Despite high gas prices and general economic uncertainty, many consumers are still in need of sport utility vehicles and are looking for the best values in the marketplace. A study by Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, reveals that the Jeep Patriot is the least expensive sport utility vehicle to own. The results are based on Edmunds.com's True Cost to OwnSM data, which incorporates projected model-specific average vehicle ownership costs, consisting of depreciation, financing, taxes, fees, insurance premiums, fuel costs, maintenance and repairs. Edmunds.com's True Cost to OwnSM data accounts for total vehicle costs over a five-year period.
"Even though gas prices are high, some consumers are still in search of a sport utility vehicle to meet their needs,"said Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis, Edmunds.com. "For those consumers, vehicles like the Jeep Patriot and Nissan Rogue are relative bargains in their segments."The following True Cost to OwnSM data is based on a price of $4.09 per gallon for regular gasoline (the national average on July 15):
Compact Sport Utility Vehicles
Make Model Style Cost-Per-Mile
Jeep Patriot Sport 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 5M) $0.486
Mazda Tribute i Sport 4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl 5M) $0.494
Jeep Compass Sport 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 5M) $0.505
Honda CR-V LX 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 5A) $0.514
Hyundai Tucson GLS 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl 5M) $0.524
Midsize Sport Utility Vehicles
Make Model Style Cost-Per-Mile
Nissan Rogue S 4dr SUV (2.5L 4cyl CVT) $0.536
Toyota RAV4 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 4A) $0.548
Saturn VUE XE 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 4A) $0.549
Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 4dr SUV (2.7L 6cyl 5M) $0.593
Suzuki XL7 4dr SUV (3.6L 6cyl 5A) $0.603
"One of the most telling aspects of TCOSM is how vehicles with similar initial costs can have very different total ownership costs, primarily as a result of dissimilar depreciation rates," said Joe Spina, Senior Remarketing Manager, Edmunds.com. "Almost counter-intuitively, large SUV's are now being discounted so heavily that ownership costs have dropped to the point that they are actually a good buy for the right consumer — someone who needs an SUV and plans on keeping it for several years."
Edmunds.com's True Cost to OwnSM 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
Edmunds.com True Cost to OwnSM is available at no charge to Web site visitors, and provides ownership costs regionally for both new and used vehicles. The True Cost to OwnSM tool is available at http://www.edmunds.com/apps/cto/CTOintroController.
About Edmunds Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)
Edmunds Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value®, is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site. AutoObserver.com launched in 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.
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