Official fuel economy figures are all well and good, but most motorists know they don’t actually bear out in real life. The brochure may say your car will do 60mpg, but it’s more likely to be 40mpg when it’s actually in use on the road. To help clear things up, Motoring Research has compiled a list of the 10 most fuel-efficient cars based on What Car? data.

Official MPG: 72.4mpg
Real World MPG: 59.4mpg

Hyundai’s roomy and able supermini is a slow-seller in diesel guise: will the fact that it’s Britain’s 10th most fuel-efficient car change peoples’ minds though?

Official MPG: 70.6mpg
Real World MPG: 59.4mpg

Citroen will roll out a facelifted C4 Picasso MPV later this year, with an even more efficient 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine. Looks like the 59.4mpg figure – already impressive for a roomy five-seat MPV – could thus be set to rise further still…

Official MPG: 88.3mpg
Real World MPG: 60.0mpg

Vauxhall’s Corsa is one of Britain’s best-selling cars. Significantly, the most fuel-efficient diesel returns a better real-world mpg figure than its Ford Fiesta arch-rival, albeit some way off the 88.3mpg official figure.

Official MPG: 85.6mpg
Real World MPG: 60.1mpg

The Corsa may be fuel efficient but the Renault Clio 1.5 dCi ECO is better still – albeit by just 0.1mpg. Still, at least it’s (a bit) closer to its official figure than the Vauxhall. 

Official MPG: 78.5mpg
Real World MPG: 61.5mpg

If you need a huge boot but still want a fuel-efficient car, try the SEAT Leon ST estate. In most fuel-efficient Ecomotive guise, a hefty 61.5mpg could be yours. 

Official MPG: 80.7mpg
Real World MPG: 61.9mpg

Skoda’s Octavia is a very roomy hatchback with space to spare for passengers too. Using a similar engine to the SEAT above, it will return nearly 62mpg.

Official MPG: 83.1mpg
Real World MPG: 62.3mpg

The smart-looking Audi A3 Sportback five-door goes better still – premium luxury and 62.3mpg in real-world mpg tests sounds good to us, particularly when combined with the allure of the four rings on the grille.

Official MPG: 80.7mpg
Real World MPG: 62.6mpg

The original Mini was created as an ultra-economical car, so it’s good to see the latest MINI keeping up the trend. 62.6mpg from the sporty Cooper D is impressive stuff. 

Official MPG: 78.4mpg
Real World MPG: 62.9mpg

The only petrol-engined car here, Suzuki’s remarkably spacious Celerio city car has a new Dualjet engine that returns a staggering 62.9mpg. Very impressive indeed. 

Official MPG: 78.5mpg
Real World MPG: 63.2mpg

It’s the good-value, sporty-to-drive SEAT Leon that tops the list of Britain’s most fuel-efficient cars in the real world. An average of 63.2mpg is excellent for a roomy five-door family hatchback: combine it with great deals and a kit-packed standard spec from SEAT for one of the most budget-conscious cars a family can run.