Cheap car to run fuel wise

[jennymac]

We will be buying a new car this year when we move to the country. Not sure what we'll get yet but maybe one that will fit 3 car seats in the back in case we decide to go for that third baby! As we will be doing more travelling I was wondering if anyone could recommend a car that is economical fuel wise.

Diesels generally more economical on fuel than petrol cars (DH is a driving instructor so drives a LOT).

I know nothing about cars but the smaller the car, the better fuel wise. So a 1.2 or 1.4?

Award-winningly unhelpful but to me car types are - Small car. Big car. Shiny car.

Get a manual diesel, not an automatic petrol...I knows this from bitter experience!

Diesel

And don't get too small an engine. If you have a larger engine then you are not constantly driving full pelt, so you use less fuel.

The best car we ever had for fuel efficiency was a BMW 320d. Not that you would get three car seats in the back, but the engine was fantastic. We used to drive almost 1000km before we needed to refuel.

DH drives a Suzuki Swift - averages around 60mpg. It's classed as one of the greener cars so gets the £35 a year car tax. It's not massive but sits 2 adults comfortably in the back (or DS & his friend in car seats)

My old VW Passat estate was a dream -- diesel, manual, used to get 58 mpg on it regularly.

MmeLindt - but how big was the tank?

My Multipla only costs £40 to fill from showing empty to full.

The Parkers Guide online wil show you every single fact and figure about every car on the market plus reviews.

The Mini Cooper D for example has 72mpg, my Honda 2.2 TDI Estate gets 60mpg. The Honda is an amazingly comfortable ride, ours sadly has not been reliable but all the other Hondas we have ever had have been 100% so we probably got a duff one. Servicing etc is astronomical. Huge boot, loads of cabin space, loads of kit. Best rivals are the Mondeo estate and Passat estate.