I got 'bitten' a couple of years ago when I changed the second hand car which I keep in UK for when we come back for holidays. I had a '98 Honda Civic 1.5 hatchback which I changed for a '99 Honda Civic 1.6 Estate. The Tax was doubled on the new one and the insurance went up by around £100.

I was gobsmacked that such a small difference in cars resulted in such a large difference in costs, particularly road tax.

We want to get a newer car (less than 5 years old) ready for when we come back to UK, hopefully next year.

I want to make sure that, when we get our next one, we are a little more informed.

Does anybody know of a website which gives a comprehensive comparative picture of cars which are available in UK.

I am thinking particularly of being able to look at running costs - road tax, insurance, fuel consumption, cost of spare parts.

Thanks in advance

This site may be useful, it has info. on tax and fuel costs:
http://carfueldata.direct.gov.uk/

We bought a Toyota Prius when we arrived, £20 a year road tax, £221 a year insurance and a minimum of 55 MPG. It has Toyota reliability and is nice and big inside.