2007 Cost Of Ownership Survey
May 29, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
The three contenders in this category were the Honda Odyssey, Kia Carnival and the Toyota Tarago. The Kia is the cheapest to buy at $34,990, the Honda costs $39,290 while the Tarago comes in at just below 50 ($49,490).
And the results follow a similar pattern with the Carnival coming in first with an average weekly ownership cost of $216.68, the Odyssey comes in second at $228.00 while the expensive Tarago costs $267.61 a week.
It seems a little unfair to compare Diesel cars to Hybrid cars. Although the aim is similar (to reduce fuel costs and cut down on emissions), the technology behind the two categories is completely different.
The RACV tested the Honda Civic, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Prius and the Volkswagen Golf Diesel and a standard Volkswagen Golf. The winner? You would probably expect one of the Hybrids to have the lowest running cost, but the standard model Civic is actually cheaper to own at $154.06 (fuel costs and all) than its Hybrid brother ($175.29)!
The Volkswagen Golf Diesel came in third at $187.93, the standard golf was $190.88 and the car which has recieved the most attention for saving our planet, the Toyota Prius, was the most expensive car to own and maintain in this category, costing $200.63 a week, more than the Mitsubishi 380!
Only two cars entered this category, the Ford Falcon and the Holden Commodore. Much like the Large Car category, the Falcon came on top at $211.43 compared to the Commodores $225.10. The Falcon retails for $37,390 while the LPG Commodore starts from $40,390.
ACTUALLY DRIVE – i do have a message to submit and i would appreciate a return offer.
Regarding the medium SUV comparison… why wasn’t the Kluger used instead of the Prado. I recognise the Prado is not not exactly a ‘medium’ hauler nor ‘large’ but agianst the Nissan Pathfinder and the Captiva or even the Ford Territory, it is not exactly within thier league either with it’s ‘FULL’ of road abilities. A far more appropriate choice would have been the Kluger in this instance so i beg the question…. why the Prado (with greater off-road abilities then the comparo)then the Kluger (of which is more comparable) ??
The 380 is great, would never go back to Holdens. I think they should have included more cars in categories like Light. Where was the colt for example? It has the most economical 1.5litre petrol engine in Aus.
The RACV uses the highest volume selling vehicles in their survey and as a result the Kluger missed ot this year.
In your comparison of diesal and hybrid running costs i was quite suprised to see the standard honda civic cheaper to run. I s this a general trend?
I was thinking of buying a mazda 6 sports in the diesel version assuming i would save some money instead of the standard model.
If it is going to cost so much i may be better off sticking to a large family sedan which is what i have had all my life.
I am confused!!
i agree with dingo …
why was the Toyota Prado used in the med SUV catagory ????? the Klugar would have been the natural choice to put up against the other rivales…
Drive .. can you give us a answer why the Prado was used insted of the Toyota Klugar ????
Hi
Very interesting information! Thanks!
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I would also like to add that the major reason for the korean brands seemingly being less affected by the world recession is because their currency is rapidly depreciating. Thus if they sell the same number of cars in America for example, this will instantly convert into higher profits for them because of the exchange rate.
On the other hand the Japanese yen has skyrocketed (see: www . x-rates.com/d/USD/JPY/graph120.html for example) and thus the drop of sales in USA is amplified.