Cheapest to run: old diesel or used Japanese car

The cheapest car to own is not new: an old diesel or a Japanese one

It does not exist. No brand-new utility car deserves the title of "most economical," and the conclusion from searches made in early 2014 is uncomfortable for the industry: the car that is cheapest to buy, maintain, with low consumption and few taxes is not in a showroom, but in a second-hand ad.

The approach was simple. Find the utility car that cost the least to buy, maintain, and refuel, and that paid the least in taxes. Under this definition, everything from a junk €1,500 diesel to a ten-year-old Japanese petrol car fits. The answer changes depending on how much weight each word carries.

The knock-down old diesel: 3 liters per 100 km

A Citroën Saxo 1.5D or a Peugeot 106 with mechanical injection range around €1,000-1,500, and consume figures that shame any current hybrid: 3.5 liters per 100 km on average, and close to 3 if driving at 90 km/h. They accept homemade biodiesel and, in summer, even oil. A search on an ads portal with a diesel filter and a cap of €1,500 returns, according to calculations, more than two dozen units. Raising it to €2,000-3,000 reveals an Ibiza TDI with three cylinders and 75 HP attributed a consumption of 4 liters.

The counterweight is honest and harsh: they are dangerous, slow, unstable, and uncomfortable, with tractor-like vibrations and an unpleasant clutch. Lightening them inside and lowering the suspension improves consumption, not safety.

The five or six-year-old Japanese car, the strongest consensus

A five to six-year-old Japanese petrol utility car can be bought for €3,000-5,000 and lasts for years. The most repeated case: a Yaris acquired with four years and 64,000 kilometers for €5,000 that, thirteen years and 180,000 kilometers later, remains in the family without a single breakdown. Another Yaris, a D4D from 2002, accumulated eleven years and 200,000 kilometers like the first day, sleeping on the street and with only one burnt-out light in its history.

Consumptions range between 5 liters for an Aygo and 5.5-6 for a Yaris, both with the same 1.0 VVT-i engine. A Micra is described as tough and frugal. The recommendation is repeated: Japanese, petrol, and well-maintained.

What new car can you buy for less than €8,000?

Buying new is not impossible, but the margin is narrow. A new Kia Picanto was offered for about €5,800 with a 1.0 engine and seven years warranty. A Nissan Micra with 80 HP, for €7,990 with air conditioning, ABS, ESP, power windows, and hands-free. A Suzuki Alto, for €7,900 including the PIVE plan. A Dacia Sandero, for €8,300 in petrol, with the spare wheel as an extra.

The fine print matters: the PIVE plan and financing part of the car are conditions for those prices. And scarce equipment, it is argued, also means fewer breakdowns.

Minimizing price is not seeking the best value

Paying the minimum for a new urban car and maximizing the quality-price ratio are different strategies, and confusing them leads to senseless comparisons. To those who defend the smallest car, the response is that a used Skoda Fabia offers more cabin space, more than double the trunk capacity, and better equipment for barely €600 more spread over the vehicle's lifetime. The reply comes quickly: if one always maximized that coefficient, one would end up buying a higher-range model just because it gives a lot for little, and then the next one, without stopping.

Some buy the minimum by conviction, not calculation. And others recall that neither electric nor hybrids solve anything: the former are outrageously expensive and the latter, a wishful thinking.

The crash test almost nobody looks at

Not everything is consumption. For those who drive many highways, circulating in a sardine tin has a cost that doesn't show up in the calculator. EuroNCAP went so far as to downgrade stars for older models when tightening its tests, so a four-star rating from 2002 is not equivalent to one from 2010. In cars of 900-1,000 kg, it is advisable to demand five stars; in higher categories, five if new and four or five if used.

Is it worth converting the car to LPG?

Refueling at €0.75 per liter and moving with 40% less cost is tempting on paper. Arithmetic, however, rules: in a modest utility car with few kilometers, the conversion does not pay off. For those who drive many kilometers and have stations nearby, the calculation changes and it may break even in two or three years.

The category remains orphaned. The Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, was never sold in developed markets, and no manufacturer has made low cost their banner. With these elements, it is likely that the throne of the most economical car remains in the hands of a second-hand Yaris, although nobody should bet against a €1,500 diesel Saxo while the ITV allows it to circulate.