For a huge number of new car buyers, efficiency and running costs are a crucial factor when deciding what model to buy.
In this guide we highlight five of the most fuel efficient petrol cars available to buy new in Britain right now. This guide focuses specifically on cars which are driven purely by a petrol engine, so don’t expect to find any hybrids here. If you are interested in a new hybrid car, then you can check out our guides on both the best hybrids and specifically the best plug-in hybrid cars.
The choice of cars for this guide is based on their official combined fuel economy figures. While official fuel economy figures can potentially be tricky to replicate in real world driving, they are still our most reliable indicator on paper as to how efficient a car is.
Suzuki Celerio 1.0 Dualjet
The Celerio is Suzuki’s latest city car and one of the most affordable new cars on the market nowadays. Perhaps surprisingly to some, however, there are things about the Celerio which really appeal besides its low pricing. One impressive aspect are the running costs offered by the engines.
Efficiency
Available are two 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol units, one of which is called Dualjet. This Dualjet petrol is about £500 more expensive than the alternative, but its official fuel economy is 12.7mpg higher in comparison. The overall fuel economy for the Celerio Dualjet is a whopping 78.4mpg, while CO2 emissions are a mere 84g/km.
If you’re looking to do a lot of travelling in an affordable small car, the Celerio can offer massive savings in the long run.
Find prices for the Suzuki Celerio hatchback
Peugeot 108/Citroen C1/Toyota Aygo 1.0
The Peugeot 108, Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo are all city cars which have their own distinctive styling but share virtually all the same components.
One thing they all have in common is that they are all available with a 1.0-litre petrol engine.
Efficiency
In standard form and when using the standard manual gearbox, this 1.0-litre unit for all of these cars records an official fuel economy of 68.9mpg.
All cars can go even further for efficiency, however, as some specs in each range are available with stop-start technology to aid the 1.0-litre petrol engine. With this add-on, the cars return 74.3mpg combined.
Find prices for the Peugeot 108 hatchback
Find prices for the Citroen C1 hatchback
Find prices for the Toyota Aygo hatchback
Fiat 500 0.9 TwinAir
The modern-day Fiat 500 is a very popular small car in Britain, winning fans with its chic, retro style and keeping fresh with various updates including a facelift during 2015.
Efficiency
Another strength of the Fiat 500 are the frugal engines available for it, especially the 0.9-litre TwinAir turbo petrol unit. Nowadays, the TwinAir engine for some Fiat 500 models is capable of offering a combined fuel economy of 70.6mpg.
You will have to pay over £13k for a Fiat 500 that frugal, but that’s still some distance away from the most expensive models in the range which cost around £16,000.
Find prices for the Fiat 500 hatchback
Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI BlueMotion
There’s a huge range of trims and engines you can combine when picking a new Volkswagen Polo supermini.
One of the fresher additions to the engine line-up is the small but impressive 1.0-litre TSI with 94bhp available for the efficiency-focused BlueMotion trim.
Efficiency
The polo’s three-cylinder, turbocharged TSI unit is the same basic engine you’ll find in a Volkswagen Up! (or its siblings – the Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii).
The unit in the Polo is not only more powerful, however, it also records an official combined fuel economy of 68.9mpg. CO2 emissions are also attractively low at just 94g/km.
Find prices for the Volkswagen Polo hatchback
SEAT Ibiza 1.0 EcoTSI
In similar fashion to the Volkswagen Polo, the SEAT Ibiza supermini is available with a 1.0-litre turbocharged TSI (known as EcoTSI here) petrol engine.
Like the Polo as well, the Ibiza has a smart, modern design and a high quality build that appeals to car buyers of all ages, although the Ibiza’s sportier profile will appeal more to younger drivers.
Efficiency
Because this Ibiza model uses the same engine as the Polo model mentioned above, the supermini returns an official combined fuel economy of 68.9mpg and the CO2 output is 94g/km.
Also, whereas the Polo model is priced at roughly £15,000, the Ibiza with the same engine is over a grand less to purchase. It’s not quite as smart or as sophisticated as a Polo, but this Ibiza model is a still an impressive, frugal choice of petrol car.