Most economical petrol cars

For the past week I’ve been driving an old MK1 Yaris (dating from around 2001, I think). I haven’t worked out the fuel consumption, but according to the inbuilt trip computer it’s returning over 53mpg. This is driving gently, mainly on A-roads, and some town driving.

I don’t follow current car trends, but I see that some cars have official fuel consumption figures of around 80mpg, but apparently their real life consumption is usually much lower.

So, what’s the most economical petrol car you’ve driven, and can it sip fuel slower than an old Yaris?

Honda Civic Jazz ( Edit: sorry wrong car I meant new Jazz and some of the Civic 😳 ) is very economical for a small car.

Daihatsu Nippa is even more economical but I suggest you don’t drive one in the UK … 850CC only.

Check out the Honest John ‘real mpg’ page.

In response to the above poster you’re lucky to get 40mpg out of a 1.8 petrol Civic (2006-2012) on combined urban/rural drives, I have a 2010 and this is the consensus on the forum, diesel is better and I dunno about the 1.4 petrol.

Skoda yeti 1.2 average 40mpg on brim to brim calc and a FIESTA 1.6 that can do almost 50mpg.

Petrol BMW 330e. Varies from using no fuel at all to about 20mpg and stupid acceleration.

Current overall mpg figure from new is about 65mpg.

Mrs FD has a 1.0 eco Fiesta. They claim some silly big mpg figures for that. It averages about 44mpg

My wife has a 1.0 Bluemotion Polo, 2 years old, really good mpg, but absolutely gutless to drive, in that i am not bothered about going quickly, but it is nice to have some poke to be able to overtake or pull out of a junction sometimes.

I had a 1.2 Micra as a courtesy car while my car was being worked on.

I was amazed; it managed 58mpg on my mainly a-road 60 mile each way commute (at the time).
But, it was gutless, slow & horrible to drive. It eventually got swapped for a 1 litre when my car had to back in for remedial work & that was even slower, but quite a bit less economical; I think I struggled to get 50mpg out of it….

Bloke at work has a Polo 1.4 GT-Line something or another, which I think has a turbo.
Apparently it shuts down to 2 cylinders when cruising & he reckons he can see 55mpg out of it regularly….quite impressive considering it’s performance figures when you stick your foot down.

I don’t follow current car trends, but I see that some cars have official fuel consumption figures of around 80mpg, but apparently their real life consumption is usually much lower.

Be wary of small petrol engines with big turbos – they can return a good headline figure mpg on paper but in real world stop and start driving every time you accelerate they guzzle fuel and in practice larger engines will often be more frugal.

Same goes for the new generation of 1.3l diesels

deejayen

So, what’s the most economical petrol car you’ve driven, and can it sip fuel slower than an old Yaris?

That would be my current 1.0 ecoboost Focus. Averages around 39/41mpg* with a lot of city driving and will hit the high 50s or low 60s on the motorway, fully loaded with roof rails and bike rack. Considerably heavier car than an old Yaris with more power too.

*Based on the trip computer. I tracked my fuel usage with fuelio for a while which showed slightly better mpg than the trip computer.

Stevelol – Member
In response to the above poster you’re lucky to get 40mpg out of a 1.8 petrol Civic (2006-2012) …

D’Oh! I meant Honda Jazz. 😳

wow … 1.8 for Civic … they used to be small car. 😯

Oh ya … Vtec can be very thirsty if you push it.

My first car, a 1978 2CV, used to do 50mpg on a run. That was literally driving with your foot on the floor on the motorway, and doing about 60mph.

Drove a Fabia III with a 1.2 Tsi engine and a CityGo as courteousy cars, both got 50mpg+ so one of those?

It sounds like the Yaris isn’t doing too bad!

I’ve heard that cars such as the Fiat 500 return pretty dire real world economy compared to their official figures.

I suppose the newer engines are less efficient due to emissions legislation. Other than the stop-start there doesn’t seem to have been much done to improve fuel consumption in recent years.

I always wonder why manufacturers don’t improve car aerodynamics, but perhaps they’re restrained due to cooling and safety requirements.

I bought a new suzuki swift last week and on a mix of motorway, a-roads and urban driving its doing just over 53mpg. 1.2 engine is reasonably nippy in 1st to 3rd too.

My 1976 Ford Falcon I drove around Australia in 1994 might not make the grade. 4.2 litre petrol engine that must have been putting out at least 70bhp and 100kmh on a good day. That would do 15 mpg if you treated her right. Mind you at 50c per litre and the exchange rate at the time it only destroyed the planet not my wallet.

If you drive less than 50-60 miles a day get a Nissan Leaf! Loads of poke and 75% less fuel cost than a Yaris

Used to get mid-30s in my old mk1 Octy vRS. Got it to over 40 a few times sitting at 60 on the motorway.

I used to feel rather chuffed when that happened.

I have a 1.3 Alfa Mito Diesel and trip computer claims average (over 2000m) of 63.

It sounds like the Yaris isn’t doing too bad!

My dad’s got an X reg Yaris and that gets the same fuel economy as my ’63 Fabia 1.2: 45mpg all-in. Anything over that for a petrol Supermini size car is good IMO.

