Study reveals cheapest car to run

An electric car is as expensive to run as a four-wheel drive a recent study from a peak motoring body has found.

The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA) said it has identified the cheapest – and most expensive cars to own and run.

While electricity is about a third of the price of petrol, the study shows owners going green don’t stand to save much money after taking into account the purchase price, fuel, repairs and depreciation.

“Some of the electric vehicles are as dear as four-wheel drives to run when you look at the overall cost of running them over five years,” Mark Borlace from the RAA said.

According to the survey, the cheapest electric car costs $278 a week – on par with a Jeep four-wheel drive.

The study found the Suzuki Alto is the cheapest overall at $120 per week.

The Nissan V8 Patrol came in the dearest at $430 a week.

“The four-wheel drive was three times as dear to run as the small car,” Mr Borlace said.

The Volkswagen Jetta took pole position in the medium category ($198), while in the large car category, the new VF Holden Commodore EVOKE LPG ($226) shot to the front of the pack.

Hyundai’s Santa Fe took the honours in the compact SUV class ($242), narrowly beating Holden’s Captiva ($243).

Mr Borlace said: “This SUV has probably become the new family car.”

He said the key to saving money when buying a new car is to think about the vehicle you need – not just the car you want.

“The biggest mistake they can do is to fall in love with the big red one and just buy it on emotion and find out later they depreciate badly or are expensive to run,” Mr Borlace said.