Least Expensive Luxury Car to Drive is a Hybrid

Forbes listed the top 10 luxury cars (based on the work by Vincentric, a Detroit-based automotive data firm) which won't cost you a bundle to drive, at least once you've paid to purchase. If you have to ask how much it costs to buy these cars in the first place, you're not welcome on the sales floor.

Of the top 10 luxury cars that are the cheapest to operate, the RX 400h comes in first. At $41,895 MSRP, this is an expensive car to buy. But once you do, Vincentric estimates it will only cost you an additional $12,091 over 5 years to operate.

They estimate the costs based on fuel and costs for repair and maintenance. Since the Rx400h gets 32 mpg city/ 27 mpg highway, the luxury hybrid from Lexus rates very high when estimating operating costs

"It's not exclusively about fuel," says David Wurster, co-founder and president of Vincentric, "But of course fuel is important, and it's the biggest factor."