I’ve been testing electric cars for years. I bought the combustion chamber for one reason only.

We live in difficult times choose a car. Or perhaps we perceive them to be more complex than they actually are. Yes, it is true that we may have doubts about which direction the auto industry will go, which technologies will be introduced, which will not, or, directly, which restrictions will be removed from my car in the coming years.

But let’s look at it from a positive point of view: we have never had such variety and so much technology that better adapts to our lifestyle and the trips we take on a daily basis.

This is what I try to explain to those who, knowing that I write about the auto industry and test some of the latest models, ask me which car they should buy. What should be the best option for them. To give you the answer, I give a number of tips.

The most important thing, no matter how stupid it may seem, is always left for last.

Car selection

Diesel (yes, diesel), petrol, micro-hybrid, electric hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric or dual-fuel petrol and liquefied or compressed natural gas. It is also possible to buy an electric car with an extended range, although the options are quite limited. Or a car running on hydrogen, but in this case there are practically no recharging options.

Therefore, if we find ourselves in such a situation and want to buy a car, we need to think about several aspects, which I summarize in the following steps:

What type of car do we need (by size)?

Here we must reflect on what exactly we are looking for. How much trunk do we need? Are we going to use the rear seats regularly or are we traveling as a couple? Are we a family that will grow, are we thinking about starting one, or are we not planning on having children? Children already travel independently and we don’t need such a big car?

Personally I recommend doing very rational reading our situation. If we don’t usually carry a lot of luggage, we shouldn’t prioritize the trunk. If we don’t usually use the rear seats, their habitability should be a secondary consideration in our decision.

It’s simply about not overestimating our needs. Yes, if we travel on weekends with little luggage and, for example, one day a year we want to transport a bicycle, then we will have problems or we will have to balance the luggage better. On that day we may regret our choice a little, but it will be temporary because for the rest of the year we will be missing out on the quality we probably paid a premium for.

If we are fans of mountain biking and load and unload our bikes every weekend, I would not only recommend that you buy a vehicle that will make this task easier. I say more: take the bike to the dealer and see for yourself whether the bike will fit in the trunk and how easy or difficult loading and unloading will be for you.

What benefit are we going to give to our machine?

I like to size the car first because for almost every size type there is the technology we are looking for. Largely because yousize and type of use go hand in hand.

If we are looking for a car for transportation exclusively in an urban environment, in order to get to and from work and take the children to school, we are not interested in a car that is too large, since it will be much more inconvenient to use on such trips.

On the contrary, if we regularly drive on highways and highways and cover hundreds or thousands of kilometers every week, we will prioritize comfort and, most likely, the car will be larger.

In this case, I would prioritize the following aspects, from most important to least important:

• Are we going to use this machine as the only one in the house?
• What movements do we make in everyday life?
• Do we travel regularly?
• How many long trips do we take per year?
• How many kilometers do we walk in a year?

Which technology do we choose?

Once we have the right size car for our needs and we are clear on how we are going to use it, all that remains is to choose which technology interests us most.

Money and, if necessary, access to an outlet to charge an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid are key. My recommendation is the following:

• Diesel: who drives many kilometers on the highway and highway and is rarely in the city. I wouldn’t buy it if I drove less than 20,000 kilometers a year.
• Petrol: We want a car at home “for everything.” We operate within the normal range of the average driver and we use the car both in the city and for leisure on motorways and motorways.
• Microhybrids: If such a possibility exists, then the micro-hybrid is a good option to obtain the ECO label and its benefits if we are looking for a petrol car, since the cost is practically the same and we will not notice any changes while driving.
• Hybrids: We also have a car as a “multipurpose vehicle”, but we do most of our miles in the city. Although we can go out on the weekends, every day we drive a good ten kilometers in an urban environment or we need to enter a ZBE where access for more polluting vehicles is limited.
• Plug-in hybrids: Same case as the previous one, but we have the opportunity to charge the socket at home, and on weekends we usually spend our holidays in another house nearby. This is important because once the battery’s charge is depleted, running solely on the internal combustion engine can cause the car to have excessively high fuel consumption, ruining your daily savings.
• Electric: We have access to the plug. You could choose it as a second car if we’re only going to use it around town, or as an “everything car” if saving money on internal charging will offset us over the course of the year. You can check this with this calculator.

He said money and access to an outlet are critical in this case, since plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles are significantly more expensive than their combustion engine counterparts. To offset the costs, you need to drive a sufficient number of kilometers.

Also, if you’re thinking about an electric car, the first thing you need to know is that although the shortage of charging stations in Spain is large, it hasn’t stopped growing and most regions are now easily accessible without breaking the bank. complications. And once you get used to it, it’s easy to avoid any difficulties with an electric car.

My last and final advice is to buy what you like best.

Indeed, this is what I end up telling people who ask me about the car they should buy. Because after years of working on cars of all types, brands and technologies, I have more than proven that when someone asks, they already have a favorite in mind.

In my case, I bought a petrol Mazda 3. This is a car microhybrid but for me it was more than secondary. At this point, neither my partner nor I needed a larger car, so boot space and rear seat habitability took a back seat.

Luckily (understandable if you live in a city like Madrid), I don’t have to use the car every day. IN Hataka We work remotely so I don’t need it and my partner doesn’t use it to travel during the week either. As a rule, we rarely use it in the city. On the contrary, we use it regularly on the road, but we only travel a few kilometers a year.

We have a garage and it would be easy to put in a charging station to charge the EV battery, but personally I prefer a naturally aspirated engine for everyday use. And here is most of it the magic of the matter. Since there was no urgent need to buy a car (for example, the one we had broke down), I was able to decide on a car that I just really liked.

Yes, an electric car is much quieter and smoother, but unlike a naturally aspirated engine, it doesn’t make me smile when I use it. And that’s what matters. Because both technologies fit into my budget and I could use an electric car at a lower price.

But within each person’s capabilities, as long as you don’t view the car as an appliance, you will eventually have a car you love. Good because it’s an SUV, good because it’s not, because you like this brand, because you like its interior, because you hate screens… For any reason: you will have a favorite.

This is very clear to me at this point. Buy what you like best. Because it’s possible that the machine that makes you ringing spend a little more than competitors, or perhaps be less practical. The child seat may be awkward to put in and out, or it may not have a huge trunk. But deep down we are going to spend the one, two, three or tens of thousands of euros that each of us wants on a car that we usually hope to have for more than ten years.

Because then what happens: we regret. We spend the entire life of our car realizing how practical it is and how well it parks, but when we see our long-awaited (and never purchased) car drive by, we feel a small pang of pain in our hearts.

Yes, I understand the benefits of an electric car. I am the first to encourage everyone who wants and wants to master this technology. In fact, I would choose this option if I used the machine daily.

But I just like them better. Feel which offers a naturally aspirated petrol engine. When you really like a car, you consider your disadvantages (small trunk for all sizes of car, high fuel costs compared to an electric car…) to be less than its disadvantages, because its advantages outweigh them.

In short, are you looking for a car and wondering between two, three or four options?

Buy the one you like best. It is so simple.

Image |

In Hatak | Buying a used car: what to look for and what to consider before buying