Putting the 'Con' into fuel economy - Introduction

Most new cars are unable to match their official fuel economy claims, a new What Car? survey reveals. Millions of motorists are disappointed when their cars use more fuel than claimed in adverts - and it's costing new-car buyers £192 million a year.

We launched a major investigation to test the real-world fuel economy of 85 best-selling cars. On average, the official economy figures are out by 8%, or 3.5 miles per gallon.

Read on to find out how we conducted the tests and to check if we have results for your car. The full article appears in the September 2006 issue of What Car?.