RACV rates Hyundai's Getz as running costs soar

HIGHER fuel prices may have made it $6.29 per week more expensive to own and operate this year, but the 2008 RACV Vehicle Operating Costs Survey has again found that Hyundai’s Getz is the least expensive car to run on Australian roads.

The light-sized three-door Getz S 1.4-litre manual won its category easily again this year to be named Australia’s cheapest car to own and run, with a weekly ownership cost of a price of $122.83 proving there’s no substitute for small-displacement, lightweight vehicles when it comes to fuel consumption.

Meantime, the Korean brand’s i30 SX CRDi turbo-diesel hatchback was named the cheapest small car to run at $151.55 per week (53 cents less than its petrol equivalent), giving Hyundai winners in two of the nine categories.

While Hyundai was the champion in this year’s VOCS and Toyota beat LPG models from Ford and Holden to claim the large-car gong, the top-selling Australian brand's hybrid Prius and 200 Series LandCruiser V8 diesel finished last in the small and large SUV segments respectively.

The latter had the dubious honour of being the most expensive in this year's study at more than $400 per week.

Significantly, the RACV found that running costs for the 60 vehicles it collected data for during May and April 2008 had increased by an average of seven per cent since last year’s survey.

The RACV says this was due to the soaring cost of fuel and a four per cent average increase in the cost of tyres, servicing and insurance.

“One of the major factors in the seven per cent overall increase in the cost of ownership has been fuel costs, which unfortunately applies to petrol, LPG and diesel, so fuel costs are a significant factor in the overall increase in the cost of owning and operating all of the vehicles in the survey,” RACV chief engineer – vehicles, Michael Case, told GoAuto.

“It’s not the only factor, however. There have been some increases in servicing and maintenance costs on some cars as well. So it is mostly fuel, but service and maintenance as well - and that applies to almost all cars surveyed.” RACV’s annual running costs survey is calculated on a five-year ownership period and average operating conditions for private motorists, including an annual driving distance of 15,000km.

Mr Case said the survey showed that, despite their lower running costs, the relatively higher purchase prices for diesel, LPG and hybrid vehicles increased the total ownership cost of most alternative-fuel models, making it difficult to recover the higher purchase cost via lower running costs in many cases.

Holden and Ford have both committed to diesel versions of their respective Commodore and Falcon large sedans by 2010, but a GoAuto investigation last month found that the break-even point - based on current fuel prices, a $4000 price premium and fuel consumption of 8.5L/100km – would be more than 12 years in the Commodore’s case and almost 17 years for the Falcon.

“That was a very interesting story and quite thought-provoking,” said Mr Case. “It’s really the difference in purchase price that affects the total cost of owning and operating a vehicle. Big premiums on diesel versions versus petrol and hybrid versus whatever else make it very difficult to recover that higher purchase price with lower operating costs.

Left: Hyundai Getz S and Honda Civic Hybrid.



“One of the key messages from this is that people don’t often take full account of the cost of owning the vehicle whether they own it or not, and that cost is mostly driven by the purchase price as it translates into depreciation and that’s a hidden cost that people don’t see until they come to sell the vehicle.

“One thing we’ve very encouraged by is the recent announcement of local production of a hybrid Camry. If the price difference is more like about $4000, which has been reported in the media, then the lower operating costs of that vehicle should be recovered in a reasonable period of time.

“The key to this survey is that the total cost of owning and operating a vehicle, which really means the standing costs for owning a vehicle whether you use it or not plus the running costs which depend on how much you use it, but it’s the total of those two things that give the total vehicle ownership costs.” Mr Case said the success of Getz was due to its combination of both low fuel consumption and its low purchase price.

“To have low standing costs it’s mostly about the purchase price and the depreciation. To have low operating costs it’s mostly about fuel consumption and the cost of servicing and maintenance.

“So for the Getz to be on top for the second year in a row it’s about the purchase price of that vehicle and the related depreciation, as well as low fuel consumption and low service and maintenance costs,” he said.

