Electric vs Petrol & Diesel

In 2022, the Volkswagen Golf was in the top 10 best-selling cars of the year, and it’s a car that has cemented its place as a firm favourite in the hatchback segment. For that reason, and for the fact it’s popular with buyers of all ages, we’ve chosen three models from the line-up to be our example vehicles.

There is so much variety in the Golf range these days that Volkswagen actually produce a Golf with each of the three primary fuel types – petrol, diesel, and electric. We’ve chosen three models with similar performance - the key stats are summarised in the table below. 

The price per unit of fuel is based on UK average at the time of writing, and it’s worth bearing in mind that significant changes in any of the three prices will result in a change in price per mile, and so price per overall journey. 

A survey carried out by Banner Homes in 2013 led them to declare the perfect distance between a house and the supermarket is two miles. But the real question is, how much money does driving two miles to the supermarket actually cost you? 

Well, jump in the petrol Golf, and your dash to the supermarket and back will set you back 72 pence, while the diesel Golf will cost 70 pence. Choose the e-Golf, however, and the journey costs just 25 pence. On the face of it, the savings aren’t huge, but remember the saving is made every time you make the journey.  

If you visit the supermarket twice a week, the picture becomes a bit more convincing. Under those circumstances, the petrol Golf would cost £74.46 across a full year, and the diesel Golf £73.22 a year, while the electric Golf would cost £25.79. That’s a saving of around £50 over the traditional fuel cars.

According to the National Travel Survey in 2020, the average commute in the UK clocks in at 8.78 miles in one direction. On that basis, let’s look at the cost of that average commute for each vehicle.

At 17.56 miles total for your commute to and from work, the petrol Golf costs you £3.14, while the better economy of the diesel Golf means the cost comes in at £3.09. The same journey in the e-Golf will set you back just £1.09. 

On the assumption you commute every working day, that’s 17.56 miles every day for 232 days – 52 working weeks of five days, less the UK statutory entitlement of 28 holiday days each year. On that basis, commuting in the petrol Golf costs £729.23, the diesel Golf £717.01, and the electric Golf £252.58.

That’s a huge saving of more than four hundred pounds every year simply by switching to electric. Without a doubt, a significant saving.

After some research by Holiday Cottages it emerged that Brits going on a staycation were, on average, prepared to travel 225 miles to their destination. It might be a journey that you only make once a year, but a round trip of 450 miles is a fairly substantial distance, and any opportunity to shave a bit off the cost is one worth taking advantage of.

Choose a petrol Golf, and the round trip will cost £80.55. In the diesel, it’ll be £79.20. Go for the electric Golf though, and it’ll be just £27.90. That’s a saving of over £50, enough for a meal out with your significant other, for example. 

The National Travel Survey found in 2019, pre-pandemic, the average annual mileage for cars in the UK was estimated to be 6,500 miles. This dropped drastically in 2021 to an average of 4,334 miles. On the strength of the cases above, it would appear there are significant savings to be made by switching to electric – so let’s look at the numbers! 

Cover 4,334 miles a year in the petrol Golf, and you can expect to part with £775.79 for the privilege. In the diesel Golf, the cost will be £762.78. Choose the electric e-Golf, and the cost tumbles to £268.71 – a saving of £494.08 over the petrol model, and £507.08 over the diesel.

In each case, the lower cost of making journeys in the electric Golf is plain to see. With a massive saving of over £500 for choosing electric over petrol, it’s almost a no-brainer. 

All that’s left for you to do now is decide which EV suits you and your lifestyle best! Search for your EV on JCT600 right now!