The most economical used cars in NZ
03 Sep 2025 | Buying A Used Car Articles
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We all choose cars for different reasons, practical or emotional. But there’s one thing that’s always welcome in a vehicle and that’s good fuel economy. Everything else being equal, the fewer litres of expensive fuel your vehicle uses doing its thing, the better.
A lot of choosing the most economical used car is simply common sense. It stands to reason that the smallest and lightest cars are generally the most economical. Models like the Mazda Demio/Mazda 2, Nissan Note, Suzuki Swift and Toyota Aqua are truly fuel-sippers.
Medium-sized cars or SUVs like the Mazda Atenza/Mazda6, Nissan Juke, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Prius provide a better blend of family or lifestyle-sized space with good fuel economy, while larger models like the Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan X-Trail or Toyota RAV4 are really versatile – while still being careful with that precious petrol.
Understanding fuel economy figures
Many people measure fuel economy simply by taking note of how many kilometres they get out of a tank. Makes sense, because that’s a direct reflection of the money you’ve spent filling up, but it doesn’t give you much fuel for thought when it comes to comparing different cars, because fuel tanks are different sizes in different models.
The car industry measures fuel economy in litres per 100km (l/100km) – literally how many litres of fuel a car consumes to drive 100km (it used to be miles per gallon, same principle). And because different cars have been subjected to the same independent testing over the years, there are figures out there that can help you compare different models in a fair way.
Take a look at the Government website www.rightcar.co.nz. It has efficiency figures for cars dating back many years, and while not all have l/100km figures, there are indicative costs of what it might cost you to drive a certain car a certain distance.
For example, it can tell you that a 2013 Toyota RAV4 petrol achieves 8.2/100km and will cost $3210 to drive 14,000km, while a 2014 Nissan X-Trail petrol does 9.2l/100km and will cost $3610 (partly because it’s more powerful).
If you have a rough idea of which models you’re looking at, Rightcar will help you find out which used cars have the best fuel economy in NZ that also meet your buying criteria.
What fuel economy to expect from your used car
| Car Model | Year Range | Fuel Economy (L/100km) | Annual Fuel Cost | Indicative Price Range |
| Nissan Note | 2014–2020 | 3.6 | $1,410 | $8,900 – $17,000 |
| Toyota Aqua | 2015–2021 | 3.7 | $1,450 | $9,900 – $17,000 |
| Toyota Prius | 2014–2015 | 4.3 | $1,690 | $10,500 – $13,000 |
| Mazda Demio | 2014–2019 | 4.9 | $1,960 | $10,900 – $14,000 |
| Suzuki Swift | 2013–2019 | 5.8 | $2,270 | $8,800 – $15,000 |
| Subaru Impreza | 2016–2019 | 6.7 | $2,670 | $13,900 – $17,000 |
| Mazda Atenza | 2013–2019 | 6.7 | $2,630 | $14,000 – $23,000 |
| Mitsubishi Outlander | 2016–2018 | 7.6 | $2,980 | $19,000 – $24,000 |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2015–2019 | 8 | $3,060 | $18,000 – $20,000 |
| Nissan X-Trail | 2014–2017 | 9.2 | $3,610 | $16,000 – $21,000 |
*Sample vehicle fuel economy from Rightcar.govt.nz. Actual fuel economy will depend on specific model.
What’s hybrid technology and is it worth it?
There’s a lot of talk about hybrid cars and SUVs right now. Are hybrid cars really more fuel efficient? In a word, yes.
Hybrid technology has been around for decades, pioneered by Japanese brands (especially Toyota with the Prius), although it’s only started to become much more common across many different brands in the last few years.
“Hybrid” simply means a combination of two different power sources, usually petrol and electric. The petrol engine works in the same way as a conventional vehicle, but the hybrid system can save energy normally lost in braking or deceleration (sometimes it will also take some from the engine), store it in a battery and then use it to either power the vehicle or run some of the electrical equipment, which reduces the load on the engine and saves fuel.
Full hybrids, like the Toyota Aqua or Prius, have an electric motor that can drive the wheels without any help from the petrol engine; mild hybrids (like later-model Suzuki Swifts) generally don’t, although the battery power can help the engine for short bursts.
Naturally, full hybrids are more economical because they can drive with the engine completely off; but both technologies make a worthwhile difference.
Full hybrid technology can even make a large SUV like a Toyota RAV4 more economical than a conventional small hatch. It really works.
Whether you should really focus on getting a hybrid car depends on size and budget. Hybrid technology is much more common in cars from the last 10 years, so if you’re looking for the most economical cars in NZ under $10k for example, only a limited number will be available as hybrids.
But some of the more common and cheaper hybrids are the Toyota Aqua (which only comes as a hybrid, a 2010 model costing just $1530 to drive 14,000km), Toyota Prius, Toyota Corolla (more so in the last 10 years) and Nissan Note. The Toyota RAV4 is now well-known as a hybrid vehicle (especially the 2018 version onwards), but prior to that it was focused on petrol and diesel.
What cars use the least fuel in city driving?
Hybrid power is nice if you can get it, but there’s no need to fixate on it if you’re on a tight budget, or the size and type of cars you’re interested in aren’t readily available in petrol-electric form.
Hybrids are still the most economical cars to buy for city driving, because they can draw on that electric power to reduce fuel consumption.
But there are other features you can look for that will ensure your new car uses the minimum amount of fuel, especially in city driving.
Petrol and diesel engines have been steadily downsizing over the years, so if you don’t need lots of power for road trips or towing, look for a model with a smaller-capacity engine – even if you’re considering a medium or large car.
Continuously variable transmission (CVT) is also known to be fuel-efficient, especially in the city. It’s a type of transmission common in Japanese cars that does not change between specific gears, but is essentially “gearless” with belts or chains that work to ensure the engine is always running at close to the most efficient speed. It can feel quite strange at first on a test drive because the engine revs don’t always match the speed or acceleration of the car, but CVT can also be a key element in an economical and cheap used car that doesn’t rely on hybrid technology. Toyota, Nissan and Subaru have a lot of CVT vehicles.
And always bear in mind that even in similar-size models, the difference in fuel economy between a hybrid and non-hybrid model might well be offset by a cheaper purchase price for the latter, because hybrids are very much in demand right now.