The best petrol cars

Petrol power makes great sense in a people mover like the Volkswagen Touran, and indeed the engine we recommend is a 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol, badged as the TSI 150. It offers punchy acceleration even with seven seats filled, yet also keeps your running costs sensible. Elsewhere, the Touran impresses with its practical interior and tempting PCP finance offers – no wonder it's our reigning MPV of the Year.

If you want to drive a car that celebrates petrol power with every journey, the latest Porsche 718 Cayman should be on your shortlist, especially in the GTS form we recommend. You see, while most Caymans have turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines, the GTS and GT4 versions get a six-cylinder engine with no turbocharger. The result is a powerhouse, with 394bhp available and a soundtrack you'll want to listen to every time you drive. It's sublime.

If you're looking for a comfortable and practical estate car which also won't break the bank, then the Skoda Octavia Estate deserves to be near the top of your shortlist. While it's available with petrol and diesel engines as well as with plug-in hybrid power, it's the former that we recommend. Indeed, our favoured 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol offers plenty of punch, even if it needs revving hard to perform at its best if you've got a full load on board.

A hot hatchback is prime territory for a petrol engine, and the one in the Mercedes A45 is just as rorty as you'd expect. With 415bhp available in our recommended S form, it can catapult the A45 to 62mph in just 3.9sec – that's quicker than some far more expensive sports cars. A fast-acting automatic gearbox helps to make the most of the engine's power, leaving you to enjoy every blip of the accelerator. You might imagine that running an A45 would be ruinous to your wallet, but its official fuel economy figure of 31mpg – and 28mpg in our real-world tests – isn't bad for the class.

The Skoda Fabia has become synonymous with the small but mighty mantra, and the latest version continues the trend – it's hugely spacious inside, is comfortable for longer trips, and is crammed full of clever features. It's also available with a corking petrol engine, in this case a turbocharged 94bhp 1.0-litre unit. The performance is best described as adequate rather than brisk – the 0-62mph sprint takes 10.5sec – but it's fine for most situations. If you value more speed, then a 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol is also available.

Welcome to the best convertible car on sale today – and that's especially true if you buy your BMW 4 Series Convertible with our favourite 420i 2.0-litre petrol engine. With 181bhp on offer, it has no trouble propelling the 4 Series up to motorway speeds, and even sounds relatively sporty while doing it. You can upgrade to the more powerful 430i or range-topping M440i petrol engines if you want, but doing so will cost you a lot of money.

The Puma a cracking small SUV and a former What Car? Car of the Year, but as well as being both spacious and good to drive, it also comes with a pleasantly peppy 1.0-litre petrol engine. It gets even better, though, because it's also a mild hybrid, so it uses small amounts of electric power to help save you money at the pumps.

This five-star family SUV is offered with petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power, but if it's pure petrol you want, the 148bhp 1.6-litre option is a good choice. It can be had with fuel-saving mild-hybrid technology if you team it with the optional seven-speed automatic gearbox. There's plenty of space inside for your family and all their luggage, while the Sportage's interior features lots of high-quality materials.

The Leon is our reigning Family Car of the Year and is truly great to drive, with a comfortable ride and engaging handing. There's a variety of petrol engines available, ranging from a 109bhp 1.0-litre option all the way through to a 187bhp 2.0-litre, but it's the mid-range 128bhp 1.5-litre petrol (badged TSI 130) that we recommend for its mix of performance and fuel economy.

Very recently, the Volkswagen T-Roc did the unthinkable – it toppled the Ford Puma to become our favourite small SUV. As well as impressing in all the areas that a small SUV should – namely, being good to drive, spacious for your family and their luggage and comfortable for long and short journeys alike – the T-Roc comes with a cracker of a petrol engine. The 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol that we recommend offers effortless performance no matter the situation, yet won't also send your running costs into the stratosphere. It's our favourite petrol-engined car.

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