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Best for running costs

Our guide to the real cost of motoring names the cheapest, and most expensive cars in the UK.

Many factors go into the running costs of a car, with insurance, road tax and fuel all playing their part. We asked you to award high scores for models with lower bills than you expected, and mark down those that drained your account.

According to your votes, the Fiat Panda is one of the most cost-effective cars on the planet. It’s closely followed by Toyota’s previous-generation Prius – which proves that the low bills of running a hybrid aren’t just theoretical.

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In third place is Skoda’s thrifty Fabia supermini. The bad performers aren’t regulars at the bottom of our judging categories... While the Subaru Impreza, Volvo V70 and Land Rover Discovery 3 picked up gold medals in other areas, their talents clearly come at a price.

The winners: 
1. Fiat Panda"The Panda has proved to be a cheap but totally reliable and thoroughly pleasant small car to own. I recommend it without hesitation.” Mr Peter Williams, St Nicholas at Wade, Kent.

2. Toyota Prius (old)“Usual Toyota reliability, good economy and satisfactory performance with low running costs.” Mr Michael O’Brien, Woking, Surrey. 

3. Skoda Fabia (new)“I was a bit nervous about buying a Skoda, but it has proved to be my best buy. I've done over 90,000 miles in 3.5 years and it has been very reliable.” Mr Kevin Honey, Winchester, Hampshire.

 

 

1FIAT PANDA93.25%
2TOYOTA PRIUS (old)93.12%
3SKODA FABIA (new)90.71%
4TOYOTA YARIS (new)90.61%
5HONDA JAZZ (new)89.53%
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