THE high price of fuel has forced every driver to focus on economy when it comes to choosing the car that best suits their needs.

Whether it is diesel, petrol or hybrid there are pros and cons but Toyota reckons it has all the bases covered with its new Yaris supermini.

It is the only little hatchback that offers a choice of all three powertrains and it has just been spruced up with a major makeover.

All four engines that are available in the Yaris have been made more efficient and three of them escape road tax completely.

There is a 1.0-litre three cylinder petrol Toyota claims is good for 65.7mpg and a 1.4-litre diesel rated at 72.4 to the gallon, both with emissions of 99g/km but - on paper at least - the star of the show is a 1.5-litre petrol/electric hybrid with a CO2 figure of just 75g/km equating to 85.6mpg.

How they stack up in the real world is a different matter and what makes most sense is not as clear cut as would be thought.

In the new Yaris line up all three tax friendly engines are available on five door models in mid-range Icon trim with prices starting at £13,345 for the 1.0-litre, £15,595 for the diesel and £16,195 for the hybrid.

Putting each through their paces over similar routes revealed the diesel not only to be the liveliest but also the most frugal with an average of 60.1mpg.

The hybrid, with its CVT auto box and slightly heavier body weight managed 54.3 and the 1.0-litre came in at 44.8 mpg.

All three were impressive yet with such a wide variation in prices for the same specification car it really is horses for courses.

Over three years and 30,000 miles if our experience is anything to go by and on current fuel prices, the 1.0-litre would cost £3,960 in petrol, the hybrid £3,240 and the bill for the diesel would be £3,090.

The figures speak for themselves yet each engine has different characteristics which make the 1.0-litre best for everyday use, the diesel for longer, quicker runs and the hybrid is good at both.

The hybrid also has the advantage of having emissions low enough to escape congestion charging although it does have a lesser range, the battery pack and electronic gubbins reducing the fuel tank size to eight gallons. The other versions of the Yaris have nine gallon tanks.

Toyota is also offering the new Yaris with a 1.3-litre petrol engine priced from £13,495 although with emissions of 114g/km it is not as beneficial on the tax front.

It is the diesel with its comparatively lively performance of 0 to 60 in 10.8 seconds and plenty of mid-range pull which drives the best.

It's fitted with a six speed manual gearbox and that has an edge over the CVT in the hybrid which, although much improved, can still make the car noisy under acceleration.

The new Yaris arrives on August 1 and although the changes are classified as a mid-life update they are immense.

Toyota has spent almost £70 million reworking the car giving it a new look inside and out. It has a striking X-shaped face, a different rear and all in all has much more road presence.

There is new Sport trim powered by the 1.3-litre engine and priced from £14,995 while across the range the interior has been spruced up with a variety of textures in the trim and the option of different colours for the dash including a classy tan finish and bright red for the Sport.

All in all there are some 1,000 new components, the body has been made more rigid and there is more feedback from the steering which have noticeably improved the handling. It is also much quieter when on the move thanks to more sound deadening, especially inside the doors.

Initially the new line up will start from £9,995 for a 1.0-litre three door but that lacks features such as air conditioning, Bluetooth connectivity and alloys which are standard on all other models in the range making the new Yaris good enough to give top sellers such as the Ford Fiesta a run for the money.