Cost Of Running Britains Most Popular Cars
When looking to buy a new car there is a lot to take into account before you make a final decision, including performance, efficiency and comfort. But undoubtedly the most important factor is the cost - not only of the car itself, but also the extra cash needed to run it.
To help discover the running costs of a car, we can reveal a new criteria to help you choose your next set of wheels: cost per mile (CPM). CPM takes into account numerous cost factors associated with owning a car and can determine how much each car costs per mile, as well as the total average annual cost of running your chosen vehicle.
The CPM is calculated using data for the following annual costs: fuel and car insurance, breakdown cover and maintenance, and road tax. As the average UK mileage is 7,400 miles, we then divided the annual price for each factor by this number to reveal the CPM for each of the most popular new cars on sale.
Top three cars with the lowest running costs
Kia Picanto: £1,372.63 per year, £0.19 CPM
Since its introduction in 2004, the smallest model in the Kia family has become one of the UK's most popular small cars due to its low cost and practicality. This low cost is reflected in the CPM which is the lowest in the country at 19p or £1,373 per year, with the insurance cost of £232.95 per year a major contributing factor.
Citroen C1: £1,383.50 per year, 0.19 CPM
Second place in the rankings goes to a French supermini, the Citroen C1. This modern-day answer to the classic cheap-as-chips Citroen 2CV has exceptionally low running costs of less than £1,400pa. This is helped by the fact that it has a high miles per gallon (MPG) and thus only costs £606.83 per year in fuel. It just misses out on number one because it is more expensive to insure than the Picanto.
Peugeot 108: £1,405.32 per year, 0.19 CPM
Another small city car from France is up next with the Peugeot 108 costing £1,405 in annual running costs, this equates to a CPM of 19p. The price of insuring the 108 is just under ...
