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Carsales Staff23 Jun 2014
NEWS

Suzuki Alto is penny-pinch champ

But biggest expense for car owners is depreciation, not the cost of fuel or loan repayments, say auto clubs

The Suzuki Alto costs just 41 cents per kilometre to run, making it the most cost effective vehicle available in Australia as far as running and ownership costs.

That's the word from a handful of Australia's motoring authorities including the RAA, RACQ and RACT, whose latest study shows that the Suzuki Alto GL ($11,790) costs on average of $106 to own and operate per week over a five year period – the cheapest of any new car in Australia.

The Holden Barina Spark CD ($12,490) was named the second most affordable new car to own and operate in Australia, with average weekly costs of $111.

According to the study the Alto is Australia's cheapest car to drive on a daily, weekly and yearly basis, but each car category had winners too, with the Holden Commodore emerging as the most affordable large car to run in this country.

Suzuki also took out the light car category with the Swift, while Holden's other Australian-made vehicle, the Cruze, fared best in the small car category, the Volkswagen Jetta topped the medium car category and the Mitsubishi Outlander came out in front in the medium SUV category. See below for all the results.

Fuel costs are often seen as the major financial burden on motorists, but depreciation is a hidden cost that hits hardest, said RACT General Manager, Roadside and Technical Services, Darren Moody.

Moody oversaw the annual vehicle operating costs survey and noted that the single biggest payment for car owners was depreciation, on average accounting for almost 40 per cent of ownership costs, compared with fuel at just 14 per cent.

"Depreciation – a vehicle’s ongoing decrease in value – is by far the biggest expense in owning a vehicle," said Moody.

Not surprisingly given its bargain-basement price, the Alto had the lowest depreciation costs per week, at just over $29. Suzuki's smallest model and Australia's pioneering micro-car is currently pegged at $12,990 drive-away with an automatic transmission. The Indian-built city-car will be replaced early next year by an all-new model called the Celerio.

"This largely hidden cost is only realised when you go to sell the vehicle, so being able to sell or trade in your car for more means less impact on the hip pocket in the long run,” said Moody of depreciation costs.

The annual report covers more than 100 vehicles in 12 categories and factors in most aspects of owning and running a vehicle, including stamp duty and taxes, insurance, servicing, fuel and tyres.

According to the RACT, the survey's calculations are based on private ownership of a vehicle for a five-year period, driving an average of 12,000km each year. You can view the full report here.

Vehicle Operating Costs category winners:

<table style="width: 80%;" align="" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><b>Overall:</b> Suzuki Alto</td> <td><b>SUV small:</b> Ford EcoSport</td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>Micro car:</b> Suzuki Alto</td> <td><b>SUV medium:</b> Mitsubishi Outlander<b><br></b></td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>Light car:</b> Suzuki Swift</td> <td><b>SUV large:</b> Holden Captiva 7</td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>Small car:</b> Holden Cruze </td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>Medium car:</b> Volkswagen Jetta<b><br></b></td> <td><b>2WD ute:</b> Ford Falcon ute</td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>Large car:</b> Holden Commodore</td> <td><b>4WD ute:</b> Toyota HiLux</td> </tr> <tr> <td><b>People mover:</b> Honda Odyssey</td> <td><b>Electric:</b> Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

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