New car running costs: How does your car fare?
Australia’s cheapest car to own and run is the Mitsubishi Mirage; Tesla’s Model X among the most expensiveWhat drives you to buy a new car? Is it the latest technology, perhaps safety systems like AEB or simply the way it looks?
For many buyers whole-of-life ownership cost is the deciding factor and if the latest data collated by Australia’s motoring clubs (RACV, RACQ, etc) is anything to go by, the cost of owning and running a car is rising.
In their annual Driving Your Dollars survey, the automotive organisations declared that the average cost of running a car has increased by almost one per cent, to an average of $209.50 per week.
Only the small SUV and light-car category saw drops in car running costs compared to 2017. Every other category’s costs of ownership went north.
The auto clubs break down the various costs involved in running a vehicle, including the purchase price, trade-in price (depreciation) and fuel, insurance, registration, tyres, servicing and repairs.
Based on an annual driving distance of 15,000km and a five-year ownership period, the most affordable car to own and run in 2018 is the Mitsubishi Mirage ES — one of the country’s cheapest micro-cars at $12,250 — at $108.78 per week.
Of all the vehicles listed in this year’s running costs survey (including sports cars, SUVs and one-tonners) the most expensive to own and run is the $150,000-plus Tesla Model X 75D – a large, luxurious electric crossover that costs around $515 per week to run.
The Tesla Model X was the most expensive of four electric vehicles listed, including the top-ranked Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV ($259.22), BMW i3 ($297.84) and Tesla Model S ($502.52).
While the 1.2-litre Mirage was the most economical car to run from a financial standpoint, each category had its penny pinchers, such as Suzuki Swift light car ($117.80), the Kia Cerato small car ($129.41) and Skoda Octavia medium car ($192.14).
The new Holden ZB Commodore is the most affordable large car to run in Australia, at $237.81, and the Honda Odyssey is the cheapest people-mover, $221.92.
In the world of SUVs, the Suzuki Vitara has the lowest running costs ($153.84) which, put another way, equates to around 53c per kilometre.
In the medium, large and all-terrain SUV classes, the Haval H6 ($191.57), Subaru Outback ($215.14), and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport ($237) had the lowest running costs over a five-year period respectively.
In the world of utes, the Mitsubishi Triton topped both 4x2 and 4x4 lists with $210.99 and $225.95 weekly costs.
The survey involved a total of 139 vehicles across 14 categories and, despite the average cost of ownership rising slightly, the good news is that fuel consumption is dropping.
The average new car consumed 9.3L/100km in 2008, while in 2018 that figure is 7.1L/100km.
It will be interesting to see how that fuel figure changes in the next 10 years as EVs become more prevalent, and what effect this has on running costs.
New car running costs 2018 - total cost p/week:
Micro cars
Mitsubishi Mirage ES: $108.78
Kia Picanto Si: $121.40
Fiat 500 POP: $136.65
Light cars
Suzuki Swift GL: $117.80
Honda Jazz VTi: $124.90
Suzuki Baleno GL: $125.85
Mazda2 Neo: $131.31
Ford Fiesta Ambiente: $136.37
Small cars
Kia Cerato S: $129.41
Mitsubishi Lancer ES Sport: $155.02
Honda Civic VTi: $155.53
Hyundai i30 Active: $155.94
Hyundai i30 Active (D): $156.92
Medium cars
Skoda Octavia 110TSI Sport: $192.14
Mazda6 Sport: $194.53
Hyundai i40 Active (D): $197.93
Subaru Liberty 2.5i: $201.03
Toyota Camry Ascrent Sport Hybrid: $201.03
Large cars
Holden Commodore RS (2.0): $237.81
Skoda Superb 162 TSI: $240.51
Holden Commodore RS (3.6): $249.02
Toyota Camry SL: $252.13
Kia Stinger 200S: $269.46
Kia Stinger 330S: $292.89
People movers
Honda Odyssey VTi: $221.92
Kia Carnival S: $248.40
Hyundai iMAX (D): $252.33
Electric vehicles
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: $259.22
BMW i3: $297.84
Tesla Model S 75: $502.5
Tesla Model X 75D: $515.202
Subaru BRZ: $206.04
Toyota 86 GT: $208.62
Abarth 124 Spider: $239.37
New SUV running costs 2018 - total cost p/week:
Small SUV (2WD)
Suzuki Vitara RT-S: $153.84
Mazda CX-3 Maxx: $164.77
Hyundai Kona Active: $165.75
Ford EcoSport Ambiente: $167.41
Mazda CX-3 Maxx (D): $170.09
Medium SUV
Haval H6 Premium FWD: $191.57
Mazda CX-5 Maxx AWD: $195.52
Kia Sportage Si AWD (D): $196.70
Nissan X-TRAIL ST AWD: $199.05
Large SUV
Subaru Outback 2.5i: $215.14
Subaru Outback 2.0D (D): $215.15
Holden Captiva LT AWD (D): $227.75
Holden Captiva LT AWD: $228.07
Hyundai Santa Fe Active AWD (D): $231.82
All-terrain SUV
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GLX (D): $237.00
Toyota Fortuner GX (D): $245.93
ISUZU MU-X LS-M (D): $255.94
Ford Everest Ambiente (D): $262.12
2WD ute
Mitsubishi Triton GLX (D): $210.99
Isuzu D-MAX SX (D): $219.22
Ford Ranger XL (D): $221.15
Toyota HiLux SR (D): $240.14
4WD ute
Mitsubishi Triton GLX (D): $225.95
ISUZU D-MAX SX (D): $241.89
Nissan Navara ST (D): $252.07
Holden Colorado LS (D): $252.94
* All models are petrol unless listed with a 'D', which mean turbo-diesel
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