With motoring costs rising by 25% in a year, the need for a car with low running costs is greater than ever.
We've uncovered the top 10 money-saving models to own, according to how much money they lose and how fuel efficient they are over three years.
We’ve divided the cost-cutting cars into categories to give you the cheapest small cars, family cars, off-roaders, people carriers, executive models and convertibles currently on sale.
Small cars
The economical, two-seater Smart Fortwo Coupe tops the small car category. It costs £5586 to run over three years, meaning it's currently the cheapest car to run in the UK.
Small family cars
The cheapest small family car is the Kia Ceed and there's only a £866 difference between this and the Peugeot 308 at 10th place.
Large family cars
 | Mazda 6 | 2.0d S | £11,429 |
 | Skoda Superb | 1.9 TDI PD Classic (115) | £12,026 |
 | Toyota Avensis | 2.0 D-4D Colour Collection | £12,042 |
 | Chevrolet Epica | 2.0 VCDi LS | £12,158 |
 | Renault Laguna | 1.5 dci Expression | £12,601 |
 | VW Passat | 1.9 S TDI | £13,020 |
 | Citroen C5 | 1.6 HDi 16v SX | £13,329 |
 | Vauxhall Vectra | 1.9 CDTi Exclusiv (120) | £13,415 |
 | Ford Mondeo | 1.6 Edge (110) | £13,844 |
 | Kia Magentis | 2.0 CRDi GS | £14,304 |
Most of these large family cars have big engines and are therefore not cheap to run. Some are even on par with the cheapest executives.
Coupe/convertible
The Smart Fortwo Cabriolet makes up for what it lacks in traditional convertible looks with its penny-pinching qualities.
4x4s
Not surprisingly, the 4x4 top 10 is dominated by smaller models with the Suzuki Jimny costing less than the 6th cheapest small family car - the VW Golf.
People Carriers
The ageing Citroen Xsara Picasso outdoes its modern people carrier rivals by topping this group, but the brand new Fiat Fiorino is not far behind.
Executive
| Audi A4 | 2.0 TDI | £13,363 |
| Cadillac BLS | 1.9d Elegance | £13,348 |
| Saab 9-3 | 1.9 TiD Airflow | £14,375 |
| BMW 3-Series | 318i ES | £14,653 |
| Volkswagen Passat CC | 2.0 TDI CR | £14,745 |
| Jaguar X-Type | 2.0d S | £15,297 |
| Volvo V70 | 2.0D SE | £15,357 |
| BMW 5-Series | 520d SE | £16,182 |
| Chrysler Sebring | 2.0 CRD Limited | £16,324 |
| Audi A6 | 2.0 TDI TDV Limited Ed | £16,362 |
Finally, the premium badge cars that dress to impress are headed by the
Audi A4 – which is actually cheaper to run than a
Ford Mondeo.
