If you do a lot of driving when you go on holiday, the ever rising petrol prices that we’ve all been subjected to can really make the cost of the holiday rack up. It’s getting to the point where destinations are being changed in order to save money on the amount of petrol being used in journeys.

For instance, if you live in Cornwall and want to go up to Scotland on holiday, driving there will cost you a small fortune, unless you have a car that has really great fuel economy. One option is to fly and then hire a car when you get there, but actually if you work it all out, the flight and the car hire will probably be about the same as driving the whole way. And of course, there are advantages to driving direct from home. Firstly, you’ll have plenty of room to take everything you want without any luggage restrictions imposed by airlines and secondly, you won’t be tied to anyone else’s schedule but your own.

So, if you’re a family that spends a lot of time on the road – whether it’s for an annual holiday to visit distant relations or because you do a lot of weekend trips – it may be worth thinking about changing your car for one that is more economical to run.

The range of eco cars UK showrooms stock has increased greatly in the last decade. Ten years ago, it would have been difficult to find anything that was good on fuel economy and low on emissions. Today that has become the standard, whether or not the car is labelled as an eco-friendly car. All new cars have better fuel economy than their predecessors. Now, whether it’s a hybrid like a Honda Insight or a Toyota Prius or an electric vehicle like a Nissan Leaf, eco cars offer great fuel economy alongside being better for the environment. But there are also new diesels that can better some hybrids on fuel economy and lower emissions.

If you’re considering changing your car, it’s definitely worth doing some decent research to check out all the different options – purchase cost, running costs, fuel economy and performance – as the ones that score most highly across the board may not be the ones you might think.