The Getz was cheaper than all of its light-car rivals by a large margin, with Holden’s Barina three-door winning a close battle for second from Toyota’s Yaris three-door, Kia’s Rio five-door, the Suzuki Swift, Mazda2 and Volkswagen’s Polo.

Interestingly, the diesel-powered Polo TDI was by far the most expensive light-car surveyed, due mostly to its higher purchase - $22,990 for the 1.9 TDI five-door versus $16,990 for the petrol 1.4 Club three-door.

The i30 CRDi ($21,490) was one of three diesel vehicles to emerge as the cheapest in their class, alongside the Nissan Patrol DX and Ford Ranger XL.

The study found that on average it cost 4.7 per cent more to run a diesel version of the same model, but this was typically because the diesel option was not available on cheaper base models, rather than higher fuel costs.

“When you look at operating costs, while the cost of diesel is higher than petrol, diesel engines are also much more economical and that translates into lower operating costs. So the higher price of diesel versus petrol is more than offset by their much lower consumption.

“But if you’re talking about the bottom line, the same sort of effect relates back to the price premium for the diesel version,” said Mr Case.

In the small-car stakes it was the i30 diesel and petrol in first and second places respectively, followed by the $10-more-expensive Honda Civic VTi, Holden’s petrol Astra, Ford’s petrol Focus, Mitsubishi’s Lancer, Toyota’s Corolla, the petrol Mazda3, the Focus diesel, the Civic Hybrid, the Mazda3 diesel, the Astra diesel and, lastly, Toyota hybrid Prius.

According to the RACV: "Survey results for hybrid vehicles found that drivers contemplating reducing their carbon footprints may suffer collateral damage to their hip pockets".

At $211.18 to own and run per week, the Prius was almost $60 more expensive than the Getz per week – chiefly because of its significantly higher purchase price.

And the Civic Hybrid cost $22.93 more to run than its VTi sibling, while the Toyota Prius cost nearly $50 more than a Corolla Ascent and about $5 more than a Camry Altise.

“With the Prius and Civic Hybrid their total cost of ownership is relatively high and that’s almost totally due to the relatively high purchase price. In both cases they’re much more expensive than their petrol powered equivalents,” said Mr Case.

“Certainly with the Civic the petrol-powered version is about $23,000 and the hybrid is about $32,000. While the Prius is not exactly the same as a Corolla, they’re roughly similar size-wise and the Prius is much more expensive than the equivalent petrol Corolla and that higher purchase price translates into depreciation that’s quite a bit higher.

“This discrepancy in running costs can be attributed to the higher purchase cost of hybrid vehicles, combined with higher servicing costs,” he said.

Holden’s six-cylinder Epica was the lowest-cost medium car surveyed by the RACV, but at $196,27 per week it is as pricey to own and run as some of the most expensive small-cars. Four-cylinders in Ford’s petrol Mondeo and Toyota’s Camry were almost lineball for second place, followed by the Mazda6 petrol, Honda Accord Euro, Mondeo diesel and Subaru’s Liberty.

“Another surprising result was that the four-cylinder Subaru Liberty 2.5i at $233.30 per week in the medium-car category cost more to run than a six-cylinder Aurion AT-X, which cost $7.10 less in the large-car category,” said Mr Case.

The merits of LPG power were again highlighted by the survey’s large-car results, which saw both LPG versions of the Commodore and Falcon produce lower costs than their petrol equivalents.

Toyota’s Aurion was still the cheapest large sedan to run however, at $226.20 per week. While that’s $25.76 per week more than last year’s winner, the Mitsubishi 380, it’s also a little over $2.00 less than the entry-level dedicated-LPG Falcon E-Gas sedan ($228.74) and more than $11 less than the base dual-fuel Commodore ($237.77).

Petrol versions of both cars were more expensive again, with the Commodore Omega costing $239.44 and the new FG-series Falcon XT the most expensive in the field at $242.47 per week.

“That’s an interesting finding. Certainly the dedicated LPG Falcon has been an attractive proposition in terms of fuel costs, but unfortunately it doesn’t translate into being the cheapest to own and operate in the large-car category.

