Buying a new car? Look at this

Yes, the salesman is right.

The Ford Fiesta is the most fuel efficient popular car available in Australia.

Its annual fuel bill, for a family driving 15,000 kilometres a year, will be just $704.

Buying a new car is one of the biggest financial decisions Australians ever make.

And dealers say it is quite common for people to take up to six months, before they finally reach a decision.

There is a lot of information to gather, before that can be done.

If you are in the market for a new car, a click on www.greenvehicleguide.com.au should prove useful.

That’s because the Federal government’s Green Vehicle Guide, which has now been around for some years, has just been expanded.

It now compares the safety features of the 1,900 different makes and models of cars, that are now on the Australian market, as well as their fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

A table of the 20 most popular models, contained in the guide, for example, shows that the annual fuel bill for a Holden Commodore will be about $1,700.

It also shows that both the Commodore and its main rival, the Ford Falcon, have a full range of airbags.

The annual fuel bill for the Falcon, though, will be just above the $1,800 mark.

Vehicle emissions on these two vehicles though will be similar, at 3.3 tonnes a year for the Commodore and 3.5 tonnes for the Falcon.

Those tempted, though, by the macho image of a big ute, like a Toyota Hilux 4 wheel drive will need deep pockets.  They can expect their annual fuel bill to be in the region of $2,433.

Heavy utes are big polluters, too, with this one pumping an average of 4.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.

This vehicle does have driver and passenger air bags, but not side torso and side head bags.

Anthony Albanese, the Federal Minister whose department produces the guide, says its site has been getting about 20,000 hits each month.