Which Polo-sized car offers better fuel economy?
My wife currently runs a 2004 Volkswagen Polo 1.4 Twist. Her annual mileage is about 3000 - 4000 made up of fairly short journeys of up to 20 miles. She is always complaining about the fuel economy (currently about 40mpg). Could you recommend a vehicle with four side doors as a suitable replacement to the Polo that would give a better mileage? The car is well maintained with tyres kept at the correct pressure.
Asked on 19 May 2012 by PB, Fordingbridge
Answered by
Honest John
That's about the best she can expect with this sort of usage. Fuel economy will be worse in winter because the engine takes longer on enriched mixture to reach full working temperature. A diesel will be entirely unsuitable because this type of use will not allow the diesel particulate filter to regenerate. A small petrol turbo might be best (eg Polo 1.2TSI), because the water-cooled turbo in the exhaust manifold acts as a heat exchanger and warms the engine up quickly.
Real MPG enables you to register the fuel economy you are actually getting against your make and model of car, its engine and type of transmission.
Every time you enter an average consumption figure against your car, the overall average automatically adjusts to reflect it.
Our Fuel Cost Calculator shows you which will be the best choice for you.
Compare the running costs of petrol, diesel and electric cars to make the right choice for you.
Similar questions
On 8 August 2010 I wrote to you as I was thinking of changing my car and was wondering whether Volkswagen had any plans to sell the Polo diesel fitted with their 105PS 1.6 engine. I had tried the car with...
I have owned diesel Peugeots (309/306) for around 25 years and found them brilliant, doing 18-20,000 miles a year. Having now retired, my mileage is down to about 6000 a year, most of which are 20-30 mile...
I rather fancy an XF Jag. All the information on your site and elsewhere seems to concentrate on the diesel version. As I only potter around doing, say, 5000 miles a year, a diesel seems a bit problematic....
Related models
.jpg?width=115&height=75&rmode=crop)
Neatly styled and easy to drive. Room for five. Most come with full size spare. High quality interior. Double folding rear seats give flat load area. Frugal 1.2 TDI BlueMotion.
.jpg)
