- A news study has ranked popular vehicles according to annual running costs.
- Fuel, insurance, maintenance and taxes were all factored into the rankings.
- The Tesla Model 3 topped the list as the most affordable, but only by a small margin.
We all fixate on the purchase price or monthly loan/lease cost when looking to get a new car, when the true cost of running a vehicle is affected by all kinds of other factors. Two years down the road the car that looked dirt cheap, might turn out to have cost you more than the one you crossed off your shopping list for being too expensive.
But which models really do have the lowest running costs, and which have the worst? A new study by Self set out to answer that question by crunching the numbers on 50 popular vehicles in the US on sale between 2022-24.
Related: Which Brand’s Cars Cost Least To Run Over 10 Years?
For each car, truck or SUV, analysts calculated the energy or ‘fuel’ costs, insurance and maintenance costs and the price of taxes and fees. We’ll get to the winners and losers in a second, but first let’s consider the cost of running the average vehicle based on the data.
Average running costs
The average annual total cost came to $6,462, more than 34 percent of which ($2,246) is swallowed by fuel, the single biggest expense. Insurance and maintenance accounted for just over 25 percent each, with annual taxes and fees making up the rest.
But those numbers are skewed when you break the cars down by fuel type. The total running costs of the average hybrid ($5,485) are slightly lower than those for the average EV ($5,517) and much lower than for the average ICE car ($6,544). But within those columns there are also big differences. The average EV costs much less in fuel than the other two, but is far more expensive to insure.
Running costs by powertrain
Which is why when we look at the big table of car models, yes, the Tesla Model 3 comes top with an annual running cost of $5,061, but the combustion Hyundai Elantra is only $43 behind. The Elantra costs $979 more in energy and $292 in servicing every year, but is $694 less expensive to insure and saves you $533 in taxes and fees.
Predictably, the pricey end of the table is dominated by trucks and SUVs, the most expensive of which is the Chevy Tahoe. One of those monsters will cost you a hefty $3,276 every year in gas, and $8,644 overall.
Running costs by model
Next, the study team used the same data to rank brands according to running costs, and again, Tesla came top, with a total annual cost of $5,517. Nissan grabbed second spot, despite its best performing single model making it no higher than eighth in the model table. The average Nissan costs $5,629, whereas the study says you’ll pay $5,759 for a Honda, $5,963 for a Subaru and $6,315 for a Hyundai even though the Elantra scored well in the by-model rankings.
Most expensive brand? That dubious honor goes to Lexus, whose cars will on average cost you more than $8k every year, though it should be noted that most other luxury brands are missing from this list, and would likely cost you far more.
Running costs by brand
Source: Self