Small petrol cars that do 500+ miles on a full tank

[Vinylseats]

I had been a diesel driver until 3 years ago when I "downgraded" to a petrol 1.2 Peugeot 208, a car I figured out at the time would be one of the closest to a diesel in terms of fuel economy. And it's not bad in that regard - it does upper 50s mpg on a long run and can do towards 500 miles on a full tank of petrol.

Other than that though I'm not a big fan of the car and am looking to change it soon.

I'm looking at used cars no more than three or four years old and a maximum of around £9,000. I've considered buying a diesel again - the Clio ticks most boxes for me in that regard - but want to look at small petrol cars too. As someone who does a fair amount of rural and motorway driving I want a petrol that goes well on long journeys and also requires filling up as little as possible; even if a car has an incredible mpg it might have a tiny fuel tank capacity, or is just generally a rubbish car - having said that I'm used to a 1.2 208 so am not exactly looking for performance.... Economy and comfort are more important to me.

I've been looking online at the 0.9 Renault Clio which seems decent, the recent 1.0 Toyota Yaris which according to my research looks like it might achieve 500+ miles on a tank. But it also looks rather slow. Then there's the newish Suzuki Swift 1.0 which gets decent reviews, and although it has a small fuel tank (37L?) appears to do incredible mpg. But I'm not keen on the look of the car itself.

Any other personal recommendations?

[Krikkit]

Fiesta with the 3-pot Ecoboost every time for me. Not as economical but so much fun, and a superb driving thing.

ETA: 42 litre tank capacity if not the ST, so should be minimum of 400 miles range.

[InitialDave]

Friend has a Yaris Hybrid which I reckon would do that. Range is 600+miles apparently - small tank (8 gallons?) but he gets great economy out of it. Did Leicester to Newcastle on 2.5 gallons the other week.

[mk4gtiturbo]

We got a 64 plate Polo GT recently, amazing car. Does 55+mpg, 7.5 seconds 0-60 and £20 road tax. Sometimes I prefer it to the S4 (until I drive the S4!)

[pyruse]

Honda Jazz gets about 60 mpg on a long run - should get close to 500 miles on a tank

[Mo28]

InitialDave said:

Friend has a Yaris Hybrid which I reckon would do that. Range is 600+miles apparently - small tank (8 gallons?) but he gets great economy out of it. Did Leicester to Newcastle on 2.5 gallons the other week.

My mum has a Yaris hybrid and easily gets 300 miles out of a tank just driving it around town, only sees the motorway once or twice a year so can't comment on how efficient it is in that respect and they also hold their value really well.

[Vinylseats]

Krikkit said:

Fiesta with the 3-pot Ecoboost every time for me. Not as economical but so much fun, and a superb driving thing.

ETA: 42 litre tank capacity if not the ST, so should be minimum of 400 miles range.

I've looked at the 1.0 Fiesta a lot, back when I bought my 208 too. Although it always appears to be one of the best small cars on sale it's main drawback for me was the smaller fuel tank and the 208 offered a newfangled touchscreen with Apple Carplay etc. which appealed to me. I'm looking at the new Fiesta now but fuel economy doesn't seem as good as either the old model nor its rivals.

InitialDave said:

Friend has a Yaris Hybrid which I reckon would do that. Range is 600+miles apparently - small tank (8 gallons?) but he gets great economy out of it. Did Leicester to Newcastle on 2.5 gallons the other week.

I'm not sure my budget stretches to hybrids just yet! Definitely in the future though.

mk4gtiturbo said:

We got a 64 plate Polo GT recently, amazing car. Does 55+mpg, 7.5 seconds 0-60 and £20 road tax. Sometimes I prefer it to the S4 (until I drive the S4!)

I've looked at the 1.0 and 1.2 Polos which seem to do good mpg - they're often a bit pricier than other similar cars though.

pyruse said:

Honda Jazz gets about 60 mpg on a long run - should get close to 500 miles on a tank

I'll take a look! I know Honda are good for reliability but I don't think the Jazz is one of the prettier cars out there....