“Unlike last year’s results, Holden’s Commodore fared marginally better than its’ arch rival, the Ford Falcon, but the Aurion, with a lower purchase price and quite economical running costs, is the cheapest to own and operate in that category,” said Mr Case.

Since the 2007 survey, the running costs of a Falcon had increased 5.8 per cent or $13.34 a week, while the Commodore’s running costs went up by only 2.6 per cent or $6.04 per week.

Honda’s CR-V emerged as the cheapest compact SUV to run, despite increasing by more than $10 or five per cent since last year. Its $214-per-week figure is about midway between the best medium and large models surveyed, followed closely by Subaru’s Forester, Toyota’s RAV4 and the Nissan X-Trail.

Top honours in the newly merged medium SUV/seven-seater segment went to Kia’s Carnival people-mover, which was $10 better than the rest at $229.90. Honda’s Odyssey was the next best, but Toyota’s Tarago, the third people-mover in the group, was one of the most expensive at $283.18.

In between were the Ford Territory RWD ($245.76), which surprisingly bettered the Holden Captiva diesel ($247.82), the Captiva petrol ($251.97), Kluger 2WD ($263.53), Territory AWD ($266.39) and Kluger AWD ($284.70).

“Interestingly we found that the four-cylinder Toyota Tarago cost nearly $20 a week more to run than a Kluger and almost $40 more than a Ford Territory, both two-wheel drive model variants. However, these findings reflect the Tarago’s higher purchase price rather than increased fuel costs,” said Mr Case.

“We had some interesting results with medium SUVs where the 4WD versions cost owners nearly $20 a week more on average to run than the 2WD variants,” he said.

The closely-fought 4x2 commercial sector was headed by Ford’s FG Falcon LPG ute, which was the only entrant to cost less than $200 per week, while the 4x4 utility segment win went to Ford’s Ranger diesel, from similar two-door versions of Mitsubishi’s Triton V6 and Toyota’s diesel HiLux.

Toyota’s LandCruiser GXL turbo-diesel was named the most expensive large SUV to run for the third consecutive year, despite significant advances made by the new 200 Series version, including its 4.5-litre turbo-disel V8. Nonetheless, it was found to be $44 dearer to run than its 4.2-litre diesel 100 Series forebear.

“We calculated that the Landcruiser would cost more than $400 a week to own and run, which is more than it would cost you to run a Toyota Corolla and a HiLux 4x4 together,” Mr Case said.

Nissan’s Patrol diesel was more than $90 a week cheaper to run at $309.36 - enough to top the category - with the petrol version $50 more expensive at $360.76 and the LandCruiser V8 petrol within $20 of its diesel stablemate at $382.89.

Mr Case said the growing disparity between the running costs of small passenger cars and large SUVs would surprise some people.

“In absolute terms some people may get a surprise at the total cost of owning and operating a vehicle. Most people just see the regular running costs and don’t think about the ownership costs, but when it’s all added up it’s a substantial chunk of many people’s budgets.

“There is a huge difference in the most expensive vehicle to own and operate, being the Toyota LandCruiser GLX turbo-diesel, versus the cheapest - the Hyundai Getz.” There’s a huge difference and the gap is getting even wider,” said Mr Case.

Indeed, at $278.70, the weekly running cost difference would be enough to run two Suzuki Swifts or a Territory AWD.

2008 RACV Vehicle Operating Costs Survey results
Light:
Hyundai Getz S 1.4L 3dr	$122.83
Holden Barina 1.6L 3dr	$131.12
Toyota Yaris YR 1.3L 3dr	$131.67
Kia Rio LX 1.4L 5dr	$132.69
Suzuki Swift EZ 1.5L 5dr	$132.92
Mazda Mazda2 Neo 1.5L 5dr	$142.04
Volkswagen Polo Club 1.4L 3dr	$143.33
Volkswagen Polo TDI 1.9L 5dr (diesel)	$157.37

