) cars I have had, the most economical by far was a 1986 Mitsubishi Cordia 1.8L manual, @ 15km/litre. In those days (when younger and less worried about things) If the fuel light was just flickering on, I could drive from Timaru to Christchurch (140km door to door) and make it.

The least economical by far, was a 1986 Honda Legend 2L V6 auto, was very heavy for the motor size and did something like 7km/litre.

The car with the biggest suprise of poor economical, was a 1997 Subaru Impreza 1.5L. I thought being the smallest motor car I had owned, it would be very economical, how wrong was I? It did at best 10km/L open road, and 8km/L around town. It would win the prize for the slowest car I've owned too.

Per week now, with my dirty old Prelude, I'd spend $90 bare minimum on a poor week, on average $120 a week, and $150 on more active weeks (this is all around town driving). Costs about $110 to fill, currently get 10km/litre around town, maybe 12km/L open road only.

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#329280 12-May-2010 11:48

economy is a huge cost that many do not fully appreciate

We are looking to replace our venerable 1.8 wagon that uses 10.3 litres per 100km. We do 14K per annum

Some new vehicles such as 1.6 diesels and Hybrids are doing <5litres for a 100km thereby halfing fuel costs

For us a new 10.3L/100 2.0 petrol will cost approx $2500 per annum wherewas a Prius would be approx $1200 per annum or a 1.6 diesel $1600 per annum [including RUC]

That can be for us a differnce of $1K per annum. People with 2.5 and bigger cars are easily paying three times as much in fuel

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#329340 12-May-2010 13:25

Just for comparison - we had a road trip holiday in the US last month and drove 4,700 km in a rental car. Unleaded 91 was about USD2.80 per US gallon. Converted to litres and NZD that currently equates to about NZD1.05 per litre.

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graemeh

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#329362 12-May-2010 13:47

xlinknz: economy is a huge cost that many do not fully appreciate

We are looking to replace our venerable 1.8 wagon that uses 10.3 litres per 100km. We do 14K per annum

Some new vehicles such as 1.6 diesels and Hybrids are doing <5litres for a 100km thereby halfing fuel costs

For us a new 10.3L/100 2.0 petrol will cost approx $2500 per annum wherewas a Prius would be approx $1200 per annum or a 1.6 diesel $1600 per annum [including RUC]

That can be for us a differnce of $1K per annum. People with 2.5 and bigger cars are easily paying three times as much in fuel

Don't forget to include the initial high cost of the Prius. If it's $10k more than a petrol car then it will take you over 8 years to just break even and that isn't allowing for interest costs etc.

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#329373 12-May-2010 14:06

I am waiting for the Ford Fiesta Econetic to arrive in New Zealand. It's not even a hybrid but can do 3.7L/100km (combined rural and metro). So basically, 1000km on one tank.

Beats the Prius on all counts bar the car size.

Should cost around $30k in NZ.

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xlinknz

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#329378 12-May-2010 14:23

Don't forget to include the initial high cost of the Prius. If it's $10k more than a petrol car then it will take you over 8 years to just break even and that isn't allowing for interest costs etc.

Very correct :) and that is the worse case scenario [for me], if one does more kms and or petrol rises than one will get a quicker payback more so if one reduces the 10K differnce by buying 2nd hand.

Diesel cars also last longer [at least the engine]

The biggest money lost for cars is depreciation rather than fuel. Peps need to keep their cars as long as possible. Economical Hybrids & diesels are more popular overseas. NZers are yet to wake up to this...

patatrat

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#329383 12-May-2010 14:44

Economical Hybrids & diesels are more popular overseas. NZers are yet to wake up to this...

For hybrids, the main barrier (as previously said) is the higher cost. But now most new taxis are hybrids, as their high use means a quicker payoff.

It pays to mention that up til now, hybrids have been ugly and easily identifiable as hybrids, which is a selling point for some, and a con for others. Newer hybrids that look like normal cars may help that.

With small economical diesels, the main issue in NZ is the fact that road user charges are flat and per KM. You pay the same road user charges if you drive a huge 4x4 or a tiny 2 door diesel. With petrol cars, the less petrol you use, the less road user charges you pay, but due to the way we tax diesels, you don't make any savings on road user charges by having an economical diesel. To me, this is backwards. But until this is fixed, you won't find many people willing to buy a small diesel.

xlinknz

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#329437 12-May-2010 16:21

heavenlywild: I am waiting for the Ford Fiesta Econetic to arrive in New Zealand. It's not even a hybrid but can do 3.7L/100km (combined rural and metro). So basically, 1000km on one tank.

Beats the Prius on all counts bar the car size.

Should cost around $30k in NZ.

I just read a Austrailan review of it - very impressive. Do you know if & when Ford will release it in NZ ?

And at $30K its $15K less than a Golf 1.6 TDI ! which does 4.8 combined

heavenlywild

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#329451 12-May-2010 16:40

xlinknz:
heavenlywild: I am waiting for the Ford Fiesta Econetic to arrive in New Zealand. It's not even a hybrid but can do 3.7L/100km (combined rural and metro). So basically, 1000km on one tank.

Beats the Prius on all counts bar the car size.

Should cost around $30k in NZ.

I just read a Austrailan review of it - very impressive. Do you know if & when Ford will release it in NZ ?

And at $30K its $15K less than a Golf 1.6 TDI ! which does 4.8 combined

It will be released in NZ according to Ford.co.nz. I had a look yesterday here in Aussie and it sure looks very sporty - not a nana's car at all. A 1.5 (nearly 1.6) litre engine. Put on some alloys and it will look fab!

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patatrat

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#329458 12-May-2010 16:56

I see a car like the Ford Fiesta Econetic, and wonder, if it does so well without a hybrid engine, would it do better if it had one?

Or are there 'overheads' of having an hybrid engine (such as additional weight) that I am not considering that might impact it?

heavenlywild

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#329467 12-May-2010 17:17

patatrat: I see a car like the Ford Fiesta Econetic, and wonder, if it does so well without a hybrid engine, would it do better if it had one?

Or are there 'overheads' of having an hybrid engine (such as additional weight) that I am not considering that might impact it?

The cost comes from research, the battery, the technology, the design and the weight, as you mentioned.

I think hybrid is all a bit hyped at the moment. It's still got plenty of stages left in its development. Something tells me hybrids will never take off too fast, as fully electric cars are due within a few years.

Anyway, wait and see:)

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richms

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#329524 12-May-2010 21:16

Hybrids only make a lot of sense if you stop/start a lot. I would rather my time not be wasted by sitting in a parked car now unable to by law doing things that make me slightly more productive, so the gains of fuel consumption of a hybrid in those situations are offset by me being stuck in a bloody car.

Best to avoid driving when its busy IMO. saves way more gas then any hybrid will do.

had the meter on the getz up to 28 after resetting it when on the motorway in stop start traffic. Sure, a hybrid may do 6-7 in the same situation, but at the end of it have only gone a few km so the actual liter usage isn't that much. The time wasted is significant

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