can anyone recommend a very fuel efficient car?

[ThatVikRinA22]

in spring, i need to retire my faithful little 10 yr old corsa, i will be keeping it but i need a car for work that is much more fuel efficient.

currently, i travel 28.5 miles each way, 6 days on, 4 off. so for 6 days i do 57 miles daily. (so averages out at 285 miles a week for work)
i also visit DS on my days off at uni, which is about a 100 mile round trip.
Little car is doing a lot of miles these days, and despite being a 1.2 is using around £250 of petrol each month.

when i get a new car, i would like one that is much more fuel efficient, possibly a diesel - but im so confused.

it cant be smaller than the current corsa - ideally, i would like a slightly larger car and possibly a larger engine as all my travel is motorway.

i filled up one of works diesel 1.7 Focus the other day and was surprised to find it only cost £55 to fill it - a friend who drives one says she gets about another 200 miles per tank than me in my corsa....

i have no idea what to look for.
i have seen a diesel Clio that is supposed to get 88mpg, but ive no idea how accurate those figures are, or where to start to even find a fuel efficient car that would cut motorway travel.

does anyone know any sites, or know anyone with any car know how who could give me some pointers? i know nothing, and no no body who can help!

thanks

What's your budget?
If you are purely after fuel efficiency, have you thought about getting a hybrid?

Honest John in The Telegraph I know, I know gives pretty good car advice.

not actually thought about a budget..... i got the corsa from new (well - it had 30 miles on the clock!) and was £6995.

i think cars might cost a bit more now though! im quite happy to have a tidy used car, so maybe up to 12k. i feel hybrids may be out of my reach.....

A point to consider: you could buy a car capable of 91mpg - the Porsche 918 - but it will cost you in the region of £700,000 to buy.

The point I'm making: look at what your priority really is; chances are, it isn't to own the most fuel efficient car. I would bet your priority is to save money, am I right? If that is the case, spend money wisely on a secondhand car and the extra you don't pay can go on fuel. E.g. £5K on a decent secondhand car, £7K in the bank to go on fuel (and maintenance).

That Clio is not likely to get 88mpg, btw. Look at www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/ for (closer to) real world mpg figures.

that site is brilliant - thank you. the clio does have a model that gets 60 mpg.....97% of what it should do.

so will hang on to that one for now....off for a nosey at others.

Citroen C3 diesel might be worth a look.

New Nissan Micra, zero road tax, and bigger than the 2008-2010 Micras, so probably bigger than your Corsa. I bet there's a diesel version.

Basically, look at low road tax vehicles, Band C at highest.

If you get a new diesel, you have to be sure you're doing the mileage to make it worth it, or you'll just have to have the particulate filters unblocked regularly. If you are, Skoda Fabia Greenline looks awesome.

Honda have a Jazz hybrid but still might not compare to good diesel.

Good luck!

I've got a peugeot 107. It's very cheap to run - up to around 60mpg, low tax, reasonably cheap to insure. I got it brand new from a dealership using their Just Add Fuel promotion, so overall it's dirt cheap.

There are drawbacks - it is most definitely smaller than a Corsa and it's very 'tinny', and with a 1 litre engine you're never likely to get a speeding ticket.