WDB
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Post by WDB on Feb 16, 2024 10:21:36 GMT
It's environmental vandalism banning cars that still meet the standards they were built to. Is it? It’s only denying them access to certain locations. If a whole street is pedestrianised, is that unfair to people who bought cars when it was open to motor traffic? Times change. Airports impose noise and pollution limits and deny access to aircraft that exceed them, though they were legal when new. Urban householders with wood-burning stoves are in a similar situation. Things that were tolerable when 10 people had them become a problem when it’s 10,000. Society has to be able to make corrections. |
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Feb 16, 2024 10:28:12 GMT
It's not the adaptation as such that is the issue but how it is applied. How can replacing an eight year old diesel with a 50 year old, 70 year old petrol design with no thought to emissions be a good thing ?
Pedestrianisation removes all traffic, fair. Excluding one class of vehicle and allowing other polluters, unfair.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2024 11:13:02 GMT
You have had the benefit of a company car IIRC, Humph.
Finance has allowed me to operate much more reliable and efficient cars in recent years. It's just the same as saving up, but having the benefit earlier. And there's a cost to that benefit, i.e. the interest payments. So long as they're affordable and budgeted for, then what's the problem. I've even managed it partly on 0% interest. Makes the world go round, innit.
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Post by Humph on Feb 16, 2024 11:20:05 GMT
I did have company cars for a while, but I’d struggle to call them a benefit. The tax costs of having one can often outweigh the perceived advantages. The most recent one was costing me in excess of £500 a month in bik.
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Post by Humph on Feb 16, 2024 11:22:40 GMT
…and monthly payments on anything are fine if you have a clear forecast as to what your monthly income is likely to be. If you’re unsure about that, it’s usually better to only spend what you can afford.
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Post by EspadaIII on Feb 16, 2024 11:58:12 GMT
Here's a thought experiment...
What new car would you buy now which met the following requirements...
1. Enough space for four people for a 200 trip in reasonable comfort or two people for a road trip of a minimum four weeks. Minimum four doors is a requirement.
2. You will keep it for 15 years and you will have some. limited mobility in the last few years.
3. Small enough to drive into city centres without feeling the car is too big and also can get into most older car parks and roadside parking bays with space to spare on all sides.
4. Assuming 10,000 miles pa of which 6,000 is longer trips, average economy should be at least 40mpg. Diesel not permitted.
I have my ideas....
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Post by Humph on Feb 16, 2024 12:01:56 GMT
I think we might have one of those already, in the form of the Renegade.
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Feb 16, 2024 12:09:24 GMT
Why is diesel not permitted ? They aren't banned why have they been excluded from this experiment ?
Edit: With Euro7 coming you could say, diesel not permitted and the wheels are not allowed to be bigger than 17" and the brake discs must be smaller than 300mm.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2024 12:41:54 GMT
Honda Civic Tourer 1.8 petrol i-VTEC, automatic.
Oh, hang on...
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Feb 16, 2024 12:58:39 GMT
Yes, hang on, Al. The experiment is what NEW car would you buy. Honda Civic is a 5door hatchback only these days.
Edit: i-MMD eCVT Petrol/hybrid to give it its Sunday name. With upto 184PS with three driving modes. Or you can pay more than £50k for the hot hatchback version.
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Post by Humph on Feb 16, 2024 13:19:07 GMT
It used to be that a Golf was regarded as the most useful to most people car available. That is probably no longer true, but I guess if you start to explore the characteristics that made it seem so, you might arrive at a modern equivalent.
In no particular order, and trying to stick to ESP’s brief…
RAV4
Vitara
Duster
Renegade
Sportage
Tucson
Focus
Golf
Kamiq
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bpg
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Post by bpg on Feb 16, 2024 14:16:25 GMT
Mercedes C300 dh PHEV estate for me. 50-60 miles electric for city and diesel for distance. Yes, I know it doesn't meet the no diesel requirement but it can be spec'd with sensible size wheels and doesn't have dinner plate disc brakes.
About Focus/Golf estate size.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2024 14:27:36 GMT
Yes BPG, hence the hang on...they've been deleted from the range due to SUVs being forced on the public.
The answer would probably be Skoda Octavia, but DSG over 15 years? Hmm.
I'll maybe go with the Toyota Camry Hybrid.
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Post by Humph on Feb 16, 2024 15:01:02 GMT
So c’mon then Espada, what had you in mind?
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Feb 16, 2024 15:34:41 GMT
Here's a thought experiment... What new car would you buy now which met the following requirements... 1. Enough space for four people for a 200 trip in reasonable comfort or two people for a road trip of a minimum four weeks. Minimum four doors is a requirement. 2. You will keep it for 15 years and you will have some. limited mobility. .. Daft set of criteria. Why would I bind my unknown future self like that? Nothing wrong with shopping for the foreseeable future and moving the thing on when it no longer works for me. That’s proper sustainability: make a thing useful and durable and have a fair market mechanism for finding subsequent users for it. |
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