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What Is The Best Fuel Type For Me?

Before you lease, you need to consider what fuel type you need for your new lease car: petrol, diesel, mild/full hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric. This guide outlines each fuel type, their pros and cons and who they suit best. 

Engine and fuel type is an important things to consider when it comes to leasing a car. There is a variety of fuel types available on the market each with its pros and cons to think about. When it comes to popularity, new car registration data shows that fewer diesel and petrol cars are being registered year after year while there has been an increase in registrations across all electric and hybrid cars.

Petrol

Petrol cars are the most common engine type on the roads right now. They are the cheapest option to either buy or lease when compared to a diesel, electric or hybrid. Petrol is also the cheaper fuel option at the pump. However, petrol cars do give out more CO2 emissions than both diesel and hybrid but these fumes do tend to be less harmful.

Petrol cars are perfect for people who travel less than one hundred miles during the day as they have better fuel efficiency for shorter trips. If your trip involves more stop/start driving though, you may want to look at a hybrid car instead.

  • Great fuel efficiency for shorter distances
  • Petrol is cheaper to buy at the station than diesel
  • Less harmful tailpipe fumes
  • Maintenance and servicing cost less
  • Cheaper to lease
  • Less fuel efficient for long trips
  • Less torque so not suitable for towing
  • Higher CO2 emissions
  • Petrol fuel more expensive than electric power

Get started on leasing your next petrol car by checking out our petrol lease deals.

Diesel

Diesel cars are becoming less and less popular as the days go by. As they emit quite harmful emissions, especially when compared to them to petrol. They tend to be the more expensive choice of car to both buy and lease.

Diesel cars are perfect for people who travel more than one hundred miles a day and do more motorway driving as they have better fuel economy for longer distances and fewer stops/starts driving. They have more torque than other vehicles, so they are a great choice for anyone who needs to tow often. They are also a preferred option for anyone doing off-road or difficult driving.

  • Great fuel efficiency for longer distances and motorway driving
  • More torque so good for towing
  • Less CO2 emissions
  • Higher cost of fuel
  • More harmful tailpipe fumes
  • Servicing and Maintenance will be more frequent and costly
  • Diesel Particulate Filters can clog and are more expensive to fix
  • Higher lease payments

Get started on leasing your next diesel car by checking out our diesel lease deals.

Electric

Electric cars are gaining popularity more and more, thanks to better electric technology and rising fuel prices. They run purely off an electric motor and battery so release no tailpipe emissions at all. You can find out more about electric cars on our electric cars explained page.

Electric cars are perfect for people who want to go green and do their part for the environment. They are great if you travel between thirty and one hundred miles a day. As electric cars use something called regenerative braking, they also suit stop/start driving e.g., travelling in urban or city areas. For electric cars, it should be noted that you will also need access to off-road home charging as well otherwise you may be more suited to a Mild or Full Hybrid car.

  • Zero tailpipe emissions
  • Electricity is cheaper than petrol or diesel fuel
  • Average electric car range is between 100 and 200 miles
  • Exempt from road tax and congestion charges
  • Maintenance and servicing are much cheaper than both petrol and diesel cars
  • Need to be charged frequently
  • Charging stations not as common as petrol stations
  • Weather and driving conditions can affect the battery performance and range
  • More expensive to purchase so higher monthly payments for lease
  • Charging times can vary and be quite slow to fully charge

Get started on leasing your next electric car by checking out our electric car lease deals.

Mild Hybrids / Full Hybrids

There are two types of hybrid cars which don’t need to be charged externally for their battery power. These are mild hybrids (smaller battery) and full hybrids (bigger battery). Both use both battery power and a fuel engine which makes them adaptive and versatile. The combination of both power sources reduces the car’s CO2 emissions and improves its fuel efficiency.

Mild or Full Hybrids are perfect for people who have a varied driving style, driving both long and short distances. They are also great for starting/stopping driving in cities/towns as this helps to charge the internal electric battery. Hybrids are a step towards going green as well and suit those who may not have access to an off-road charging point.

  • The battery automatically charges whilst you are driving
  • Congestion charges can be avoided
  • Road tax charges are reduced
  • Good fuel economy for both short and long distances
  • More expensive to lease or buy
  • The faster you travel, the less efficient you can become
  • Dual engine means maintenance and servicing may be higher

Get started on leasing your next mild hybrid or full hybrid car by checking out our hybrid car lease deals.

Plug-In Hybrid

Plug-in hybrids are similar in function to a mild-hybrid or full-hybrid car. It uses an electric motor and an internal combustion engine to power the car. The main difference of a plug-in hybrid though is that similar to an electric car, it has to be plugged into an external charging station to charge the battery. This battery is larger than the ones in other hybrid cars and thus means that its electric range is much greater. A plug-in hybrid will try and use its electric motor until it reaches its limit (or pre-determined battery state of charge) then the combustion engine will kick in to provide power to the electric motor.

Plug-in hybrids are perfect for people who want to go green but aren’t ready to fully commit to an electric car. Thanks to the dual power, they ease a lot of range anxiety concerns that people have over electric cars. You will need to have access to off-road charging points too. The plug-in hybrid is perfect for urban or city driving (as the electric power provides clean energy) but is also suited for long road trips thanks to the petrol combustion engine.

  • The bigger battery offers more electric range than a standard hybrid
  • Lower CO2 emissions than standard hybrids
  • Dual power eases any range anxiety concerns
  • Excellent fuel economy (for both long and short distances)
  • Lower road tax payments and can avoid congestion charge fees.
  • More expensive to lease or buy – so monthly payments tend to be higher
  • Expensive to repair as more technology involved
  • Can take several hours to charge the battery

Get started on leasing your next plug-in hybrid car by checking out our plug-in hybrid lease deals.

Any Questions?

If you have any questions about fuel types, you can get in contact with the team at 0345 350 3776, email us at enquiries@willowleasing.com or send us a message on our live chat service.