Petrol v Diesel when travelling only 6000 miles a year

I am deciding on a Company Car and have narrowed the choices down to a Toyota Prius and a Golf Bluemotion.

The Golf costs slightly more in relation to BIK, but both fit my budget. I feel that the Golf's interior is a far nicer place to be than the Prius, but the Toyota seems to be a technical marvel. However, we only do 6000 - 7000 miles per year with 4,000 miles consisting of journeys of less than 10 miles with two annual road trips of 1000.

Will the Golf cope with such small journeys and still return a good MPG, or will the petrol Prius be much better suited?

Asked on 22 November 2011 by N Atkinson

Answered by Honest John
If it's a company car, you don't need to be concerned with problem areas such as dual mass flywheels, diesel particulate filters, EGRs and timing belts. You'll only have the car for three years and the poor sucker who buys the car after your tenure will be the one who has to pay the big bills. When the public finally cottons on that 3 - 6 year old diesels with DPFs are potential money pits rather than money savers we are going to see a severe dip in used diesel retail prices and hence in diesel residual values. Hybrids are proven to be much more long-term reliable. Nothing much ever goes wrong with a Prius.
Dear Honest John,

Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:
    Select a few terms below
Similar questions
I'm currently running a 2009 Volkswagen Golf Plus 2.0 TDI that I've had for almost five trouble-free years. It'll be at 90,000 miles soon and I think I should get out before I have to spend money on it....
We will be looking for a family SUV around April/May and can spend up to £12,000. Will prices come down after the new reg in March? Also, with the crackdown on diesel, should we be looking at petrol? Our...
What simple engined economical petrol family cars can you suggest for mainly motorway use of 25,000 miles per annum? I am considering a Skoda Octavia 1.2 TSI but wonder if the turbo will be problematic...
Related models
Low CO2 emissions and zero car tax. Spacious cabin makes it a realistic family car. Plug-In version escaped London Congestion Charge.
Comfortable and quiet on the move, enjoyable to drive. Nicely trimmed with great attention to detail. 1.4 TSI sweeter to drive than a diesel.