Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by Vorpal »

usage of cars in terms of mileage is typically a log-normal distribution with a very long tail, which means the average isn't a very useful parameter.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56359
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by Mick F »

Couple of answers here from me.

It's nearly a mile to the main road that has the bus stop, not nearly a mile to the bus stop - if you see what I mean! - because the busses don't run along here.

The idea of doing 48mpg on a motorway above the legal speed limit is a pointless thing.
Our 2001 1.6 16v Renault Clio can do 45mpg at a steady 70mpg ............... better than our Fiat500 can do even with it's zero VED. I think it's mainly to do with aerodynamics - the 500 is like a square brick, and the Clio like a smooth thing. The Clio is surprisingly economic at speed, but very heavy on the juice on the local roads, which is where the 500 scores very well indeed.

Hybrids?
I thought of one some time back, and even had a thread on here about it. I was shot down in flames about it. :lol:
Maybe someone would like to search for it. Maybe a year or so ago.

I don't know if any manufacturer produces a reasonably sized hybrid. The wholly electric Renault Zoe is a nice size, but the Nissan Leaf and the hybrid Toyota Prius are WAY too big. Anyone make a hybrid that's as neat and small as the Zoe? Somehow I doubt it, as cars in general are getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Un-necessary IMO. Nowt wrong with smaller cars.

Getting back to the original topic, as it's January, it seems that the roads are quieter. Dunno why, but they are far more quiet than usual. It often happens in Jan and Feb, so it might be something to do with the lack of emmets and grockles.
Mick F. Cornwall
Bonefishblues
Posts: 11010
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by Bonefishblues »

User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56359
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by Mick F »

Thanks.
Toyota Yaris eh? Last time I saw a Yaris, they didn't strike me as a small car.
According the Google, the Yaris is 3,950mm L x 1,695mm W x 1,510mm H

Our Clio is 3,773mm L x 1,940mm W x 1,404mm H
Width includes door mirrors. I suspect the Yaris width doesn't?
Let's say our Clio is 1,650mm wide .............. can't physically measure it, coz Mrs Mick F is at work with it!

Our Fiat500 is 3,571mm L x 1,627mm W x 1,488mm H
Not including door mirrors.

I reckon the Yaris isn't small enough.

Mick F wrote:Hybrids?
I thought of one some time back, and even had a thread on here about it. I was shot down in flames about it. :lol:
Maybe someone would like to search for it. Maybe a year or so ago.
Found it.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=48466
2011. :shock:
Doesn't time fly.
Mick F. Cornwall
Bonefishblues
Posts: 11010
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by Bonefishblues »

I rather thought it wouldn't be and that you would quote dimensions. :lol:

How about one of the last of the previous generation then? It's had a hybrid powertrain for several years.
landsurfer
Posts: 5327
Joined: 27 Oct 2012, 9:13pm

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by landsurfer »

my wife has a 07 reg AYGO .... its small, 4 door and automatic ...... its 800cc triple engine sips fuel ..... typically £20 - 23 for the journey from Sheffield to Redruth .... My ISUZU with its average mpg of 38 (it says) uses nearly a £100 in fuel...
Why not look for petrol efficient small cars rather than hybrids .... cost and battery failure will be the issue i think
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by mjr »

landsurfer wrote:Why not look for petrol efficient small cars rather than hybrids .... cost and battery failure will be the issue i think

Because most petrol efficient small cars I've driven seem scarily underpowered and/or are unpleasantly noisy at higher speeds (I'm quite willing to believe not all are like that, but enough seem to be that trying to find a good one is difficult), plus with hybrids there's at least the chance that short journeys can be done on solar/wind/hydro power while petrol cars always burn petrol.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
landsurfer
Posts: 5327
Joined: 27 Oct 2012, 9:13pm

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by landsurfer »

Then try a Toyota Aygo auto ....... problem solved ......solar /wind /hydro sounds wonderful but it will probably be gas or wood pellets from Canada and America .... some fuel miles there ....
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
Bonefishblues
Posts: 11010
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by Bonefishblues »

landsurfer wrote:my wife has a 07 reg AYGO .... its small, 4 door and automatic ...... its 800cc triple engine sips fuel ..... typically £20 - 23 for the journey from Sheffield to Redruth .... My ISUZU with its average mpg of 38 (it says) uses nearly a £100 in fuel...
Why not look for petrol efficient small cars rather than hybrids .... cost and battery failure will be the issue i think

Battery failure won't be the issue, for sure. I do wonder why this POV is still being promulgated.

