North vs South: which really is cheaper? - Final scores

On average, cars are still cheaper the farther North you go, although by only £432. All of the cars we shopped for, bar one, were cheaper up North - in some cases substantially so.

The biggest saving was on the Nissan X-Trail, which produced a combined average price of £12,284, or £976 less than the same car in the South.

There were also worthwhile discounts to be had on the BMW 3 Series and the Citroen Xsara Picasso (see page six for full results).

The one car that stood out as cheaper in the South was the Vauxhall Corsa - taking an average of dealer, supermarket and private prices it proved £67 cheaper to buy down South.

Franchised dealers were predictably the most expensive places to buy a car, and all but one charged less for a car in the North.

Car supermarkets, however, were significantly cheaper, and their prices were much more consistent across the country.