New survey reveals the most affordable – and most expensive – new models to own and operate in 2019

The Royal Automotive Club of Victoria (RACV) has released the results of its annual running costs survey, and the results might surprise you.

When it comes to owning and operating a new vehicle in Victoria, once again it turns out that an electric vehicle isn’t the most affordable choice based on private-use cars travelling 15,000km a year, over a five-year period.

The vehicles assessed in the 2019 RACV survey included a field of 141 models across 14 categories, including seven full-electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models.

As usual, the results factor in the standing costs of owning a vehicle (purchase price, registration, insurance, depreciation, loan repayments, etc) and running costs including fuel and maintenance.

This year the popular Kia Rio hatchback took the top spot, costing an average of $115.95 per week or $6029.46 each year in entry-spec S guise with a 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine paired to an automatic transmission.

Second overall and in the light-car class was the Suzuki Swift GL, costing on average $6124.14 yearly and $117.77 weekly, while third overall and top micro-car was the Kia Picanto ($118.25).

The popular Mazda2 Neo ranked fifth overall ($131.83 per week), while another Kia – the Cerato – was ninth overall and top small car ($136.64), significantly ahead of small-car rivals like the Honda Civic ($154.75), Mitsubishi Lancer ($155.57) and Hyundai i30 petrol ($157.90).

In the small SUV category gold was awarded to the Hyundai Kona Active front-wheel drive auto at a cost of $163.69 a week, while the Hyundai IONIQ Electric Elite was the cheapest EV to operate, at $193.05.

Mid-size SUVs were considerably pricier to own and operate, but the cheapest of them were the Ford Escape and Toyota RAV4 in both petrol and hybrid form – all just under $200 a week.

The Toyota Camry Hybrid Ascent Sport took the win among mid-size vehicles with running costs of $190.01 a week and $9880.48 yearly, while Honda’s Odyssey VTi was cheapest in the people-mover category at $217.68 per week.

Finally, in the booming ute sector, the Mitsubishi Triton claimed wins in both the 4×2 and 4×4 categories ($218.73 and $237.79 respectively), followed in the latter by the Holden Colorado ($252.94) and the Isuzu D-MAX, Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux (all around the $260/week mark).

The most expensive models to own? Once again this year that title goes (surprisingly) to the Tesla Model X 100D at $514.36/week.

Also up there for pricey running costs was the BMW X5 xDrive30d at $450.34 per week, followed by the Toyota 200 Series LandCruiser diesel at $375.81 and Ford’s V8 Mustang coupe at $343.02.

The RACV says depreciation, not fuel, has the biggest impact on the bottom line, making up more than 40 per cent of overall costs.

“The cost of owning a car doesn’t end after the purchase price, with many people neglecting the impact depreciation, on-road costs and loan repayments have on the hip pocket,” said the RACV’s Michael Case.

Cheapest vehicles to operate on a weekly basis:

Micro cars

Kia Picanto — $118.25

Mitsubishi Mirage — $119.05

Fiat 500 Pop — $133.37

Light cars

Kia Rio — $115.95

Suzuki Swift — $117.77

Suzuki Baleno — $121.80

Mazda2 — $131.82

Honda Jazz — $132.49

Small cars

Kia Cerato — $136.64

Honda Civic — $154.75

Mitsubishi Lancer — $155.57

Hyundai i30 diesel — $155.92

Hyundai i30 petrol — $157.90

Medium cars

Toyota Camry Hybrid — $190.01

Toyota Camry petrol — $197.76

Mazda6 — $199.19

Subaru Liberty — $199.49

Hyundai Sonata — $200.42

Large cars

Holden Commodore (four-cylinder) — $232.88

Holden Commodore (V6) — $245.58

Toyota Camry (V6) — $250.75

Skoda Superb — $251.06

Kia Stinger — $268.28

People-movers

Honda Odyssey — $217.68

Hyundai iMax — $240.68

Kia Carnival — $248.94

Toyota Tarago — $258.10

Volkswagen Multivan — $271.78

Sports cars

Toyota 86 — $205.28

Mazda MX-5 — $212.25

Subaru BRZ — $214.65

Subaru WRX — $250.46

Renault Megane Sport — $253.96

Small SUV

Hyundai Kona — $163.69

Honda HR-V — $170.49

Mazda CX-3 (petrol) — $170.67

Suzuki Jimny — $170.81

Suzuki Vitara — $174.63

Medium SUV

Ford Escape — $198.38

Toyota RAV4 — $198.47

Toyota RAV4 (hybrid) — $198.68

Kia Sportage — $201.04

Nissan X-TRAIL (petrol) — $201.19

Large SUV

Subaru Outback (petrol) — $212.99

Subaru Outback (diesel) — $216.54

Kia Sorento — $232.27

Hyundai Santa Fe — $233.07

Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace — $233.20

4×4 SUV

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport — $245.13

Isuzu MU-X — $245.22

Toyota Fortuner –$246.63

Holden Trailblazer — $261.93

Ford Everest — $265.02

2WD Ute

Mitsubishi Triton — $218.73

Ford Ranger — $228.99

Isuzu D-MAX — $231.88

Toyota HiLux — $242.72

Nissan Navara — $247.01

4WD Ute

Mitsubishi Triton — $237.79

Holden Colorado — $252.94

Isuzu D-MAX — $259.07

Ford Ranger — $262.80

Toyota HiLux — $263.56

Electrified vehicles

Hyundai IONIQ EV — $193.05

Renault ZOE EV — $218.08

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV — $243.56

Hyundai Kona EV — $260.15

BMW i3 EV — $295.37