One of the first questions many car buyers ask is "What's its fuel consumption?"

Fuel consumption is not a key factor when choosing a car. A model giving 40 mpg might seem preferable to a car that does 35 mpg, but the difference in fuel costs is less than £150 over 10,000 miles - a saving that could easily be wiped out by higher depreciation, insurance or servicing costs on the less thirsty car. Fuel consumption figures appear in our car specifications sections.

If you're planning to do higher mileages in the long term, making the right decision about fuel type (petrol vs diesel) will have a bigger impact on running costs.