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Compare the most economical estate cars

High-quality economical estate cars with big boots from rated and reviewed dealers

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skoda superb estate off-road

Best high MPG estate cars of 2023

One of the most compelling reasons to buy an estate over an SUV is that the lower, sleeker car will generally have better fuel economy. Here are ten of the most frugal, but beware of a caveat — most of the cars on this list are plug-in hybrids, and to get the best economy from them, you’ll have to plug in and fully charge the battery as much as you possibly can.

Mercedes C-Class Estate

1. Mercedes C-Class Estate PHEV (404mpg)

7/10
Mercedes C-Class Estate review
Battery range up to 35 miles
The new Mercedes C-Class is a hugely impressive car, and has a massive battery which can cover a claimed 68 miles on electric power alone (this contributes to its claimed 404mpg economy figure). Although it will be thirstier on a long run, at least you’ll have that gorgeous interior to distract you… The boot capacity does shrink though to a pretty miserly 300 litres thanks to the need to package the big hybrid battery.
Volvo V60

2. Volvo V60 PHEV (353mpg)

8/10
Volvo V60 review
Battery range up to 31 miles
Volvo’s V60 T6 plug-in hybrid offers up to 54 miles of electric range on a full charge, which factors into its claimed 353mpg economy figure. It’ll obviously be less economical on long runs, however, where the battery is depleted. Boot capacity shrinks compared to the non-hybrid versions too.
Skoda Octavia Estate

3. Skoda Octavia Estate PHEV (273mpg)

8/10
Skoda Octavia Estate review
Battery range up to 47 miles
A 490-litre boot would generally be considered quite big, but when you’re talking about a Skoda Octavia estate, that seems somehow rather disappointing. Still, at least you get a good plug-in hybrid system that’s not too thirsty on the open road, and the 34-mile electric range is decent and contributes to its 273mpg claimed economy.
Skoda Superb Estate

4. Skoda Superb Estate PHEV (245mpg)

9/10
Skoda Superb Estate review
Battery range up to 44 miles
The Skoda Superb iV (claimed economy of 245mpg) might not have the same 660-litre boot of the regular model, but with 520 litres on offer, it’s still well ahead of most alternatives. Plus you can get a decent 30 miles of electric range out of a full charge, and it’s not disastrously thirsty on longer journeys.
Citroen C5 X
2024
Comfortable Cruiser Award
Highly Commended

5. Citroen C5 X PHEV (236mpg)

8/10
Citroen C5 X review
The C5 X, in plug-in hybrid form, does see its boot shrink compared to the basic petrol model, but at 485 litres it’s not doing too bad really. It has pretty brisk performance too, and 31 miles of EV range isn’t bad. Keep the battery topped up, and you’ll get close to its 236mpg claim.
Audi A6 Avant

6. Audi A6 Avant PHEV (217mpg)

9/10
Audi A6 Avant review
Audi’s plug-in hybrid A6 can go for an impressive 43-miles on a full charge, and the smooth 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine means it’s not slow when the road opens up. The boot is – inevitably – smaller than a regular petrol model at 405 litres. Still, an official economy figure of 217mpg isn’t bad.
BMW 3 Series Touring

7. BMW 3 Series Touring PHEV (202mpg)

9/10
BMW 3 Series Touring review
Headline stats: 202mpg, 34 miles of electric-only running, a 0-60mph time of 6.1secs, 292hp, and 39g/km of CO2. What’s the catch? Well, there’s a 90-litre catch out the back, because the boot shrinks by that much compared to the 500 litres of a petrol or diesel model. Worth it? Probably — the 330e is a terrific all-rounder.
Mercedes E-Class Estate (2020-2023)

8. Mercedes E-Class Estate PHEV (202mpg)

8/10
Mercedes E-Class Estate (2020-2023) review
The Mercedes E-Class Estate plug-in hybrid (claimed economy 202mpg) is almost unique among plug-in hybrid estates because it gets a diesel engine. That means you can get 50mpg out of it on long runs, but you still get a 33-mile electric range (claimed) on a full charge. Once again, the downside is a smaller boot (it drops to 480 litres instead of 640 litres).
BMW 5 Series Touring

9. BMW 5 Series Touring PHEV (177mpg)

8/10
BMW 5 Series Touring review
Battery range up to 30 miles
You can have the BMW 5 Series Touring in a choice of plug-in hybrid versions, but the four-cylinder 530e is the more sensible one — it’ll do 47mpg on a long drive, has plenty of performance in a straight line, a claimed economy figure of 177mpg, and a 31-mile EV range. All versions lose boot space, leaving you with 430 litres.
Toyota Corolla Touring Sports

10. Toyota Corolla Touring Sports (61mpg)

7/10
Toyota Corolla Touring Sports review
The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports’ claimed economy figure of 61mpg is probably the easiest to achieve of all the cars in this list, because it’s a regular hybrid rather than plug-in hybrid, so doesn’t need recharging. It looks good too, although its petrol-hybrid engine can be noisy. A 598-litre boot is a big tick against its name too.

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Advice about economical estate cars

Economical estate cars FAQs

For most family cars, we’d consider anything in the 50mpg ballpark to be ‘good’ and anything around 40mpg to be ‘average.’ Most of the cars on this list are plug-in hybrids, so have the potential to achieve much, much better economy (think 100mpg-plus), but only if you plug them in with absolute regularity and have journeys almost exclusively within the confines of their electric driving ranges.

The biggest benefit is lower running costs — the less fuel you’re burning, the less money you’re spending, and with petrol and diesel prices on rise, that can only be a good thing. Less fuel burned also means lower emissions, of course, so the whole planet benefits, and almost any estate car will be cheaper to run and have lower emissions than an equivalent SUV.

Ironically, given the load-lugging abilities of an estate car, taking excess weight out is one of the best ways to improve fuel efficiency. Don’t use a bulky roof box unless you really have to, and you can save lots of miles per gallon by driving a little more carefully — anticipating traffic situations ahead, driving smoothly, braking gently. The easiest way to save on fuel? Slow down a bit — just knocking 10mph off your speed can chop a whole heap off your fuel bills.

To find out more about how you can improve your car's fuel economy, check out our guide on ways to get better mpg.

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