SUVs, utes, sedans, light cars compared: Highest petrol bills revealed

Aussie car buyers could be left thousands of dollars worse off every year by choosing the wrong car. See how much you could save.

Buyers can save thousands of dollars over the life of their car by choosing more efficient models, figures released by the National Transport Commission show.

The figures reveal new-car buyers can potentially slash their fuel bills by 93 per cent simply by picking the most efficient vehicle in any given segment.

Buyers of large SUVs, vans and utes can reduce their bills by 50 per cent.

The Federal Government’s Green Vehicle Guide allows shoppers to compare new car fuel consumption figures. An examination of dozens of new models in popular vehicle segments reveals the saints and sinners in showrooms.

Toyota’s hybrids are often the best in class for fuel use.

The comparison calculates annual fuel costs based on an average of 15,000 kilometres per year, with fuel prices exceeding $2 per litre.

The actual savings could be even higher, depending on how drivers use their car.

Official fuel consumption figures come from a mix of urban and country driving, with more weight given to country driving.

People who spend most of their time in bumper-to-bumper traffic are likely to use far more fuel than the car’s sticker suggests.

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid is officially the cheapest city car to fuel, drinking just 3.3 litres for every 100 kilometres travelled. It costs owners about $1044 per year to fill. 

The rival MG3 hatchback needs more than double that, delivering an annual fuel bill of $2120.

The MG3 will cost owners twice as much a year in fuel as the Yaris Hybrid.

The Pint-sized Mazda2 is a good shout at $1677 per year, while VW’s Polo ($1887) is let down by a need for premium unleaded.

Stepping up in size, the Toyota Corolla Hybrid is the cheapest to fill up for a year at $1329 – far less than the $2342 of Hyundai’s i30.

Hybrid tech helps the Toyota Camry drink just 4.7L/100km, which translates to $1643 per year – far less than the Mazda6’s $2405.

The hybrid trend continues in medium-sized family SUVs, where the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid ($1487) costs less than half as much to fuel as Ford’s Escape ($3005).
Similarly, the hybrid Toyota Kluger’s $1700 bill is about $1000 less than Mazda’s CX-9. It pays to pick the right car within a model range – Kia’s diesel Sorento uses $1000 less per year, easily justifying its $3000 purchase premium.

The Toyota Corolla Hybrid is cheap to buy and run.

If you want to laugh away from traffic lights but cry at the bowser, Jeep’s Grand Cherokee Trackhawk delivers a shattering 522kW of grunt accompanied by a $5317 fuel bill.

Nissan's Navara is the best dual cab ute for yearly fuel bills.

Drivers looking for a new ute can save by shopping carefully. The Ford Ranger Wildtrack is a popular pick, but its $2919 fuel cost is well upstream of the more efficient Nissan Navara ($2361) or Isuzu D-Max ($2525).

Folks who want a V8 ute can pick the RAM 1500 – but they should keep $4000 fuel costs in mind.

Some Ram utes are powered by thirsty petrol engines.

Enthusiasts looking for an engaging but affordable performance car could consider the Ford Fiesta ST which costs $2201 to fuel for a year – far less than the $4500 or so required to feed a V8-powered Mustang GT.

Luxury SUVs present wild variations – Mercedes’ popular GLE ranges from $2165 to fuel the diesel-powered, four-cylinder GLE 300d, to $4403 for the petrol V8-powered GLE 63 S.

V8-powered cars such as the Mustang are extremely high fuel use.

The least efficient cars in Australia have enormous 6.5-litre V12 engines. Top-end Lamborghini and Ferrari customers need to set aside more than $7000, which might not bother owners that paid more than $1 million for an exotic toy.