Electric cars travel up to three times the distance of their petrol or diesel rivals for the same amount of money, according to research.

Potential buyers are left confused by the way running costs are explained, with miles per kWh difficult to compare to miles per gallon.

But car reviews and advice websiteParkers.co.ukhas developed a way of showing how far your car will go on a single pound – regardless of what fuel it runs on.

The figure – dubbed "miles per pound" (mpp) – reveals how much a car can travel for £1 of petrol, diesel…. or electricity.

The study found the Kia e-Niro First Edition and the Renault Zoe 65kW are the most efficient models on sale in the UK today – capable of travelling 33.1 miles per pound (mpp) of electricity.

This is more than three times as far as the most economical version of the Ford Fiesta (9.3mpp), the UK's best-selling vehicle, when using official testing figures.

With the average UK motorist driving around 7,150 miles per year, they would spend just £216 over a 12 month period if they charged their Kia e-Niro or Renault Zoe from home.

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The Tesla Model 3 Standard Range was the third most economical, covering 32.3mpp, while the Volkswagen e-Golf was fourth on 30.8mpp.

Parkers.co.uk calculated the cost for electric cars based on home charging prices rather than using public charging points, as costs for public charging can vary wildly.

The mpp data is also only available for cars on sale since 2017 and that are also currently available to buy.

For this reason, the Hyundai Kona Electric, which could travel 30.8mpp, does not appear on the list as it is sold out due to high demand.

Keith Adams, editor ofParkers.co.uk, said: "We created miles per pound as a way of demystifying the running costs of electric vehicles (EVs) because above and beyond their range, and how long they take to charge, there is little uniformity in how carmakers express just how much energy these cars use.

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"As interest in EVs becomes more widespread, there remains a lot of confusion around running costs but the MPP figure generates a figure that is relatable to anyone.

"In a nutshell, it tells you how much it costs to drive any EV after plugging it up at home and topping it up on domestic electricity.

"In addition, miles per pound should help drivers who know how many miles they cover in a year to work out up-front fuelling costs, and possibly choose a more expensive electric car over its petrol counterpart.

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"Taking fuelling costs into account, monthly costs for internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and electric vehicles (EVs) are much closer than the gap in list price might suggest.

"On something like a Volkswagen Golf, going electric will save you around £70 per 1,000 miles.

"And interest is rising. People are searching before they buy. Traffic to our Electric Cars section has grown by 80% since the beginning of 2019, and it's continuing to accelerate strongly."

Parkers.co.uk based the price of electricity on the cost per kilowatt hour on a domestic tariff, while petrol and diesel is based on the AA Fuel Price Reports.

The mpp metric has been launched as the EV market continues to grow.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), sales of purely electric cars are up by more than 200% in 2019, with the market share increasing from 0.7 per cent to 2.2 per cent.

Keith Adams added: "As range improves, electric cars are becoming a more and more enticing option and the miles per pound tool really drives down how cheap these zero emission vehicles are when you're on the road.

"While it's easy to be put off at the price of an electric car, when you look at it from a monthly costs perspective the prospect is all the more attractive.

"The running costs are low, there is zero road tax and, from next year, zero company car tax, too."

Test your knowledge on the cost of car journeys here –https://www.parkers.co.uk/what-is/mpp-miles-per-pound/The

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Top 10 most efficient pure electric cars:

1. Kia e-Niro First Edition – 33.1mpp

2. Renault Zoe 65kW – 33.1mpp

3. Tesla Model 3 Standard Range – 32.3mpp

4. Volkswagen e-Golf – 30.8mpp

5. BMW i3 – 30.0mpp

6. BMW i3S – 29.2mpp

7. Tesla Model S Long Range – 30.0mpp

8. Nissan Leaf 62kWh – 26.9mpp

9. Smart EQ Fortwo Coupe – 26.9mpp

10. Tesla Model X Long Range – 24.6mpp

The UK's Top five standard hybrids for mpp

1. Toyota Yaris – 10.1mpp

2. Toyota Corolla – 9.5mpp

3. Kia Niro – 9.3mpp

4. Lexus CT – 9.5mpp

5. Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Dualjet – 9.3mpp

The UK's Top 10 petrols and diesels –

1. Honda Civic Saloon 1.6i DTEC (D) – 10.8mpp

2. Ford Focus 1.5 EcoBlue (D) – 10.8mpp

3. Honda Jazz S 1.3 i-VTEC (P) – 10.3mpp

4. Dacia Logan MCV Blue dCi 95 (D) – 10.3mpp

5. Kia Ceed 1.6 CRDi (D) – 10.1mpp

6. Suzuki Celerio 1.0 Dualjet (P) – 10.1mpp

7. Dacia Sandero Stepway Blue dCi 95 (D) – 9.9mpp

8. Mercedes-Benz A 180 d (D) – 9.3mpp

9. Mercedes-Benz B 180 d (D) – 9.1mpp

10. Citroen C3 Aircross BlueHDi 100 (D) – 9.1mpp

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