Buying a new small car- Rio or Polo? And which spec?

I'm looking to buy a new small car for a daily 100 mile commute which is a mix of A and B roads.

Tops speeds and 0-60mph times are of no real importance to me, but comfort, reliability, and fuel economy are.

I have narrowed down my choices to the following;
VW Polo 1.2 TDi Match, 1.2 TDi Bluemotion and 1.6 TDi SEL versions
Kia Rio '2' 1.1 CDRi and '2' 1.4 CRDi

I feel like I can almost immediately dismiss the 1.6 Polo and 1.4 Rio as the smaller engine sizes have better official mpg figures.

I am worried about how close to the official mpg figures I will be able to achieve day to day. Based on past experience I have managed to get within, say, 10% of the official figures.

In your opinion which of the above cars would be the best all round package for doing about 25k miles a year?

Asked on 19 January 2012 by MrNellers

Answered by Honest John
Unless you drive like a monk you won't get anywhere near the official figures. Depends how hard you want to concentrate (and how much you don't care about holding up cars behind you on inclines). Feedback of real life fuel economy here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg I'd go for the KIA Rio 1.1 to get a chain cam engine and a 7 year warranty. You get neither with the VW.
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