Bang for your buck: Price-to-power ratio in the Australian new car market
If you’re a real revhead, you’d be crazy not to buy a Proton S16 GX. Let me explain…
Most of us are familiar with the power-to-weight ratio measurement, which takes a car’s power output (kilowatts) and divides it by the vehicle’s mass (kg or tonnes). The high-performance, lightweight supercars – like the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Lamborghini Gallardo – generally do pretty well here, and leave everyday runabouts in their wake.
But what if you want the most bang for your buck? The most kilowatts per dollar? The results are practically turned on their head, and are rather surprising.
Here’s the list of the top 10 passenger vehicles in Australia at the moment from a price-to-power perspective:
Make | Model | Best | Power (kW) | Price ($) | Price-to-Power ratio ($ per kW) |
Proton | S16 | GX M5 | 82 | 12,990 | 158 |
Kia | Cerato | S M5 | 115 | 18,990 | 165 |
Ford | Falcon | XR8 M6 | 290 | 48,390 | 167 |
Holden | Commodore | SS sedan M6 | 270 | 47,790 | 177 |
Toyota | Aurion | AT-X | 200 | 35,990 | 180 |
FPV | GS | M6 | 315 | 56,990 | 181 |
Suzuki | SX4 | Hatch M6 | 112 | 20,490 | 183 |
Hyundai | i45 | Active M6 | 148 | 27,990 | 189 |
Nissan | Tiida | ST hatch M6 | 93 | 17,990 | 193 |
Mitsubishi | Lancer | ES sedan M5 | 113 | 21,990 | 195 |
Includes only the best model from each make, and does not include utes. Note: M5= five-speed manual transmission.
At $158 per kW, the Proton S16 GX five-speed manual is the best bang for your buck passenger vehicle in the land, marginally ahead of the manual Kia Cerato S sedan.
The XR8 and SS – despite having around three-and-a-half times more power than the S16 – manage just third and fourth respectively due to their premium price. In Ute form however, with the same power output but a heavily reduced price, the locals come out well on top (as shown in Table 2).
The following table lists the top 25 sellers in Australia in 2010, ranked according to their price-to-power ratio:
Make | Model | Best | Power (kW) | Price ($) | Price-to-Power ratio ($ per kW) |
Ford | Falcon | XR8 M6 (Ute) | 290 | 48,390 (41,490) | 167 (143) |
Holden | Commodore | SS M6 (Ute) | 270 | 47,790 (42,490) | 177 (157) |
Toyota | Aurion | AT-X | 200 | 35,990 | 180 |
Ford | Fiesta | CL 3dr M5 | 88 | 16,090 | 183 |
Hyundai | i30 | 2.0 SX M5 | 105 | 20,390 | 194 |
Mitsubishi | Lancer | ES sedan M5 | 113 | 21,990 | 195 |
Holden | Barina | 3dr M5 | 76 | 14,790 | 195 |
Hyundai | Getz | SX 3dr M5 | 78 | 15,340 | 197 |
Mazda | Mazda3 | Neo sedan M5 | 108 | 21,330 | 198 |
Toyota | RAV4 | CV6 | 201 | 39,990 | 199 |
Ford | Focus | CL hatch M5 | 107 | 21,490 | 201 |
Holden | Cruze | 1.8 petrol CD M5 | 104 | 20,990 | 202 |
Toyota | Kluger | KX-R 2WD | 201 | 40,990 | 204 |
Subaru | Impreza | WRX hatch M5 | 195 | 39,990 | 205 |
Toyota | Corolla | Ascent sedan M6 | 100 | 20,990 | 210 |
Ford | Territory | TX RWD | 190 | 39,890 | 210 |
Toyota | Yaris | YRS 3dr M5 | 80 | 17,340 | 217 |
Mazda | Mazda2 | Neo M5 | 76 | 16,500 | 217 |
Honda | Civic | VTi sedan M5 | 103 | 22,490 | 218 |
Suzuki | Swift | M5 | 74 | 16,290 | 220 |
Holden | Captiva | 7 SX V6 | 169 | 38,490 | 228 |
Subaru | Forester | XT M5 | 169 | 39,490 | 234 |
Volkswagen | Golf | 118 TSI M6 | 118 | 29,490 | 250 |
Toyota | Camry | Altise M5 | 117 | 30,490 | 261 |
Toyota | Prado | GXL V6 M6 | 202 | 60,904 | 302 |
The top 25 sellers for 2010 between January and October (excluding Toyota HiLux, Nissan Navara and Holden Colorado).
At the other end of the spectrum, the numbers are far less impressive.
The Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 SV E-gear is Australia’s most powerful car. At 493kW, the Italian wears the premium price tag of $889,000. Its price-to-power ratio? $1800 per kW.
Australia’s most expensive car –the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe – costs $1.35 million and packs 338kW from its 6.7-litre V12 engine. In price-to-power terms, $4000 per kW.
And the world’s fastest production car – the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport – with its 883kW and $2.635 million price tag? Price-to-power ratio: the best part of $3000 per kW. A bargain compared to the Roller, really.
So the next time you laugh at (or pity) a person driving a Proton S16 GX five-speed manual, just stop and think. They may be more of a red-blooded power enthusiast than you think.