Fuel Costs

I know this is a major topic on just about everyone's mind at present, but I thought I would do a few calculations.

I drive a fairly economical car, a BMW 120d. On average I am getting 48 MPG, which is pretty damn good to be honest. Typically I do 18,000 miles a year.

Diesel is today £1.32 per litre. There are 4.55 litres to a gallon, so that's a cost of (4.55 x 1.32) almost exactly £6 per gallon. (Blimey, that's shot up, I recall it hitting £1 a gallon not that many years ago! )

At 48 MPG, my 18,000 miles uses 375 gallons of fuel every year. That's a whopping cost of £2250 a year in fuel, just to get me around. Add on to this servicing, insurance and road tax of then that's a huge chunk of my income.

So what are the options - Hybrid cars (Toyota Prius for example), these seem to be typically only economical around town however the vast majority of my mileage would be done out of town, so I doubt this is the route for me, until Hybrids get better of course. I can't walk, use public transport or bike, every day is differenet, I don't know where I may need to go on any given day, so need a car with me at all times. We need some more alternatives I feel.