MPG
How Efficient is your Car (What is its MPG)?
Use the form below to find out your cars MPG and hence how fuel efficient your car is. More miles to the gallon = buy less petrol. Officially there are 3 measures of MPG (in the UK) but the exact efficiency of your car will depend on your driving practices. We use the combined cycle MPG. Details of the different measures of fuel efficiency can be found at the bottom of this article.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list for all cars, if you cannot find your cars MPG, or if you find that your car is performing differently to the figures quoted then please email us with the details of your car manufacture, the model number, year, fuel, engine size, current mileage your driving style…. and of course the MPG! We will then update our MPG database.
In general Diesel cars offer a better fuel efficiency than petrol
The top two cars for MPG are the smart car fortwo and the seat Ecomotive (diesel versions). Both offer an amazing mileage of over 80 MPG! In our opinion the Seat Ecomotive is the ideal package, with good performance in a reasonable looking 5 door car.
Car Tax is Essentially a Fuel Economy Tax
The Budget Speech in 2008 by Alistair Darling announced a new car tax system for 2009-10 and 2010-11 as shown below. As you can clearly see, the more C02 emissions your car produces the higher the car tax will be. In general if you choose a less fuel efficient car, with a low MPG, then your Co2 emissions will be higher.
| Tax Band |
(g/km) |
2009-10 standard rate (£) |
2010-11 first year rate (£) |
2010-11 standard rate (£) |
| A | 0-100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B | 101-110 | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| C | 111-120 | 30 | 0 | 35 |
| D | 121-130 | 90 | 0 | 95 |
| E | 131-140 | 110 | 115 | 115 |
| F | 141-150 | 120 | 125 | 125 |
| G | 151-160 | 150 | 155 | 155 |
| H | 161-170 | 175 | 250 | 180 |
| I | 171-180 | 205 | 300 | 210 |
| J | 181-200 | 260 | 425 | 270 |
| K | 201-225 | 300 | 550 | 310 |
| L | 226-255 | 415 | 750 | 430 |
| M | 225+ | 440 | 950 | 455 |
MPG Urban cycle Fuel Economy
The urban mpg test cycle is carried out in a laboratory at an ambient temperature of 20°C to 30°C on a rolling road from a cold start where the engine has not run for several hours. It is intended to mimic the short car runs that are often performed, e.g. the school run or going to the supermarket. In practically all cases the urban cycle will give the lowest MPG figure.
The cycle consists of a series of accelerations, steady speeds, decelerations and idling. Maximum speed is 31 mph , average speed 12 mp and the distance covered is 2.5 miles.
MPG Extra-urban cycle Fuel Economy
The extra-urban mpg cycle is conducted immediately following the urban cycle and consists of roughly half steady-speed driving and the remainder accelerations, decelerations, and some idling. Maximum speed is 75 mph , average speed is 39 mph and the distance covered is 4.3.
The extra-urban cycle is intended to mimic the longer journeys which typically include dual carriage way or motorway driving. As the car has been allowed to warm up and spends a good deal of time in the higher gears, the MPG obtained is higher than for the urban cycle.
MPG Combined Fuel Economy
The combined figure presented is for the urban and the extra-urban cycle together. It is therefore an average of the two parts of the test, weighted by the distances covered in each part.