Choose the right car
Driving your car economically will help save your fuel dollar. But you can only save as much fuel as your car will let you.
Find out what other things you should consider when deciding which vehicle to purchase and how to make savings.
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Make smart savings when buying a car
If you are buying a car consider these things as you sort out your options:
- vehicle size
- vehicle safety
- engine size
- fuel use
- emissions.
Take action
Checklist when buying a car
The following brief list identifies issues you should consider when you are in the market for a car. Then visit the websites listed under More information to find out more.
1. Vehicle size
A good first step is to think about the size of vehicle you need. Many New Zealanders like to have big vehicles, but bigger cars guzzle more gas.
You may not actually need a large car. Smaller vehicles are more suited to driving around town, which is where most of the population spend most of their time!
2. Vehicle safety
As for safety, bigger is not always better. A number of smaller cars now outperform their larger counterparts in crash test ratings. So before you head down to the car yard, have a good think about how big your future vehicle really needs to be.
3. Engine size guide
Here is a guide to the best engine size (one of the best indicators of vehicle size) for your needs, depending on the type of driving you do most often.
To use the table, decide on your usual number of passengers (or equivalent weight) in column one. Then look across the row to the column that best describes where you usually drive.
| Optimal engine size (litres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger number (or equivalent in weight) |
Town / City | Town / City with steep streets |
Open road |
| 1 | 1.2 – 1.3 | 1.2 – 1.3 | 1.6 |
| 2 | 1.2 – 1.3 | 1.2 – 1.3 | 1.6 |
| 3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.6 – 2.0 |
| 4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
What size car?
If there are three people in your car and you drive in Dunedin, then your optimal car would be a 1.5-litre engine.
If you are a two-car household, you have extra flexibility to choose vehicles. Consider a car with a small 1.3-litre engine for driving around town and a 2.0-litre engine for when the whole family is travelling out of town at the weekend.
4. Fuel use
The fuel economy of cars, even if they have the same engine size, can differ significantly.
Soon, you will be able to find out the fuel economy rating when you are buying a new car.
Car buyer guides
If you are looking for a new car, a guide to help you find the best possible car in your price range for safety, fuel efficiency and environmental impact is available at rightcar. [Land Transport NZ website.]
Electric and hybrid cars
Electric cars
Electric cars are run on rechargeable batteries that drive an electric motor.
They could be recharged using electricity from the national grid. As most of New Zealand’s electricity is generated from renewable sources, electric cars offer a realistic sustainable option for New Zealanders.
New developments in technology, especially battery technology, mean that all-electric cars are likely to be on the market soon.
Waikato University has developed a prototype – the Ultracommuter. [Waikato University website. ]
Hybrid cars
Hybrid cars (‘hybrids’) use a combination of a petrol engine and an electric motor. Hybrids are already available and proving increasingly popular.
Hybrids don’t have to be plugged in to recharge because the batteries charge from energy created when driving.
They use significantly less fuel than petrol or diesel cars. A hybrid car won the 2006 AA Energywise rally.
AA Energywise rally
The rally is a public demonstration of the fuel efficiency and environmental friendliness of new cars, conducted over a challenging mixture of roads from one end of the North Island to the other.
More information:
Vehicle size and safety
- Compare fuel economy, safety ratings for cars, and environmental impacts at rightcar. [Land Transport NZ website.]
Engine size and fuel use
- To compare how much fuel different cars use, visit Fuel$aver. [Land Transport NZ website.]
Emissions
- For more about how a fuel efficient car decreases carbon dioxide emissions, go to rightcar
- To discover what comes out the exhaust pipe, visit Choke the smoke. [Ministry of Transport website.]
Car buyer guides
- Useful information is available at rightcar. [Land Transport NZ website.]
- A range of resources are also provided online at The Consumers’ Institute. [The Consumers’ Institute website.]
Electric and hybrid cars
- AA energywise rally [Automobile Association website.]
- Hybrid vehicles [Automobile Association website.]
- Electric cars trial in New Zealand [Meridian Energy website.]
- Current petrol prices are available at Price Watch. [Price Watch.]