Chevy Aveo Beats Out Hybrid Cars in Cost to Own Study From Edmunds

Edmunds, in their latest study , makes the obvious point that, if you're just looking to save money on a car, a small, cheap car is your...

Edmunds, in their latest study, makes the obvious point that, if you're just looking to save money on a car, a small, cheap car is your best bet. Hybrids, since they are more expensive, aren't the 'best value.'

Does anyone really buy a hybrid because they believe they are going to be saving money? I think they buy them because 1) they are green and/or 2) they use less gasoline and 3) they get to buy a larger car than they expected and still do 1 and 2. No one buys a hybrid because it is going to save them money.

In the end, very few people buy a new car in order to save money.

If you really wanted the best value, you would buy a used, small, cheap car and drive it until it died. Then replace it with another small, cheap car that you can drive into the ground.

I can't really emphasize this enough. If you're buying a hybrid car, you're getting more for less. Now, since not all hybrids are built for fuel efficiency, I can't say you're necessarily getting more fuel efficiency, but I can say you're getting a car that's more efficient. It all depends on what the manufacturer wants to emphasize.

But, anyways, back to the Edmunds study. The best car to buy, if you are worried about the value, is the Chevy Aveo. Edmunds 'True Cost to Own' study "incorporates projected model-specific average vehicle ownership costs, consisting of depreciation, financing, taxes, fees, insurance premiums, fuel costs, maintenance and repairs."

If you factor in all these, the Chevy Aveo will cost you under 43 cents a mile to own. The Prius costs you 50 cents a mile to own, putting it 34th on the list. It was surpassed by the Honda Civic Hybrid, which costs just under 48 cents a mile. That puts the Civic Hybrid in 14th place on the Edmunds list.

Not surprisingly, all hybrids were not built equal, and so the cost to own a hybrid varies wildly. From the aforementioned Civic Hybrid right down to the Lexus RX 400h (which was built for luxury and performance, not primarily for fuel efficiency) which ranks 260. The Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUVs do very well, coming in at 94 and 102, respectively.

The really nice thing about this study is they even take into account the federal tax credit, where applicable.


Cost-Per-Mile: Least Expensive Vehicles to Own
Make
Model
Style
Cost-Per-Mile at $4.06 Per Gallon Rank Cost-Per-Mile at $5 Per Gallon Rank Cost-Per-Mile at $6 Per Gallon Rank
Chevrolet
Aveo
5 Special Value 4dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl 5M)
$0.427 1 $0.461 1 $0.496 1












Hyundai
Accent
GS 2dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl 5M)
$0.430 2 $0.463 2 $0.498 2












Honda
Fit
4dr Hatchback (1.5L 4cyl 5M)
$0.442 3 $0.474 3 $0.507 4












Toyota
Yaris
2dr Hatchback (1.5L 4cyl 5M)
$0.445 4 $0.475 4 $0.507 3












Honda
Civic
DX 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
$0.455 5 $0.488 5 $0.522 5












Nissan
Versa
1.8 S 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl 6M)
$0.458 6 $0.492 6 $0.529 7












Mazda
MAZDA3
i Sport 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
$0.463 7 $0.498 8 $0.535 11












Kia
Rio
4dr Sedan (1.6L 4cyl 5M)
$0.464 8 $0.497 7 $0.533 9












Scion
xB
4dr Wagon (2.4L 4cyl 5M)
$0.467 9 $0.506 12 $0.548 17












Toyota
Corolla
CE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
$0.468 10 $0.498 9 $0.530 8

The following are the 10 least expensive hybrid vehicles to own (all 2008 models):

Cost-Per-Mile: Hybrids1

Make
Model
Style
Cost-Per-Mile at $4.06 Per Gallon Rank Cost-Per-Mile at $5 Per Gallon Rank Cost-Per-Mile at $6 Per Gallon Rank
Honda
Civic Hybrid
Hybrid 4dr Sedan (1.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
$0.476 14 $0.499 10 $0.524 6












Toyota
Prius
Standard 4dr Hatchback (1.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
$0.503 34 $0.525 26 $0.548 18












Nissan
Altima Hybrid
4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
$0.540 66 $0.569 59 $0.601 54












Chevrolet
Malibu
Hybrid 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid 4A)
$0.563 81 $0.598 78 $0.635 76












Ford
Escape Hybrid
4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
$0.583 94 $0.615 86 $0.649 80












Mercury
Mariner Hybrid
4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
$0.596 102 $0.628 98 $0.662 89












Toyota
Camry Hybrid
Hybrid 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
$0.630 134 $0.660 118 $0.691 106












Mercury
Mariner Hybrid
4dr SUV AWD (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
$0.634 136 $0.670 133 $0.709 122












Toyota
Highlander Hybrid
4dr SUV AWD (3.3L 6cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
$0.725 190 $0.764 190 $0.806 182












Lexus
RX 400h
4dr SUV (3.3L 6cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
$0.897 260 $0.937 260 $0.980 256

1 The Edmunds.com study takes into account the federal tax credits when applicable.

Edmunds calculations make the following assumptions:
  • Ownership expenses are for a five-year time span
  • Vehicles are driven 15,000 miles per year
  • Vehicles are financed using traditional financing and not leased
  • Buyers pay 10 percent down on the vehicle
  • Buyers are in the "Gold" credit tier for the purpose of determining the finance rate
  • The loan term is 60 months
  • Buyers represent the average demographic in their state for insurance rates
The data is available at no charge to visitors, and provides ownership costs regionally for both new and used vehicles. The tool is available at http://www.edmunds.com/apps/cto/CTOintroController.

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