The true cost of a car or truck is much more than just the price you pay to buy it. It’s the cost of fuel or electricity and insurance, as well as maintenance and repairs, and the price of its depreciation. All of these vary with every vehicle. The research firm Vincentric, LLC looks at all these anticipated costs for the automotive industry, and every year announces the new vehicles it considers to have the best projected value in Canada, taken over the next five years.
The list is often dominated by Toyota, owing to the brand’s high residual values, and in the U.S., Toyota and Lexus again won the titles of Best Passenger Car Brand, Best Luxury Car Brand and Best SUV and Van Brand. In Canada, however, the passenger car title was won by Mini and the luxury car title by Tesla.
Tesla also was declared Best Luxury SUV Brand in both Canada and the U.S., while Ram took the Canadian title for Best Truck Brand and Ford took the U.S. truck title.
“The methodology is the same, but the prices are different” for both fuel and residual values, says Vincentric president David Wurster. In Canada, we also prefer our trucks to have all-wheel drive; that’s why Ram took the title here over Ford, which is deemed better value for two-wheel drive pickups.
Why is Tesla considered a luxury brand? “They started as luxury and we’ve kept them there, but it’s been raised as an issue here, whether we should move them back as a brand,” says Wurster. “We haven’t done that yet, but we may.”
Electric and plug-in-hybrid vehicles skewed their brands toward winning because the cost of electricity is usually so much lower than gasoline, and maintenance is often lower too. Wurster acknowledges that Mini took the Canadian passenger car title on the strength of its EV model. In its calculations, Vincentric used only the price of electricity supplied to the home, not the price of charging at a public charger, which can sometimes be 10 times that cost. Owners of EVs who do not have access to a home charger will pay significantly more in both cost and their time to charge their vehicles.
“Governments want EVs, and the car companies have been following the government lead, but at some point, for this to work, consumers have to want them,” says Wurster. “For that, the prices need to come down, but that’s what this data shows us is happening.”
The Vincentric awards are driven by data and determined by dispassionate statistics. They do not consider future reliability or practicality, but use mathematics to predict which vehicles will actually have the lowest ownership costs below the expected costs for their market segment and price, over the next five years. Residual values are estimated from leasing agreements and future prices suggested by Canadian Black Book and ALG, among others.
For car buyers, Wurster says the Vincentric awards are a good place to start – to consider which vehicles are likely to give the best value. “But then, you kind of need to look at your own situation. Do I drive a lot? That impacts it. Start here, but then dig in and do your shopping.”
Here are all the category winners:
Best passenger car
Compact hatchback – Mini Cooper EV
The all-electric Mini Cooper was shown to have the best value, lowest maintenance cost, lowest operating cost and lowest total cost of ownership in its class.
Subcompact – Nissan Versa
Nissan’s smallest vehicle has the best value, the lowest depreciation cost, the lowest fixed cost, the lowest maintenance cost, the lowest insurance cost and the lowest total cost of ownership in its class.
Compact – Hyundai Elantra Hybrid
The hybrid version of the Elantra has the best fuel economy, the lowest operating costs, the lowest repair costs and the best overall value in its class. The Toyota Corolla Hybrid, however, has the lowest cost to own in Canada.
Midsize – Toyota Prius Prime
The plug-in hybrid Prius has the highest resale value after five years and lowest depreciation cost and rate, the lowest fixed costs and the best value in its class.
Sports car – Mazda MX-5
This is the ninth consecutive win for Mazda’s little gas-powered convertible, which has the lowest operating costs, lowest repair costs, lowest total cost of ownership and best overall value in its class.
Best luxury car
Luxury compact – Tesla Model 3
Tesla’s entry-level sedan has the best fuel economy, the lowest insurance cost, the lowest maintenance cost, the lowest operating cost, lowest total cost of ownership and the best value in its class.
Luxury coupe and convertible – Audi A5
Both the coupe and convertible versions of Audi’s gas-powered A5 have the lowest maintenance cost, lowest operating cost and best value in their class. The coupe also has the lowest insurance cost and the lowest total cost of ownership, while the convertible has the best fuel economy in its class. The BMW Z4, however, has the lowest cost to own for a luxury convertible in Canada.
Luxury midsize sedan – Polestar Polestar2
The all-electric fastback from Volvo’s luxury brand has the highest resale value after five years with the lowest depreciation cost and rate, the lowest fixed cost, lowest insurance cost, lowest total cost of ownership and best value in its class.
Luxury large sedan – Tesla Model S
Tesla’s original sedan has the lowest maintenance cost, lowest operating cost, lowest total cost of ownership and best value in its class.
Luxury wagon – Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid
Volvo’s plug-in hybrid station wagon has the best fuel economy, lowest insurance cost, lowest operating cost, lowest total cost of ownership and best overall value in its class. This is the fourth overall win for the V60.
Luxury sports car – Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet’s iconic sports car won for the fourth time, with the best value in its class. The Toyota GR Supra, however, has the lowest cost to own in Canada.
Best SUV and van
Subcompact SUV – Kia Niro EV
Kia’s all-electric SUV has the highest resale value after five years and lowest depreciation rate and was the best value in its class. The Niro plug-in hybrid, however, has the lowest cost to own in Canada.
Compact SUV – Hyundai Ioniq 5
Hyundai’s all-electric SUV has the best value in its class. The Mazda MX-30, however, has the lowest cost to own in Canada.
Midsize SUV – Chevrolet Blazer EV
Chevrolet’s new all-electric SUV has the best fuel economy, lowest operating cost, lowest total cost of ownership and best value in its class.
Large SUV – Toyota Sequoia
This is the 10th win for Toyota’s gas-powered SUV, which has the lowest depreciation cost and rate, the lowest repair cost, the highest resale value after five years, the best fuel economy and the best value in its class. The Dodge Durango, however, has the lowest cost to own in Canada.
Minivan – Toyota Sienna
Toyota’s hybrid minivan has the lowest depreciation cost and rate, the lowest fixed cost, the lowest insurance cost, the lowest total cost of ownership, the highest resale value after five years and the best value in its class. This is the sixth win for Sienna.
Best luxury SUV
Luxury compact SUV – Tesla Model Y
Tesla’s best-selling SUV has the lowest maintenance cost, the lowest total cost of ownership, the best fuel economy and the best value in its class.
Luxury midsize SUV – Kia EV9
Kia’s new all-electric SUV has the lowest depreciation cost, lowest fixed cost, lowest insurance cost, lowest operating cost, lowest repair cost, lowest total cost of ownership and the best value in its class.
Luxury large SUV – Mercedes-Benz EQS
The big all-electric Mercedes has the best fuel economy, lowest operating cost, and best value in its class. The Infiniti QX60, however, has the lowest cost to own in Canada.
Best truck
Small/midsize pickup – Ford Maverick hybrid
Ford’s little hybrid pickup truck has the lowest insurance cost, lowest maintenance cost, lowest operating cost, lowest total cost of ownership, best fuel economy and best value in its class.
½-tonne pickup – Ford F-150 Lightning
Ford’s all-electric F-150 has the lowest maintenance cost, lowest operating cost, lowest total cost of ownership, best fuel economy and best value in its class. This is the 11th win for the F-150.
¾-tonne and 1-tonne pickup – Ram 2500/3500
The big Ram trucks each have the highest resale value after five years, the lowest depreciation cost and rate, the lowest fixed cost, the lowest total cost of ownership and the best value in their class.