BTW @£1.15/litre and £23 spent, your 345 mile journey uses 4.4 gallons of fuel, putting you at 78mpg.
comfortablynumb
Posts: 28
Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 4:30pm
Location: Mid Cornwall

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by comfortablynumb »

Hi Mick
After around 20 years of driving diesel cars (Novas and Corsas) we got a Yaris Hybrid last April. Couldn't be more pleased with it. Really relaxing to drive and great economy and very quiet for us and everyone else around, noisy cars are a pet hate.
I hate the way cars are always bigger with each new model but the Yaris is slightly smaller than my last Corsa (2012 Corsa D ) but much roomier inside.
If you are ever in Bodmin you are welcome to a demo and I'll even let you try my KTM Macina electric assist bike but thats probably for another thread :-)
I retire in two weeks and look forward to putting miles on both.
Steve.
mark a.
Posts: 1375
Joined: 8 Jan 2007, 2:47pm
Location: Surrey

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by mark a. »

Mick F wrote:I've been considering this for months. I'd love a lecky car.

The trouble is, it costs more to run an electric car than a petrol one. The main issue, is the price of the battery.
You can rent the battery, but the rental is more than the cost of the petrol.
You can buy the battery, but some years down the line, the battery will need replacing and would cost more than the car was worth.

They need to get the costs of the battery down, and also put up the cost of petrol.


The new Renault Zoe has a big range, and you no longer need to rent the battery. Battery lifetime isn't really a problem either; people with early Nissan Leafs are finding that batteries are holding up miles better than expected, even with loads of charge / discharge cycles. IIRC there are taxi companies with Leafs with 150,000 miles and still with >90% battery capacity. Not much in the way of maintenance costs either

Edit: Here's a review of the new Zoe.
reohn2
Posts: 45159
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by reohn2 »

Bonefishblues wrote:
landsurfer wrote:my wife has a 07 reg AYGO .... its small, 4 door and automatic ...... its 800cc triple engine sips fuel ..... typically £20 - 23 for the journey from Sheffield to Redruth .... My ISUZU with its average mpg of 38 (it says) uses nearly a £100 in fuel...
Why not look for petrol efficient small cars rather than hybrids .... cost and battery failure will be the issue i think

Battery failure won't be the issue, for sure. I do wonder why this POV is still being promulgated.

BTW @£1.15/litre and £23 spent, your 345 mile journey uses 4.4 gallons of fuel, putting you at 78mpg.


My old '97 1.8l petrol estate(sold some years ago) return mid 50's mpg regular on long M/way journeys and upper 30'smpg about town,it had 165,000 mile on when I sold it and was still returning those figures.
I put it down to a very slippery shape and a high top gear 3k rpm @ just over 70mph.

TBH 78mpg from a small engine car on along trip is surprising,they're just not made for it.
That said Mrs R2 had 1.0l Nissan Micra which revved too high on the M/way and wasn't economical for that kind of driving,could quite easily have pulled another 6th higher gear,but about town was far better than the Mondeo.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
kwackers
Posts: 15643
Joined: 4 Jun 2008, 9:29pm
Location: Warrington

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by kwackers »

reohn2 wrote:TBH 78mpg from a small engine car on along trip is surprising,they're just not made for it.

I think those days are long gone. Small cars aren't small, small engines are physically small rather than underpowered.
Pretty much anything on sale is very comfortable at 70mph these days and whereas the engineering in a small engine would probably once have seen it shot with motorway use by 50k, these days they'll keep going until they're scrapped because the car looks old and tired rather than mechanical failure.
Cyril Haearn
Posts: 15215
Joined: 30 Nov 2013, 11:26am

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Volkswagen produced a 3 litre car (Lupo) (3l/100 km about 90 mpg) but it was too expensive, it was made of special light materials. Or rather, fuel was and is too cheap. Do well-maintained older cars use less fuel as the engine loosens up?
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120
Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
Bonefishblues
Posts: 11010
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Diesel - seriously thinking of giving up cycling

Post by Bonefishblues »

Cyril Haearn wrote:Volkswagen produced a 3 litre car (Lupo) (3l/100 km about 90 mpg) but it was too expensive, it was made of special light materials. Or rather, fuel was and is too cheap. Do well-maintained older cars use less fuel as the engine loosens up?

Well, it had some aluminium panels which did save weight, but that underplays what was a very comprehensive piece of engineering to maximise fuel efficiency.

Whether it's true or not, the story goes that Renault heard that VW was producing a 3 litre Lupo, so responded with this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clio_V6_Renault_Sport :lol:
Post Reply