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like hippy, i wouldn't have a car at all but we don't have a suitable car share scheme nearby.
we generally don't drive anywhere during the week, kids walk to school, wife walks to work, i ride, the weekly shop gets delivered.
the forester mainly gets used for the odd weekend day out or during the summer for holiday/camping trips for which it's an excellent vehicle.
despite it not being very economical, i sort of justify keeping it by thinking that if we did get something more eco, it would only encourage us to drive more.
bigshape-
There is another option beyond modern eco car and giant dirty old diesel though - small old car with small petrol engine. We use our Fabia for weekend trips and camping too, with dog and toddler, and obviously a Forester would be much better suited to this task. But with a roof box and careful packing, we make it work.
It's a 1.4 litre, ULEZ compliant (Euro4), 182g/km CO2 and real world MPG of approx 40. So, much worse than its modern equivalent, but not exactly a climate or air quality destroyer either.
Obviously, whatever kind of car you have, the best thing for the planet is to use it less
lemonade
Our little Fabia Mk 1 automatic has just passed its MOT, without needing any work done, like it does most years.
It's from 2006 so 17 years old now. We bought it in 2016 for £3600. It seems to be worth approx £1500 now. So the car itself has cost us something like £300 a year. We've had a few expensive bits done like cam belt and water pump, plus of course servicing, tyres, MOT-minor level stuff. But nothing financially ruinous, and it has never yet broken down on us properly.
No idea how much a new car on finance works out as really costing, but I'm pretty comfortable #bangernomics is working out well for us