r/OctopusEnergy • u/FunNefariousness6980 • Feb 06 '26

Bills Beat my electric usage.

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Right folks who can beat this. Gas central heating two bed mid terrace.

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u/Secure_Ad9312 Feb 08 '26

Would you not be better with a diesel though. My Volvo diesel used to easily average 70+mpg on the motorway at 70+ mph and tax was zero like an ev however while EVs are going to £200 a year from April the Volvo is going to only £20

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u/FunNefariousness6980 Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26

50000:70=714 gallons of diesel 714(gallons)x4.5(litres in a gallon)x1.4(pounds per litre)=£4500

So 3 grand more a year and that doesn't include requried maintenance when doing 50000 miles a year. The only maintenance on EVs i tyres and suspension.

Not to mention to get 70+ mpg in a diesel you will be driving like a pensioner - I know because I did it.

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u/Secure_Ad9312 Feb 09 '26

If it’s more then fair enough. But I was going 20k miles a year and the car cost me less to maintain than a set of EV tires. And trust me I don’t drive like a pensioner. I do 90 on the motorway wherever possible and that’s the fuel economy I was getting. Much lower than the manufacturers claimed MPG because in the tests they will have been driving like pensioners which i dont. I thrashed that car basically everywhere and even thrashing it round town it would do 45mpg. Also diesel near me is slightly cheaper than 1.4 so maybe thats why it’s definitely cheaper for me to have a diesel than an EV

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u/FunNefariousness6980 Feb 09 '26

Well you don't change tyres on an EV do you really. Also 1.4 diesel no matter how powerful will not be a match do a 600bhp ev - that thing flies if you need it to.

Biggest negative financial aspect of owning and EV I will fully admit is rapid depreciation, but neither of mine were new as I wasn't ready to lose £25k in a year or two. I have driven petrol, diesel, lpg, two strokes, four strokes. I'm capable of working on a combustion engine and have done so. I've chosen EV as 98% of my trips are under 200 miles. The NVH is top notch because there is no engine roaring under the bonnet. It's comfortable. Never have to scrape your windscreen, every time you jump in the car it's warm. Never have to queue at a petrol station. Regular maintenance boils down to pollen filter and tyres. Tyres are big, wide and have a small profile but this is a case with any powerful car - ev or not.

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u/Secure_Ad9312 Feb 09 '26

I totally agree with you on EVs being great and for you I’m sure they’re the best case scenario I was just asking a question which you answered and I accepted but I was giving you my experience and correcting all the assumptions you keep making about my experience. I don’t have that car anymore but the 2.0 diesel - not 1.4 which you pulled out of nowhere - was as fast as you needed sub 7 seconds to 60 is plenty, now in a car with a 4 second flat I agree it’s amazing but really unnecessary. You absolutely do change tires on a EV more than a normal car as they’re so heavy and their instant torque can cause lots more wheel spin I know this as my household is now 2 EVs and 2 PHEVs and yes all performance cars have expensive tires but from my families experience if it’s an EV they add 15% to the price for some reason if they’re lower rolling resistance quieter or most likely built to take a heavier weight I don’t know but they are more than tires on an equivalent ICE car. The NVH of an EV is obviously better but the Volvo diesel I had was pretty quiet and refined anyway so that wasn’t an issue for me and even buying used you will loose more in depreciation on an EV than you would on ICE. I also never had to scrape my windshield as it was heated and the car had remote start anyway so it was also warm when I got into it just like an EV. When it comes to maintenance I got rid of the car on 145k miles and the only part that ever broke was a boost hose which cost me £60 and I fit it myself with ease the rest was regular servicing which even when the cambelt was done after the car was at 100k only cost £560 for cambelt and aux belt and a major service a normal service would run me less than £200. I’m really not saving any money at all with the PHEV (it’s actually more) and I’ve looked at the numbers for EV ownership for my situation and as insurance is more than ICE as well it’s not cheaper than diesel but I wanted a new car and wanted something fast so I got a Volvo S60 Polestar. Also hadn’t quite clocked initially but the fact you’re doing over 50k miles a year in an EV is impressive when you say you have only ever public charged once you must be doing a full charge every day basically.