Australia's cheapest car to own and run is the Suzuki Alto.
The diminutive city car has topped a survey of Australia’s most economical vehicles for a second consecutive year.
The 1.0-litre petrol-powered Alto finished ahead of 109 other vehicles, including diesels, LPGs, hybrids and EVs, for affordability during the first five years of ownership - giving consideration to purchase price, fuel use, servicing and depreciation, among other factors.
At the other end of the scale, the freshly-released V8-petrol powered Nissan Patrol was named the worst offender, taking the title from serial loser, the Toyota LandCruiser GXL.
The Suzuki Alto finished with an operating cost of $113.82 per week or $5,918.50 a year (based on average mileage of 15,000km annually). Conversely, the petrol Nissan Patrol ST-L rounded out at $402.21 per week, or $20,914.98 a year.
According to the RACQ Vehicle Running Costs survey, the hidden costs of vehicle ownership meant motorists were forking out more than they needed to when purchasing a new car.
“The real cost of owning a car is much more than just the sticker price and the wrong choice could set you back thousands,” RACQ safety policy executive manager Steve Spalding said.
“Servicing, fuel consumption, spare parts, insurance and depreciation play a major role in how much a financial burden your vehicle will be.”
Interestingly, hybrids and EVs fared poorly in the survey, with their expensive purchase prices undermining any savings made in running costs.
Despite superior fuel economy in many cases, diesel vehicles often lost out to their petrol counterparts due to higher maintenance costs.
Cheap motoring
Cheap motoring
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Cheap motoring
Alto?
TooFunny!
TooFunny!
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato