The Big Savings from Small Engines

Whilst the majority of the motorists will look for diesel, hybrid or electrical powered cars when they are searching for an efficient and financially-friendly vehicle many are overlooking petrol cars as a potential source for frugal driving.

Car brands such as the likes of Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Ford are doing all they can to ensure that petrol cars are still a viable option when motorists are searching for a mean green eco-warrior machine. Such manufacturers are achieving these results through the implementation of smaller engines, which in turn result in a better return on fuel than your usual petrol powered hatchback.

For example Ford’s new 1.0 litre Eco Boost engine is as powerful as the previous unit, but is 30 per cent lighter than its 1.6 litre engine predecessor. More importantly the new engine is 15-20 per cent more fuel efficient and therefore easier on your finances due to it only requiring infrequent visits to the filling station.

Furthermore, the Italian manufacturer Fiat has also been giving smaller engines a go. The two-cylinder Fiat 500 engine has been designed in such a way that careful management of the amount of air that enters the engine helps manage its combustion. Such allows the vehicle to improve its fuel efficiency and works to give the car an impressive 70mpg and an extremely low CO2 output of just 95g/km.

For very high mileage drivers an eco-friendly diesel car might be the best option. Diesel cars tend to be more expensive when purchased however savings can be made in the long-term because diesel engines tend ‘to last forever’ in comparison to their petrol counterpart. Although they can keep on going and going mile after mile, unless you are planning on doing excessive motorway driving and high mileage you may not see any financial benefit.

To summarise if you are a high mileage driver who spends hours speeding up and down the motorways, then a diesel car could be a good investment for you. However for the more average driver you are best sticking with petrol engines. Petrol engines are getting better all the time and as seen in the examples from Ford and Fiat such improvements are financially rewarding in regards to fuel consumption.