The cheapest cars to run in 2019
Adding a new car to your garage comes with hidden costs – fuel, servicing and registration just to name a few. To ease the sting on your hip pocket in the long run, we’ve crunched the numbers in RAA’s latest Vehicle Running Costs survey, revealing the cheapest cars to own and run in South Australia in 2019.
Micro cars
The Mitsubishi Mirage and Kia Picanto have swapped positions on the podium this year, with the latter taking the win as the cheapest micro car to run for 2019. With an annual running cost of $5797.37, the Kia Picanto is nearly $200 cheaper to run a year than the Mirage and the third-placed Fiat 500. Fuel-wise, the Picanto and Mirage are on par with just a few cents between them. The Picanto burns 6.99 cents per kilometre; the Mirage 6.57 cents. Best of all, you’ll get bang for your buck with the pint-sized Picanto, which has a better depreciation than others in the group.
The Kia Picanto is the cheapest micro car.
Light cars
This year, leading the pack in affordability is the Kia Rio. With an annual running cost of about $5800, the Kia Rio is about $300 cheaper to run a year than the Suzuki Swift in second place. Despite this, the Swift still holds its own in fuel efficiency. In fact, for each kilometre travelled the Swift burns through 6.71 cents of fuel, compared to the Kia Rio’s 8.66 cents. The Rio, however, comes out on top with significantly lower servicing costs.Small cars
For the third year in a row, the Kia Cerato has retained its title as the most affordable small car. So, what are the drawcards of buying the Cerato compared to others in the small car category? With an annual running cost of $6,996.74, the Cerato is more than $600 cheaper to run a year than the models it shares the podium with. There are some downsides though. With a purchase price of $23,790, you’ll fork out more for the Cerato compared to Holden Astra at $22,490 and the Mitsubishi Lancer at $21,000. Not to mention, the Cerato depreciates quicker than the others.
The Kia Cerato is the cheapest small car.
Small SUVs
The Hyundai Kona beat last year’s winner, the Suzuki Vitara, to the finish line, to take out the title as the cheapest small SUV to run. When it comes to overall annual running costs, there isn’t much separating the Kona from the second-placed Honda HR-V VTi and third-placed Suzuki Jimny. In fact, the Kona is just a little more than $100 cheaper to run per year than the Honda. What’s more, you’ll burn fuel faster in the Kona (10.06 cents per kilometre). The Honda chews 9.22 cents per kilometre.
The Hyundai Kona is the cheapest small SUV.