Best car for fuel economy?

flyingscottie81

Hi all,

Being a lady I understand the basic principal of mpg, however am getting a bit lost looking at all these cars!!

We have a budget of £4k and are looking at the following, all are around 3-5 years old:

Smart ForFour
Ford Fiesta
Peugot 206
Renault Megane

Can any car buffs suggest what is the cheapest and easiest to maintain?

Thanks

FS:D

harveybobbles

Megane with the 1.5 106 dci engine will be quite wafty and very econimical. £35 quid road tax too!

ghandi

Maybe a Kia Rio or a Chevrolet Matiz;)

hewhoisnotintheknow

all are excellent mpg

consider any small citroen/pug with a hdi engine
not sure on the smart though

BDZ

You can't go far wrong with any of those cars, although if mpg is your main concern then go for a diesel model. Diesels are more economical to run and parts last longer.

In the longer run part costs for the Smartcar would make it more pricey, a diesel Fiesta would be my choice for both mpg and price of parts for repairs/service.

MX5huggy

How far are you driving? no point get a diesel if you only nip to the shops? miles per year is a good measure.

Rolandtheroadie

The miles you would have to do to justify getting a diesel are very high as MX5 says.
The 1.4 TDCI engine (Fiesta) has problems (injector seals). It's not a matter of will they go but when will they go. Fumes in cab are a surefire way to tell (put the blower on full and set to your face to tell). Lady across the road has an 05 plate focus (1.8 diesel, also a fault). She's had them done twice.
Wife's 03 plate Fiesta has had stuff done that shouldnt need doing at the age they were done. Discs twice, pads 3 times, brake pipes (at second mot!), spring, strut, injector seals, cat back exhaust, rear wheel bearings whilst doing rear shoes for handbrake failure, clutch cable used to fall off pedal.
Friend has had a Megan and a Clio 1.5 dci. Couple of cheap to fix problems (if you avoid the main dealer) but nothing serious.

epz_2

ignore the smart, i was talking to a german car specialist and he reconed it was a total pig to work on, that means big service bills.

what sort of driving are you planning, there is no point having a tiny engine car for designed for stop start city centers when you need to thrash the life out it daily on the motorway.

k18dan

for running around town - not extensive mileage go for a 1.2 petrol fiesta..

nippy away from the lights, low tx, low insurance, low service/parts, high MPG

Mini_Bear

the 1.4 tdci fiesta has road tax of only £35/yr cuz its an economical diesel engine. ive seen a couple of these on for 3.5k on autotrader.

thescouselander

I reckon the choice is simple:

Smart = expensive
Pug and Renault are french so they'll definately brake down (My GF's Megane is rediculously unreliable)

So I think the Ford Fiasco is the one to go for, easy!