The best-selling cars that go furthest on a tank of fuel

As fuel prices soar at near-unprecedented rates, many motorists will be extra-curious about the bang they get for their buck when filling up their car.

With this in mind, new figures collated by Euro Car Parts reveal exactly how far the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars go on a full tank of fuel.

This isn’t a list of which cars do the most miles per gallon, or which are the cheapest to fill. Rather, it favours a combination of overall efficiency and healthy tank size.

For example, a car that can do 100 mpg but only has a 30-litre fuel tank, will not go as far as a car that can get 50 mpg but has a 70-litre fuel tank.

The figures here are therefore are worked out by multiplying a car’s tank size in litres by its claimed average miles per litre (mpg for we Brits). Researchers chose the highest possible combined fuel economy for each of the top 10 cars. 

What popular car goes the furthest on a tank of fuel?

It’s the Ford Focus, which can manage a spectacular 1,112 miles on a 52-litre tank of fuel. The Focus comfortably goes over 1,000 miles, for under £70.

The VW Golf, Audi A3 and BMW 3 Series are also in the 1,000-mile club, going 1,046 (Golf and A3) and 1,014 miles on a tank. That being said, the Golf and A3 cost £70 to fill their 55-litre tanks, while the 3 Series costs £76 to fill with 60 litres of fuel.

As for the cheaper cars to fill, the VW Polo claims eighth place overall, going 803 miles for just £51 to fill its 40-litre tank. The best-seller Ford Fiesta puts in a good shift, too, going 821 miles on its £53 42-litre full tank for seventh place overall.

Here’s how to find the cheapest petrol and diesel near you.

In fact, it’s the Focus, Polo and Fiesta that lead in terms of pennies spent per miles driven. The Focus costs 7.1p per mile of travel, while the Polo and the Fiesta cost 7.6p and 7.8p respectively.

The Focus and the Fiesta came out on top as best-sellers in the calculations, which collated both new and second-hand sales figures from between January and December 2018. The tank costs were based on an assumed average unleaded price of £1.28, as stated on the RAC’s fuel watch website.

“It’s worth considering which cars are the most fuel efficient,” said Chris Barella, Vice President of Sales at Euro Car parts.

“The overall savings you could make could go towards the cost of a whole car after a few years. Not only is driving efficiently good for our pockets – it’s also better for the environment.”