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Hi Catriona,

Go for the petrol Golf. It's a hugely economical engine anyway, but if you're doing short hops and low mileage then there's just no point in buying a diesel. You'll never make back the extra purchase price in fuel savings and you'll run into problems with clogged diesel particulate filters, etc.

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Hi Sinead,

How about a Honda Civic? Your budget should get you into a 2007 model with the 1.4-litre V-TEC petrol engine. Frugal, reliable and spacious.

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Hi Denis,

Best to stick with a Toyota Verso (neé Corolla Verso) or a Volkswagen Touran so - both have space for seven, and big boots if you leave the rear seats folded down. Both should be endlessly reliable too. Honda's FR-V also worth a look if six seats (in two rows of three) would work for you.

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Hi Alan,

Actually, our information is that your car should have a timing chain, not a belt, which has no scheduled maintenance interval. To check this, call a service department of any Ford dealer with your registration number and they'll tell you for sure.

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Hi Philip,

You might just break 30mpg with the 2.3 if you're reasonably careful. You'll be lucky to see 20mpg in the V8...

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Hi Pamela,

Unless you actually need the seven-seat layout of the Hyundai, I'd go for the BMW. It'll be much more affordable to run in terms of fuel costs (close to 60mpg versus more like 45mpg in the Hyundai) and cheaper to tax too. The only concern might be that the Hyundai would be more reliable than the BMW, pound for pound. If you're buying the Beemer with a full service history and a warranty though there shouldn't be any problems.

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Hi Pat,

The dealers are, in fairness, being evasive because they don't have the full picture yet. None of us do, to be honest. However, there's no really good reason for not buying an A6. It's an excellent car, very frugal and lovely to drive, and beautifully built too. If it does turn out to be one of the cars on which the CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption has been under-estimated, then you will be compensated for any gap - Volkswagen Group has promised that customers will not be out of pocket as a result of all this. So I'd say go ahead - cracking car.

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Hi Charles,

Yeah, with a small car like that (a) diesel is not generally available and (b) it would push up the price tag so much that you'd never earn the difference back in fuel savings. Of the ones you're looking at, I'd go with withe Hyundai i10 - it's really comfy and spacious for a small car, and should be sufficiently rugged to deal with the roads you're talking about. Plus the five-year warranty should help to keep the running costs down.

Relevant reviews:

Volkswagen up! review

SEAT Mii review

Skoda Citigo review

Fiat Panda review

Hyundai i10 review

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Hi Martin,

The Sandero is one of those ‘Ronseal’ cars – it does what it says on the tin, and the tin is pretty cheap. It’s a very simple, small hatchback that’s long on value but short on refinement or excitement. The front is perfectly comfy for a long journey but the back seats are rather cramped if you’re trying to squeeze taller passengers or kids in big car seats in. It’s a solid, practical and pretty reliable thing though. Nothing wrong with it, and at that price point, that’s the point. The diesel though? It’s a very good engine, that 1.5, but in a car like the Sandero you’re probably better off going for either the basic 1.2 or the really impressive 900cc turbo petrols as you’ll be a long time getting the extra purchase price of the diesel back in fuel savings.

Read our Dacia Sandero review here

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Hi Louise,

You're looking at two very different cars - the Auris is considerably larger and more practical than the Clio, but both are actually pretty frugal. The 1.4 VVTi petrol or 1.33 VVTi petrol in the Auris is actually quite economical, as long as you drive it with reasonable care: 45mpg should be easily achieved in daily driving.