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Economical cars with webuycarsformore – perfect for the Newcastle to Paris run…

The ongoing VW emissions scandal means manufacturers’ claimed emissions or MPG performance for any given car is under intense scrutiny at the moment.

It’s always worth bearing in mind that what the manufacturer claims can be achieved, is calculated under near-laboratory conditions, and is rarely reflective of real-world driving. Far from being deceitful, it just means that there is an industry standard, and that it’s easier to compare the efficiency of each car against each other.

Anyway, VWs are still amazing cars, and will continue to be so when the scandal has blown over.

But, it has got us thinking about economical cars, though. Which car, from our current stock, would get you the furthest? Without carrying out a very expensive and long-winded Top Gear-style experiment, we would like to nominate this fantastic Ford Fiesta, with Ford’s built-for-efficiency 1.6TDCi engine.

In terms of MPG, this this Fiesta is the real deal, with actual, real-life owners able to get 540 miles from a tank of diesel. A quick glance at a map indicates this is enough to get you from our beloved Newcastle right down to the outskirts of Paris on a single tank. Of course, all the usual stipulations apply – you’d need to drive efficiently and smoothly – no flooring it to overtake, sticking strictly to the limit on the motorway, etc.

But still, the point is, you can fill this little Fiesta up in the North East, and in several hours’ time, and one ferry crossing later, you can be speaking French without having needed to stop for fuel once. Just remember to fill up with ‘Gazole’, the French for diesel, for the return trip…

That, to us, seems like a real bargain. Even if you have no plans to head to France, if you averaged 6,000 miles per year, you’d only be filling the car up once per month. Real, affordable motoring.

2006 Ford Fiesta TDCi, £2,490. Full info here.