MPG heroes - Executives

MPG Hero
BMW 520d SE
Price £27,465
Target Price £25,193
Economy — Average 55.4mpg; Out of town 65.7mpg;
In town 43.5mpg

The 520d is way ahead of the game for fuel efficiency — in theory, you should be able to get from London to Glasgow and back again on a single tank of diesel! The 5 Series is terrific to drive, too, and even with the automatic ’box you’ll still get over 50mpg.

Budget buy
Volvo S80 2.0D SE
Price £24,345
Target Price £21,460
Economy — Average 49.6mpg; Out of town 60.1mpg;
In town 37.2mpg

Volvo slotted its 2.0-litre diesel engine into the S80 only recently. It’s a crying shame we had to wait so long because it’s a cracker. The car’ good value to start with, but shop around and there are some crazy deals out there.

Best for space
Audi A6 Avant 2.0 TDIe SE
Price £26,370
Target Price £24,064
Economy — Average 53.3mpg; Out of town 65.7mpg;
In town 40.4mpg

Audi’s new ‘e’ version of the A6 bumps its economy up by nearly a fifth. The Avant model is over £3000 cheaper than BMW’s economical 520d Touring and has an even bigger boot. It’s not quite as nippy, but it should be worth more than the 5 Series when it’s sold.

The top five...
Ranges on a tank of fuel
1 BMW 520d — 853 miles
2 Audi A6 2.0 TDIe — 821 miles
3 Peugeot 607 2.0 HDi — 815 miles
4 Volvo S80 2.0D — 764 miles
5 Citroën C6 2.2 HDi — 678 miles

Did you know...?
Motorists in the UK buy nearly 140 million litres of fuel every day