Small:
Hyundai i30 SX CRDi 1.6L 5dr (a) (diesel)	$151.55
Hyundai i30 SX 2.0L 5dr	$152.08
Honda Civic VTi 1.8L 4dr (a)	$162.12
Holden Astra CD 1.8L 5dr (a)	$162.43
Ford Focus CL 2.0L 5dr (a)	$162.72
Mitsubishi Lancer ES 2.0L 4dr (a)	$164.04
Toyota Corolla Ascent 1.8L 5dr (a)	$164.91
Mazda3 Neo 2.0L 5dr (a)	$169.80
Ford Focus TDCi 2.0L 5dr (diesel)	$173.55
Honda Civic Hybrid 1.4L (a)	$185.05
Mazda Mazda3 Diesel 2.0L 5dr	$185.68
Holden Astra CDTi 1.9L 5dr (a) (diesel)	$186.97
Toyota Prius Hybrid 1.5L 5dr (a)	$211.19

Medium:
Holden Epica CDX 2.5L 4dr (a)	$196.27
Ford Mondeo LX 2.3L 4dr (a)	$205.01
Toyota Camry Altise 2.4L 4dr (a)	$205.50
Mazda Mazda6 Ltd 2.5L 4dr (a)	$211.20
Honda Accord Euro 2.4L 4dr (a)	$225.99
Ford Mondeo TDCi 2.0L 4dr (a) (diesel)	$230.00
Subaru Liberty 2.5i 2.5L 4dr (a)	$233.30

Large:
Toyota Aurion AT-X 3.5L 4dr (a)	$226.20
Ford FG Falcon XT 4.0L LPG 4dr (a)	$228.74
Holden Commodore Omega Dual Fuel 3.6L 4dr (a)	$237.77
Holden Commodore Omega 3.6L 4dr (a)	$239.44
Ford FG Falcon XT 4.0L 4dr (a)	$242.47

Compact SUV:
Honda CRV 2.4L 5dr (a)	$214.08
Subaru Forester 2.5L 5dr (a)	$217.92
Toyota RAV4 CV 2.4L 5dr (a)	$219.05
Nissan X-Trail ST 2.5L 5dr (a)	$221.54

Medium SUV/Seven-seaters:
Kia Carnival EX 2.7L 5dr (a)	$229.90
Honda Odyssey 2.4L 5dr (a)	$239.36
Ford Territory TX 4.0L 5dr (a)	$245.76
Holden Captiva CX 2.0L 5dr (a) (diesel)	$247.82
Holden Captiva CX 3.2L 5dr (a)	$251.97
Ford Territory TX AWD 4.0L 5dr (a)	$266.39
Toyota Kluger KX-R 3.5L 5dr (a)	$263.53
Toyota Tarago GLi 2.4L 5dr (a)	$283.18
Toyota Kluger KX-R (4x4) 3.5L 5dr (a)	$284.70

Large SUV:
Nissan Patrol DX 3.0L 5dr (a) (diesel)	$309.36
Nissan Patrol ST-L 4.8L 5dr (a)	$360.76
Toyota Landcruiser GXL 4.7L 5dr (a)	$382.89
Toyota Landcruiser GXL 4.5L 5dr (a) (diesel)	$401.53

Commercial 4x2:
Ford FG Falcon LPG 4.0L 2dr ute (a)	$199.72
Toyota Hilux SR 4.0L 2dr ute	$200.25
Holden Commodore Omega 3.6L 2dr ute (a)	$204.45
Holden Commodore Omega 3.6L 2dr ute	$204.84
Toyota Hilux SR 3.0L 2dr ute (diesel)	$208.94
Ford FG Falcon 4.0L 2dr ute	$213.56
Ford FG Falcon 4.0L 2dr ute (a)	$215.96

Commercial 4x4:
Ford Ranger XL 3.0L 2dr ute (diesel)	$219.44
Mitsubishi Triton GLX 3.5L 2dr ute	$224.51
Toyota Hilux SR (4x4) 3.0L 2dr ute (diesel)	$232.89