[InitialDave]

Vinylseats said:

I'm not sure my budget stretches to hybrids just yet!

You said £9k, right? Should get one for that without issue, albeit maybe not 3-4 years old.

[ZX10R NIN]

if your not enjoying the 208 I'd suggest you go up a size with the same drivetrain you'll get a more comfortable car & with your journeys I'd be going this way, they also have bigger tanks:

Focus Titanium X 1.0T 125

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Diesel 120

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Vauxhall Astra Elite Nav 200

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

150

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

105

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Diesel 108

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

135

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

BiTurbo

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

If you still want a small petrol then I'd say the Fiesta in Titanium X spec;

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Vinylseats]

I've done further research and calcultaions on this, and thanks to Honest John's real MPG website and knowing each model's tank size it appears the 1.2 Peugeot 208 (which I currently own) with its 50 litre tank is the small petrol car which can achieve most miles on a tank of fuel.

So maybe I'll just have to buy another one, with a few more gadgets this time, and hope I prefer it to my current one.

Other small petrol cars which seem to be notable for good mileage on a tank are the Renault Clio 0.9, the recent Skoda Fabia 1.2 and the Suzuki Swift 1.0 Boosterjet.

Failing all this it'll be back to diesel and the Clio or an Astra!

[Vinylseats]

InitialDave said:

You said £9k, right? Should get one for that without issue, albeit maybe not 3-4 years old.

I've had a look at the hybrid Suzuki Swift which ticks a lot of my boxes and seems to be not far off my price range, at least in the near future.

[InitialDave]

I should update my comment on the Yaris to say that I drove my mate's hybrid on a 200 mile motorway run and only got 40mpg out of it so clearly it varies a lot, and his driving style suits it.

But then I managed to get a 24mpg average out a Fiat Panda, so ehhhh.

[Jag_NE]

The Clio diesel sounds perfect for you needs imo. That 1.5dci in a small package is great for hilly roads in the country and the motorway. A small NA petrol is a hateful thing imo.

[tweenster]

I used to have a Skoda Citigo Monte Carlo and the challenge was to get 500 miles from the 35 litre tank. I did manage it a couple of times but as you could have an absolute hoot driving these like Colin McRae and still get 50mpg whilst not at risk of losing your licence, that was usually the preferred option!

[MrGTI6]

If you're considering a petrol Yaris, I'd strongly recommend the 1.3 over the 1.0. Less economical on paper, but due to the extra 30bhp and six-speed 'box, probably more economical on the motorway.

The 1.4 diesel is very good as well if you would consider a diesel again, and even the hybrid version is a decent car.

[Vinylseats]

Still researching this, it's frustrating how fuel tanks on newer cars seem to be getting smaller and smaller, so no matter how much more fuel efficient new cars may be doesn't necessarily mean they'll do many more miles on a full tank than the previous model. My current 2015 Peugeot 208's fuel tank capacity is apparently 50 litres, but the newly launched 208 (for whenever I can afford one) is just 44 litres; the Fiesta is just 42. So I might be best just sticking with buying another older model 208!

What's with this fuel tank shrinkage?

I'd actually settled on the newish Skoda Fabia 1.0 TSI, which gets decent reviews for economy and motorway driving, but then realised none of them seem to come with cruise control, a function I've grown to like on my 208 on long journeys.

[Olas]

Auxiliary fuel tank.

[ZX10R NIN]

Everything points to you keeping your 208.

[tickedon]

Vinylseats said:

What's with this fuel tank shrinkage?.

Smaller tank = less fuel on emissions tests = less weight = better mpg & emissions figures.

Until recently, Audi A4s came with a 40l tank as standard!

[CX53]

You mentioned the Swift 1.0.. Also consider the 1.2. Its a very good engine, economical and surprisingly nippy and easy to drive. My Mrs has just bought a brand new 1.2 Attitude model and its loaded with kit and a nice place to be for short and long journeys.