Buying Our First Car

[meme]

So I will start out by saying I have No idea about any of this so please excuse my ignorance.

My husband and I are getting sick and tired of the motorbike in rainy season. We have decided to buy a car. We don't want anything really expensive, but want something new.

We like the Mitsubishi Triton and Honda city/ Jazz.

If I could pick I would want a truck because I feel safer in a bigger vehicle. However I am assuming the cost of gas would be much higher if we had a larger vehicle.

We are looking for something that is reasonably priced, good for city driving and the occasional road trip.

Something that is good on gas and also very important, As safe as possible.

I just need some general guidance.

Thanks

[Plus]

Diesel pickup trucks are out completely of favour these days, though they are probably still relatively cheap to run, but you can't convert them to use either LPG or NGV so they are doomed.

E20 compatible cars enjoy great discounts and so are very popular.

[colino]

Diesel pickup truck you cant go wrong

[eladblum]

Want to buy a car myself and want to convert it for gas. Does anybody know what car can come with the gas convertion stright from the company?

[Cuban]

.....but you can't convert them to use either LPG or NGV so they are doomed.

But older diesels run better on the cheaper B5 (and B10 when it comes) also E85 conversions will be possible in the years to come.

[dave111223]

Want to buy a car myself and want to convert it for gas. Does anybody know what car can come with the gas convertion stright from the company?

I think the Chevy Optra does. For some reason for cheaper Aveo doesn't.

[ballbreaker]

I would go with the Honda City or Jazz because they are better suited for the city in my opinion. Before buying I drove a number of vehicles including 2 & 4 door pickups, SUVs and larger cars like the Camry but ended up buying a Toyota VIOS because so much easier to maneuver and park in the city.

[Plus]

Old diesel trucks might run better on B5 diesel, but they will never ever be able to run on E85, which is 85% ethanol, 15% petrol, and no diesel whatsoever.

E20 is cheaper than diesel and compatible cars get a substantial discount, and you can convert them to using gas later.

Cars the size of Jazz and Vios are also cheaper than decent pickup trucks because 4 door versions are taxed higher.

[mark100]

Diesel pickup trucks are out completely of favour these days, though they are probably still relatively cheap to run, but you can't convert them to use either LPG or NGV so they are doomed.

E20 compatible cars enjoy great discounts and so are very popular.

Sorry to sound like an idiot, what is E20 ???

[Tywais]

Sorry to sound like an idiot, what is E20 ???

20% Ethanol (Alcohol) and 80% petrol

[ballbreaker]

Diesel pickup trucks are out completely of favour these days, though they are probably still relatively cheap to run, but you can't convert them to use either LPG or NGV so they are doomed.

E20 compatible cars enjoy great discounts and so are very popular.

Sorry to sound like an idiot, what is E20 ???

Fuel is 20 percent ethanol and 80 percent petrol.

[snowflake]

I had a Triton before, Now I have the new Jazz. Both are great but I would suggest that you think what you need it for. If you are only going to stay in BKK and never see mud on the tires, why even consider the Triton. If you will stay in the bush and often go off roading, why think of the Jazz.

If you care about the cost, then I would suggest that you look at the Jazz as it is cheaper than the triton, (more space in a Jazz than the cheaper tritons).

If I had to choose now I would say that for my use I would pick the Jazz anyday. The Triton was brilliant, but very expensive to run. I had the 3.2GLS, so you might want to look at the 2.5 or the plus version.

For saftey I think that sitting in a truck will just give you a false sense of safety. A car would be much better if you had an accident. Search on the net for crash test results and you can see it.

Cars are more comfortable, trucks are more practical sometimes. (ps, with a truck you will constantly be asked to 'help' your friends to move, they will never pay for your petrol.

[Cuban]

Old diesel trucks might run better on B5 diesel, but they will never ever be able to run on E85, which is 85% ethanol, 15% petrol, and no diesel whatsoever.

I'm sorry Plus - this is fast changing topic and you are a little out of date.

Depending on composition and source, E85 has an octane rating of 100 - 105 compared to regular gasoline's typical rating of 87 - 93. This allows it to be used in higher compression engines which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts. Since the reciprocating mass of the engine increases in proportion to the displacement of the engine E85 has a higher potential efficiency for an engine of equal power.

Source.

Running a diesel cycle engine on ethanol - and doing it efficiently.

Scania has used ethanol in their diesel (!) buses for more than 20 years, now with their third generation of diesel engines running on E95. The interesting part is that they get almost the same efficiency with ethanol compared to diesel (43 % compared to 44%).

Everybody knows that an E85 car needs 30-40 % more fuel than an ordinary petrol car. And everybody knows that a diesel car uses 30 % less than a petrol car. So, should we convert diesel engines to ethanol instead of petrol engines?

Source.

So as I said above, "....also E85 conversions will be possible in the years to come." Don't write off that old diesel engine just yet, higher compression ratios found in Diesel engines does make them a candidate for the high octane E85 as a fuel source. You looking for an E85 sticker for the 'diesel' fuel tank in a few years.