Best Mid-Size SUV 2021: Ownership costs
Servicing costs, resale value, warranty cover and roadside assist are key considerations in determining the best medium SUVIt can be difficult pinning down ownership costs when a vehicle is still in the showroom, but car-makers have made it much easier to work out some of those expenses in recent years. While buying a new mid-size SUV is a big investment, owning one can also be a financial drain when it comes to maintenance and other aftersales considerations. There are significant differences between the brands in this area, so let’s take a closer look.
These days you can expect car manufacturers to provide a decent level of warranty cover and tell you up front what you’ll pay for scheduled servicing when you buy a new mid-size SUV.
All vehicles on test in carsales’ Best Mid-Size SUV 2021 come with a five-year warranty, except for the Kia Sportage and the MG HS, which offer seven years of warranty coverage.
So that leaves the following models with five-year cover: Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan X-TRAIL, Skoda Karoq, Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4 and, finally, the Volkswagen Tiguan.
All offer unlimited kilometres for warranty coverage, except Mitsubishi, which caps the distance at 100,000km with its standard five-year warranty.
Both Mitsubishi and Toyota will extend their warranties, provided conditions are met.
Mitsubishi will extend up to 10 years/200,000km if you’ve had your vehicle serviced at appropriate intervals for five years at an authorised Mitsubishi dealer.
Toyota adds two extra years of powertrain warranty (making it seven years), provided you have evidence showing the vehicle was serviced according to the Toyota schedule.
All models on test have 12-month service intervals and up to a maximum of 15,000km annually – except the Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, MG and Nissan, which have shorter 10,000km intervals, and the Subaru with a 12,500km maximum between services.
When it comes to maintenance costs, we have added up the minimum capped-price servicing (CPS) period available for all models – five years– and calculated an annual average.
Taken over the first five services, the cheapest annual capped-price service cost is $215 for the Toyota, while the Volkswagen is the most expensive at $741.
In the longer-term, depreciation is the biggest cost when purchasing a new car, so buying one with good resale value can ease the pain when it comes time to sell.
Take a look at the table below for full details, but the experts at RedBook.com.au have found that both the Forester and RAV4 are projected to actually increase slightly in value over 12 months in the current market.
As we were restricted to 2020 model-year values, the Escape, Tucson, HS and Tiguan values are therefore shown for the previous model. Of these, the steepest fall in value is with the MG HS.
Tyre prices are hard to pinpoint because they vary so much according to what deal is occurring at the time. There are also dozens of tyre brands from which to choose, not to mention many different retail outlets.
But after punching in the tyre size for each SUV here, the average price for a tyre from a reputable brand is about $300 for all but the Volkswagen, which is roughly $50 more per tyre.
Ford Escape 2.0 Vignale AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $300
Dealer service network: 240
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 1 year free/Yes
Honda CR-V 1.5 VTi LX AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/10,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $312
Dealer service network: 97
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: None/No
Hyundai Tucson 1.6 Highlander AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/10,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $319
Dealer service network: 240
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 1 year free/Yes
Kia Sportage 2.4 GT-Line AWD
Warranty years/km: 7 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $406
Dealer service network: 134
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 1 year free/Yes
Mazda CX-5 2.5 Akera AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/10,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $349
Dealer service network: 150
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 5 years free/No
MG HS 2.0 Essence X AWD
Warranty years/km: 7 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/10,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $324
Dealer service network: 72
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 7 years free/No
Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 Exceed AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/100,000km
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $299
Dealer service network: 200
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 1 year free/Yes
Nissan X-TRAIL 2.5 Ti AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/10,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $328
Dealer service network: 189
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 5 years free/No
Skoda Karoq 2.0 140TSI Sportline AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $516
Dealer service network: 36
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 1 year free/Yes
Subaru Forester 2.5i-S AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/12,500km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $482
Dealer service network: 114
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: None/No
Toyota RAV4 2.5 Edge AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $215
Dealer service network: 200
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 1 year free/Yes
Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 162TSI Elegance AWD
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
Average annual cost for first 5 services: $741
Dealer service network: 105
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 1 year free/Yes
Best Mid-Size SUV 2021 RedBook resale table:
Make/Model/Variant | New Price* | Good condition resales value after 12 months |
Ford Escape 2.0 Vignale AWD | $49,590 | N/A |
Ford Escape Titanium AWD (2020) | $45,840 | $39,100 |
Honda CR-V 1.5 VTi LX AWD | $47,490 | $44,500 |
Hyundai Tucson 1.6 Highlander AWD | $50,000 | N/A |
Hyundai Tucson 1.6 Highlander AWD (2020) | $46,850 | $43,700 |
Kia Sportage 2.4 GT-Line AWD | $46,090 | $42,800 |
Mazda CX-5 2.5 Akera AWD | $49,380 | $44,300 |
MG HS 2.0 Essence X AWD | $42,380 | N/A |
MG HS Essence Anfield Edition FWD | $40,690 | $32,800 |
Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 Exceed AWD | $43,990 | $41,800 |
Nissan X-Trail 2.5 Ti AWD | $45,965 | $39,800 |
Skoda Karoq 2.0 140TSI Sportline AWD | $41,290 | $36,900 |
Subaru Forester 2.5i-S AWD | $43,490 | $43,800 |
Toyota RAV4 2.5 Edge AWD | $48,915 | $50,100 |
Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 162TSI Elegance AWD | $50,790 | N/A |
Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 162TSI Highline AWD (2020) | $51,690 | $46,900 |
* Prices exclude on-road costs on all models except MG HS which are drive-away listings only
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