The cheapest cars to run in 2018
Are you in the market for a new car, but don’t want to fork out a fortune to keep it running in good nick? As part of RAA’s annual Vehicle Running Costs survey, our motoring experts have crunched the numbers of Australia’s most popular new cars to reveal which are the cheapest to own and run.
What is RAA’s Vehicle Running Costs survey?
Everything from the initial purchase price to ongoing costs such as fuel, tyres, servicing and depreciation is looked at to find out which cars are Australia’s cheapest. The numbers are based on the car clocking up 12,000km annually over a 5-year period and also takes into account the average cost of fuel in SA, as well as the manufacturer’s service schedule. Here are the results…Light cars
Suzuki leads the pack in affordability in the light car category as it did last year, but this time with the Swift GL (pictured at top).
With annual running costs of about $5800, the Swift is nearly $500 cheaper to run per year than last year’s winner the Baleno, which placed second this time around.
What’s more, the Swift will cost you less at the fuel bowser. In fact, for each kilometre travelled, the Swift only burns 6.3 cents of fuel, compared to the Baleno’s 7.1 cents.
See the full scoresheet
Small cars
The cheapest small car is the Kia Cerato.
Small SUVs
The Suzuki Vitara rises to victory in this category, making it the cheapest small SUV to run for a consecutive year.
It has the cheapest on-road purchase price of the bunch ($24,990), plus it doesn’t guzzle too much fuel (just 7.89 cents/km) – that’s a decent amount less than the second-placed Hyundai Kona, which drinks 9.47 cents/km.
The cheapest small SUV to run is the Suzuki Vitara RT-S.
Medium cars
Skoda and Mazda swap positions on the medium car podium this year, with the Japanese knocking the Czech carmaker from first place.
Of the top 3 cars in this category, the Mazda6 actually has the highest purchase price ($36,142 including on-road costs); however, it holds its value the best, meaning you’ll get more for it when it comes time to sell.
The cheapest medium car to run is the Mazda6 Sport car.
Medium SUVs
This year’s winner – the Haval – actually comes with the biggest fuel bill of any car in this category – it gulps 14.14 cents/km. Compare this to the Mazda CX-5 Maxx, which burns just 9.86 cents/km.
So how did the Haval come out on top? Well it’s a lot cheaper to buy than its competitors as it only comes in 2WD. At just $29,990 (including on-road costs), it’ll set you back about $7000 less than the second-placed Mazda. This – combined with the best depreciation rate – nudged it into first place.
The cheapest medium SUV to run is the Haval.
Large SUVs
The large SUV podium remains unchanged from last year. Subaru’s Outback wagon wins this category again, but not by much. In fact, it’s only a couple of hundred dollars cheaper to run per year than its diesel variant – the second placegetter.
None of the 3 cheapest large SUVs have gone up at all in purchase price, nor have their trade-in values changed even a smidge.
The cheapest large SUV is the Subaru Outback.