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Hi, I am looking for a fuel efficient car. I drive around 60kms daily (5days a week) and was looking at the new Nissan Pulsar Sedan Ti or a used Honda Insight.

I see that the new pulsar is now having huge discounts going on and the price was around $27K. Whereas I saw a used Honda Insight (2010), 45000kms priced at $17K. The prius C was another option I looked at, but the price was around $32K.

In your expert opinion - which car would be a better buy for me. I intend to change the car in about 3 yrs or so. Which one would have better resale value?

Thank you for your advise.

The Nissan Pulsar, at the price you mention, is a good buy and should be a lot easier to sell than a used hybrid - and you won't be paying a premium price for a small fuel saving.

Hi Donovan

Thank you for your reply. Just one more question - Would you go for a Pulsar Turbo St-S or Pulsar Sedan Ti (both same price). Which would have better resale value? The turbo engine's fuel efficiency is 7.7l/100 and Sedan is 6.7l/100. I've never owned a turbo powered car before so dont know about the fuel efficiency. 1l/100 - would that make a huge difference? Also would it be easier to see a sedan or a hatch? Thanks a lot for the reply.

The ST-S has the identical engine as the SSS and the only difference is in specifications - with a saving over the SSS the ST-S is the sensible choice. But for most drivers the 1.8L will do the trick. The frugal choice is the 1.8L version. The turbo models require premium fuel. Hatchbacks are more popular these days so it could work in your favour when it comes time to sell.

Thank you for your advise. Its such a hard decision to finalize a new car that offers good value. And I got a bit confused reading about the Nissan CVT issues in AA. So now I have brought it down to

1) Suzuki Swift RS
2) Nissan Pulsar St-S
3) Nissan Pulsar Sedan Ti
4) Mitsubishi Lancer GSR

All of them are around the same price range. I am very keen on resale value and fuel efficiency. I test drove the Pulsar St-S and its was superb. I haven't test driven Swift or Lancer GSR yet. What would be your pick.?

Thank you for the advise.

The Suzuki Swift RS manual is a lot of fun to drive but the auto version uses a CVT transmission which reduces the fun factor and it's a smaller vehicle compared to the rest of the choices. If you don't mind road noise intrusion into the cabin then the Mitsubishi Lancer is worth considering. The Lancer GSR is priced to sell as it offers a lot of value for money but it’s been around for some time now and it’s starting to show its age and the large boot spoiler restricts rear visibility.

The Nissan Pulsar St-S would be hard to overlook in this price range.