Real MPG: the least economical new cars you can buy
What Car?'s Real MPG tests show what fuel economy you can really expect from a car. Here are the least efficient models you can currently buy in the UK...
If fuel economy is a priority for you, then you’ll want to avoid a car that’ll have you stopping to fill up often. However, it’s not always easy to tell what your car will truly be able to achieve, since the official fuel economy figures you see in manufacturers’ sales brochures can be misleading.
That’s why we conduct our own Real MPG tests, which simulate a route combining urban, motorway and rural driving, and avoids unrealistic ‘hypermiling’ techniques to produce a more authentic result of what you can expect from your car.
Here, we’ve listed the ten cars currently on sale that performed worst in our tests. So, if your next car needs to be cheap to run, then it’s worth avoiding these and taking a look at our rundown of the most economical cars you can buy.
Still, that’s not to say these cars aren’t impressive. In fact, the Audi S8 that tops this list is the least economical car we’ve tested, but its savage pace and refined drive earned it five stars in our review.
How we test for a car's Real MPG
Our Real MPG tests are conducted under laboratory conditions using a rolling road, where each car undertakes a real-world-inspired route that combines urban, motorway and rural driving.
Each car is checked to ensure that it meets all the manufacturer’s recommendations, including having all its tyres correctly inflated.
Climate control is set to 21 degrees, or if the car has manual air conditioning, the temperature dial is set to the midway point and the fan speed to its lowest setting. All other electrical equipment is switched off.
We calculate the Real MPG results using the average data from an exhaust connection, which measures the car’s emissions at every second.
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