How Good is the Most Economical Car?

The standards for fuel economy that modern cars need to meet gets higher all the time and cars become more fuel efficient. In 2010, the most economical car available in the UK is the Smart ForTwo Cope CDI, which is a 2-door semi-automatic diesel car that provides a very good fuel usage of nearly 86 miles per gallon. This is over twice the fuel economy of a new Alfa-Romeo 147 and nearly three times better than a BMW, Mercedes or Audi. In the Smart ForTwo, you can travel 12 000 miles for about £765.

Also high up on the list are the Citroen C1 and the Toyota Aygo, which both give just over 83 miles per gallon. The Fiat Grande-Punto does well at 80 mpg, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa at 78.4 mpg. Other models of all these cars also give great fuel efficiency and you can also opt for a Peugeot 206, which will give you 76 miles of travel for every gallon of fuel.

Other Fuel Efficient Cars

As well as three other models of the Smart ForTwo coupe to choose from, another great choice in the top ten of fuel efficient cars available in the UK at the moment is the Seat Ibiza 1.4 TDI which is branded as an ecomotive, and has three doors. This small car has a manual transmission and also runs on diesel, giving just over 76 miles to the gallon. You can drive 12000 miles spending £858. Exactly the same fuel usage and efficiency is also provided by the larger 5-door model of the Seat Ibiza, which is good news if you are a family with kids and need a full back seat and boot for all their stuff. The Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCi Econetic also rates highly, with exactly the same fuel usage profile as the Seat Ibiza.

Other Advantages

As well as being fuel efficient, the most economical cars already listed also do well in terms of their taxation costs. All are in tax band A in the UK, which means they cost next nothing to tax under the new charging system introduced in April. This applies whether the car is new, or you are a subsequent owner, although many of these cars have not been out for long, so they won’t be too second-hand.

The car tax reductions for more economical models have been introduced by the government to try to encourage people to buy more environmentally friendly cars. Their recent car scrappage scheme was another measure – by scrapping a car that was at least ten years old (and therefore very fuel inefficient), you were able to get around £2000 towards a newer, more fuel efficient car.

Cars that are the most economical to run also tend to be less costly to buy new and also cost less to insure. The Fiat Punto, the Ford Fiesta and the Peugeot 206, all in the top 20 list of most economical cars are also in the top 20 list of cheapest to insure.

Choosing Your Next Car

We all choose cars for very different reasons but the impact of driving on the environment has become more important to more people in the last decade. As well as choosing a car that is the size that you need, it is also important to look at the statistics provided by the manufacturers on fuel economy, emissions and how this impacts on their cost to tax and insure. By choosing carefully, you could possibly opt for a more expensive car to buy, knowing that you will recoup running costs over the first couple of years you own it.

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