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  1. Five cars with Prius-like economy
  2. MINI Cooper D, A diesel adventure
  3. BMW 116d, Efficient and dynamic
  4. Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI, A very green blue oval
  5. Citroen C3 Picasso 1.6 HDi, Familial frugality
  6. Audi A2 1.4 TDI, Heavenly harbinger

Audi A2 1.4 TDI, Heavenly harbinger

The Audi A2 is a bit of a curveball here - it's the only car in our list you can't buy new (anymore). But its inclusion is justified because it was miles ahead of the game at launch - so far ahead, in fact, that it really only started making sense recently. The tall, odd-looking hatchback was a consistently lacklustre performer in the sales charts after it hit showrooms in 1999, though. That was partly because we were all less accustomed to the idea of a truly premium supermini back then - but, in fairness, with a £14,105 poverty-spec price it was eye-wateringly expensive.

However, the decade old A2's technology was, and still is, quite amazing. Built on an aluminium spaceframe and weighing just 990kg, its chassis is similar to that used in the flagship A8 limousine, so combined with a three-cylinder 1.4-litre TDI the economy looks startling even today: 116g/km of CO2 and 65.7mpg. It also pioneered variable service intervals and squeezed loads of space out of a diminutive outer shell. Result.

The aluminium construction means it's resistant to rust, too, and Audi's reputation for build quality and reliability is well deserved. We found a 2002 1.4-litre TDI with 69,000 miles on Yahoo!'s used car search for just £6,000, which sounds like a bargain to us...

Mark Nichol