Running Costs: Toyota ranked by model
Running Costs: Toyota ranked by model
By Martin Pretorius
Ranked from cheapest to most expensive, and using data from the 2017 Kinsey Report, here's a summary of the running costs of Toyota's model range.
The smallest car with the smallest engine uses the least fuel. And because its little 1.0-litre 3-cylinder engine has one spark plug less than any of the others, its servicing costs are the lowest as well. If you want to economise, this is the Toyota to go for.
The new Yaris uses a derivative of the Etios's 1.5-litre engine, and should thus have similar parts prices and fuel consumption, but because it only needs to be serviced every 15 000 km, it will cost less to maintain in the long term.
Service parts are quite affordable, even for a budget car, and it's not terribly heavy on fuel either. However, because its service intervals are set at 10 000 km, it will cost more to maintain than the Yaris (which can go 50% longer between services) would.
4. Toyota Quest/Corolla/Auris
Because their engines are somewhat more advanced than those in the cheaper Toyotas, the Corolla triplets will incur slightly higher maintenance costs over the long term. This is however offset against 15 000 km service intervals, meaning that it won't require attention as frequently as an Etios...
With modern technology comes increased maintenance requirements, and the C-HR will be no exception to this rule. Its turbo-charged 1.2-litre engine is very parsimonious, but spark plugs and oil are of a higher grade than they would be for its simpler siblings. There's also more complexity to deal with when servicing, which will chase labour charges upwards as well. Still, its exemplary fuel consumption should offset that to some degree.
6. Toyota Hilux and Fortuner
Most of the engine derivatives in this range are fueled with diesel, which does bring some fuel savings to the bargain. However, diesel maintenance is traditionally more expensive over the long run, due to more-frequent fuel filter changes and the complexity of the injection system. Meanwhile, the petrol variants are very thirsty, so their fuel use will offset their cheaper maintenance requirements...
The Prado will have similar maintenance costs to those of the equivalent Fortuners, because they use mostly (previous-generation) Hilux/Fortuner mechanical bits. However, the Prado will be significantly heavier on fuel, which slots it behind its smaller siblings.
The big-body VX-R is the most expensive of the bunch in all respects, with a very complex diesel engine (meaning lots of expensive things to possibly go wrong) and a great appetite for fuel (due to its heft and power). Then again, if you can afford a Cruiser 200, chances are that you're not too concerned about fuel- and maintenance costs in any event...