Of course, the savings won’t always be so significant. Take the Volkswagen Golf, for example: the standard 1.5 TSI and 1.5 eTSI mild-hybrid versions are closely matched on monthly cost. But, the eTSI will net you a mere two extra miles per gallon, so it’ll only save around £150 on fuel over 36k miles. 

The gap could widen if geopolitical issues deteriorate further, though. If the price of petrol rises to, say, 140p/litre, choosing the Qashqai e-Power or Corsa Hybrid becomes more of a no-brainer. Even the Golf eTSI’s extra 2mpg could mean a difference of several hundreds of pounds in fuel costs.

It might also be worth considering a different model entirely. Our test between the Golf and its main rival, the Kia K4, uncovered how the VW’s far superior fuel economy made it much cheaper to run.

Ultimately, the above examples highlight how important it is to do your sums before signing up; although it’s not always worth paying out more for a couple of miles per gallon, a substantial boost in efficiency could cut your outgoings considerably, offsetting any additional spending in monthly leasing or finance costs. You might even get a more powerful (and premium) car in the process.

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