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What car should I buy that's fun but economical?

I am 69 and generally reasonably fit and still working. Three months ago I decided that I really needed a car with a higher driving position. I fancied a MINI Countryman, but the only one near to me and not white was a Cooper S version. As I still enjoy driving and a bit of performance I bought it privately. I love it but I am horrified at the fuel consumption, my journey to work is outside of the rush hour 6.5 miles on A roads and dual carriageways. If I just let the torque do the work and change up at 3000 revs I am averaging 33 mpg. If I actually enjoy a bit of a blast every day I get just over 20 mpg.

I am retiring next February and will change it next spring with a budget of £7000. I need to get two large dogs in the back What would you suggest?

Asked on 7 November 2018 by Steve Hubbard

Answered by Andrew Brady
It doesn't sound like you will be covering many miles, so we'd advise avoiding a diesel. We'd be inclined to keep the Countryman, if you like it. The cars you've mentioned will feel like a bit of a step-down and, if you're not covering many miles, the fuel savings will be wiped out by the cost of changing cars. If you do want to change, I reckon a Skoda Yeti would suit your requirements well. You'd probably enjoy the 1.8 TSI petrol but it's thirsty (our readers report around 31mpg on average: www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/skoda/yeti-2009). Look for a 1.4 TSI for the best combination of performance and economy.

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.

Real MPG
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