I always wonder why manufacturers don’t improve car aerodynamics

Because you end up with something that looks like a Prius, which is clearly for weirdos and hippies and skinflints, and to which most people go “ugh” at, because it very clearly is not a statement reflecting the true splendour of their life status.

Or to sum it up, “fashion”.

I suppose the newer engines are less efficient due to emissions legislation.

Its more the cars being so heavy. The current Fiesta is a whole metric ton heavier than the first model – its almost the same weight as a Mk1 Range Rover.

which is clearly for weirdos and hippies and skinflints,

Hobnob anyone?

IME, the MPG is a poor indicator of what a car costs to run per mile – both financially and environmentally.

a Prius, which is clearly for weirdos and hippies and skinflints

And geography teachers, don’t forget geography teachers. Although they fit into the ‘weirdos and hippies’ genre.

and skinflints

Price (on the road)

£24,100-£35,450

I’ve heard that cars such as the Fiat 500 return pretty dire real world economy compared to their official figures

Not sure on the official figure but our 1.2 500 does around 54 MPG with a mix of town and a road.
Good enough as far as I am concerned.

50-ish mpg is good, but it just seems poor in comparison with the headline figures.

An electric car (such as a Leaf) would be great for typical commutes, but they’re still expensive to buy.

When I think of aerodynamics I think of velomobiles. I haven’t ridden one, but I know people who say they’re amazingly aerodynamic – they’ll accelerate down even the slightest slopes, and 70mph isn’t unheard of down a decent hill. Of course, they’re extremely slippery, and have a small frontal area, but you’d think a little car incorporating some of those features would be great. It’s not petrol driven, but I imagine something really aerodynamic based on a Renault Twingo would take efficiency up a notch.

I think the design of the Prius is just as much fashion driven as any other car. It certainly isn’t rumple fugly because it has to be to achieve its low drag. A Volvo c70 from the same era achieves the same figure as the mk1 Prius for example.

“I have a 1.3 Alfa Mito Diesel and trip computer claims average (over 2000m) of 63.”

Classic STW post

I bet it does not go very far if you put PETROL in it .

Fiesta 1.6 tdci econetic – my driving school car
55 mpg whilst teaching pupils to drive, now with 83000 miles.
Bit of noise on idle but quite and nippy on the mid range.
£0 tax

My OH has a ’16 plate Mini Cooper petrol which claims to be giving 52MPG on a 20 mile commute! I reckon mid-40s actual. That’s quite frankly amazing for a 136BHP ‘warm’ hatch which weighs about as much as a small planet and is as aerodynamic as a house.

Our 1.0 Toyota IQ seems quite good, though I’ve never measured the MPG and there’s a fault with the computer. It’s sufficiently cheap that i’ve never bother to worry about how much it costs to run (0 tax, cheap insurance etc).

I always wonder why manufacturers don’t improve car aerodynamics

I think it’s because you end up with an expensive, long, narrow, 2 seater car, with a small engine, which is neither good for city driving nor long trips with the family.

Like this
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/xl1

maccruiskeen – Member

The current Fiesta is a whole metric ton heavier than the first model – its almost the same weight as a Mk1 Range Rover.

Sorry, but nope……

Got your numbers wrong there….Google reckons that the current Fiesta is 1045-1163kg.

So, you’re saying a MkI Fiesta weighed 163kg?
My ’94 M Reg MkIII Fiesta weighed around 895kg from memory.

The original Range Rover weighed 2011kg according to Wikicars….

I used to have a 1.0 turbo Focus that could manage 55mpg+ If I was doing long runs around the Selby/York/Richmond corridor. Backwards and forwards from Skipton to Harrogate over the hills would see it drop to high 30’s though.

Current 118i 1 Series seems to average low 40’s.

Interested if anyone has feed back on the 1.4 150bhp in the Seat Leon as considering the estate version.

bet it does not go very far if you put PETROL in it .

Easy Tiger. I think we have moved on (in classic STW style) we are even including electric and hybrid now.

matt_outandabout – Member

IME, the MPG is a poor indicator of what a car costs to run per mile – both financially and environmentally.

MkII Nissan Micra FT overall W!

A roads, bit of town driving, admittedly drive like grandad a bit — 1.4 TSI Skoda Octavia estate – 60 plate.
Can kit 50mpg on long journeys – Elgin – Edinburgh/Glasgow, 170 odd miles.

Maybe not with bucket loads of kit as well, but regularly get around the 45mpg on a practical load lugging car..

I have never had a car that will do more than 40 odd mpg, ever

I’ve had about 8 diesels, most 2.0 to 2.5 litres

Which means I’ve never had a car that’s been that ecnonomical in the grand scheme of things. But I don’t do many miles now so am not that worried about it. I used to do loads, I was happy with 40mpg back then (about 12 years ago)

I’ve got a little Seat Mii runabout 75hp 900 odd cc. I drove it to Nottingham and back today from Surrey gave 64mpg on the way up and 55 on the (faster) way back motorway driving between 50-70. Also comfortable and fairly quiet for a diddy little car. Leased it for 3 years but then decided to buy it as it’s great and super cheap in every way.

Also rocking a 2001 yaris and get 52mpg on my A road and city commute, average speed 33mph, not too bad for an old girl.