Hyundai i30

It's the model that best highlights Hyundai’s rise to the top. The i30 saw off a host of desirable cars to top our Driver Power 2010 satisfaction survey – and if you go for the refined and gutsy 1.6-litre CRDi diesel, you’ll get 64.2mpg. 

Pay £200 extra for stop-start, and this rises to 67.3mpg, plus emissions fall 4g/km to 115g/km. As you’d expect from Hyundai, there’s plenty of kit, including air-con and an iPod connection on all models. The icing on the cake is the firm’s five-year warranty and breakdown package.