Most Economical Car

Most Economical Hatches

Below are the top 10 most economical hatches based on combined fuel consumption.

Most of these hatches are diesels although if you do prefer a petrol engine the Suzuki Alto is the most economical petrol hatch and is also one of the cheapest cars you can buy in Australia.

The Fiesta recently took the title of most efficient hatch from Toyota's Prius however the Prius is a much larger car than the Fiesta and is only 0.2 litres behind in combined fuel consumption.

Economical Car	Engine	Urban L/100km	Extra L/100km	Combined
Ford Fiesta Econetic	1.6L diesel	4.6	3.2	3.7
Toyota Prius	1.8L hybrid	3.9	3.7	3.9
MINI Cooper D	1.6L diesel	4.7	3.5	3.9
Citroen C3	1.6L diesel			4.4
BMW 118d	2.0L diesel	5.4	4.0	4.5
Audi A3	1.9L diesel	5.8	3.8	4.5
Volkswagen Polo 1.6TDI	1.6L diesel	5.5	4.0	4.6
Suzuki Alto	1.0L petrol	5.8	4.0	4.7
Hyundai i30	1.6L diesel	5.7	4.1	4.7

Ford Fiesta Econetic

The most economical hatch is the Ford Fiesta Econetic.

Although the Prius is 0.7 litres/100 km more efficient around town, Ford are keen to point out that with the Fiesta retailing at around $25,000, it would take over 100 years to recoup the extra initial cost of purchasing the Prius.

Ford have kept things simple to achieve this fuel economy - an engine and transmission tuned for efficiency teamed with a lightweight body, efficient tyres, great aerodynamics and low friction oils.