Kiplinger's Reveals 10 Cheapest Cars To Own
DETROIT (WWJ) - We all know that buying a car can be stressful, confusing and expensive. In an effort to make it easier for people looking to buy a new car, Kiplinger.com developed a list of the 10 cheapest cars to own.
Kiplinger's list is based on five-year ownership cost data from Vincentric, an automotive data company. The ownership costs assume that you recoup the cost of the car, minus depreciation, when you sell the vehicle after five years.
All the vehicles on the list are small -- either compacts or subcompacts -- because they tend to have the lowest market price, the best fuel economy, and reasonable insurance rates -- since premiums tend to rise with horsepower.
Kiplinger.com's 10 Cheapest Cars to Own:
#1 -- Nissan Versa S 4 door
5-Year fuel cost: $9,048
5-Year insurance cost: $5,134
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $27,135
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#2 -- Hyundai Accent GLS 4 door
5-Year fuel cost: $8,143
5-Year insurance cost: $5,145
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $27,895
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#3 -- Ford Fiesta S 4 door
5-Year fuel cost: $8,568
5-Year insurance cost: $5,623
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $28,524
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#4 -- Toyota Yaris L 2 door hatch
5-Year fuel cost: $8,306
5-Year insurance cost: $5,451
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $29,153
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#5 -- Kia Soul 4 door hatch
5-Year fuel cost: $9,146
5-Year insurance cost: $4,402
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $29,190
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#6 -- Kia Rio LX 4 door
5-Year fuel cost: $8,143
5-Year insurance cost: $5,445
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $29,345
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#7 -- Scion iQ 2 door hatch (automatic)
5-Year fuel cost: $7,553
5-Year insurance cost: $5,461
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $29,594
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#8 -- Honda Insight 4 door hatch (automatic)
5-Year fuel cost: $6,508
5-Year insurance cost: $5,487
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $29,786
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#9 -- Mazda2 Sport 4 door hatch
5-Year fuel cost: $8,759
5-Year insurance cost: $5,633
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $30,173
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#10 -- Honda Fit 4 door hatch
5-Year fuel cost: $9,361
5-Year insurance cost: $4,997
Total 5-Year ownership cost: $30,411
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With lower-price cars, you may have to pay extra for an automatic transmission (all of the vehicles listed here have manual transmissions, unless otherwise noted), air conditioning and sometimes even a radio. But thanks to federal mandates that went into effect for the 2012 model year, stability control is now standard for all vehicles.
All of these cars have at least six airbags, anti-lock brakes and traction control.
The market price is the average transaction cost and reflects rebates. Fuel costs are based on $3.36 a gallon for regular gasoline and 15,000 miles a year of mixed city and highway driving. The ownership cost assumes you are paying 4.04 percent interest on a five-year loan but that you can recoup the cost of the car, minus depreciation, when you sell the vehicle after five years.
