Currently running a Kia Niro hybrid, which is basically the same drive train as the Ioniq. The battery in hybrids is gaining energy in braking, over-run, down-grades, etc. - and provides a boost to output throughout a journey. The majority of my motoring is on Spanish motorways running on cruise control, and currently I'm averaging 56mpg (brim-to-brim records), which is better than previous diesel consumption for the same type of motoring. Finding the dual-clutch gearbox (pause for the usual anti-comments) is superior in consumption and drive terms than previous Toyota hybrids.

Yes - particularly compared to the Toyota CVT boxes. Ioniq/Niro definitely worth a test drive.

Steer clear of the trims with larger wheels - look a bit nicer, but they come with a penalty of higher consumption and emissions. The middle trim is usually the sweet spot

Edited by colinh on 10/12/2017 at 09:43

i40 is a biggish car - do you need that size?

Avensis saloon/estate comes with 1.8 petrol or a BMW diesel engine.

Smaller is the Auris estate / hatchback is petrol, diesel or hybrid.

Hybrid Taxis seem to be common & the Toyotas can cover lunar mileges - 5 year warranty

When I ran a go to work car I bought new, last of the line, clearance model / big discount & kept it for 3/4 years.

A former friend's company (now defunct- for a very odd reason) had dozens of company cars - he bought new & leased over 3 years (90K) but that was expensive because of the mileage - he started buying ex day rent cars.

3- 6 mths old - 10K on clock (or less) sold them after 18 months /2 years with 60K on clock as warranty ran out - for him it was much cheaper. Maybe wrth a look. 60K car is worth something reasonable , 90K is high for a 3 year car.

Choose the right petrol engine, Bycro, and you could get what you need without resorting to dlesel or hybrid.

On a long run SWMBO's Audi A1 1.4 petrol will give 55 mpg, whereas my diesel Volvo V60 can occasionally manage 50 mpg, more usually 48. OK, the Volvo is bigger and it's an automatic, but it ought at least to level-peg with the Audi. And the 1.4 TSI is much livelier as well as queter than the diesel.

Depending on your lease budget and the size of car you want, one of the VW Group cars with this 1.4 TSI engine should suit you well. The Skoda Octavia (hatch or estate) is a similar size to your i40, but there are plenty of alternative models from VW, Audi and SEAT with this engine.

There are other efficient petrol engines which have come to the market in the past few years - the Peugeot 1.2 and Suzuki 1.4 for example, and the new 1.0 Honda Civic is well reviewed. But some 1.0 engines, notably the one in the Ford Fiesta and Focus, aren't so economical unless driven gently.

It seems as though VAG are still ahead of the pack as regards mpg in their TSi cars, though the latest offerings from Peugeot, Suzuki and Honda have, as you say, been given good reviews, and it'll be interesting to see if they match up in terms of that as well as performance.

One thing I've wondered is that why any of the other manufacturers using small capacity turbo-charged engines haven't used their own take on VAG's cylinder-on-demand technology - whilst VAG will have a patent on the specific tech, there must, like dual clutch gearboxes, be a variation on a theme that can achieve better mpg overall without sacrificing peak performance when required. Whilst there have been the occasional issue with this tech on the VAG 1.4 TSi's, it seems to be far more reliable than the DSG tech, hence my surprise that no-one else has really tried it (or at least for any decent length of time) since VAG did.

If I had to pick the most versatile engine on the market today that gives the best compromise between performance and economy, I would say the 1.4 TSi ACT 140/150 and (hopefully) its replacement in 1.5 guise is it. Its a shame that there aren't more reviews of the Peugeot 1.2 Puretech & Suzuki 1.4 boosterjet from ordinary car buyers to give a more 'real world' opinion of these engines than HJ and his team does during test drives (even extended ones). Hopefully the Honda 1.0T and 1.5T engines will get a reasonable amount of reviews to aid in comparison with the VAG ones.

I would say though that with the OP's high annual mileages at around the 30k mark, diesel seems to me to still be the better bet, though closer than 5 years or so ago, for the moment at least, even with recent changes in taxation and stopping (older) diesel cars driving in major urban areas.