PETROL VERSUS DIESEL VERSUS HYBRID VERSUS ELECTRIC

But what to power your family car? Below a certain budget, you’ve only got two real options: petrol or diesel. And if that’s the case, you might feel the need to veer away from the latter; diesel has been dragged through the mud in recent years, after all. But contrary to popular belief, it can still make sense – prices have fallen relative to petrol equivalents and diesel cars are still more economical, so should cost less to run.

What’s more, with the latest Euro 6 emissions regulations- compliant diesels emitting barely any more smog than their petrol counterparts, and in some cases even less, while also kicking out less CO2, they can in fact – believe it or not – be a more environmentally sound option.

But what if you can afford a hybrid? Or even an electric car ( EV)? Well, “hybrid” is not the dirty word it once was – today’s hybrids are actually rather good to drive, as well as being remarkably efficient and low on emissions.

Choose a traditional (also known as “self- charging”) hybrid, and you get this benefit without having to plug in and charge it. Or opt for a plug- in hybrid (or PHEV for short) instead if you have somewhere to plug it in, and gain 20-30 miles of electric range for shorter journeys.

Fully electric cars can make brilliant family transport these days, too. There are plenty of long-range options that can travel 250-300 miles on a full charge, which is more than enough for a family day out.

They tend to work far better if you’ve got somewhere to plug in and charge at home, though. Britain’s public charging infrastructure is not quite good enough to rely on solely, and duff chargers can mean using it can be stressful at the best of times, let alone when you’ve got a couple of screaming kids in tow.