The cheapest cars to own and operate in 2024

We’ve all been talking about new car prices and how they’ve pushed many potential buyers out of the hunt, but what about the costs after the purchase? After all, the money you plunk down at the dealer is only the beginning, as there are fuel costs, insurance, and more to worry about. Online driver’s ed provider Zutobi recently released a study of the most and least expensive vehicles to operat, and the cheapest models might look foreign to many U.S. motorists.

They’re foreign because they’re small, relatively affordable cars, which seem to have fallen out of favor in our SUV- and truck-crazy car markets. The Honda Fit was the cheapest car to operate, with an annual cost of $5,348. The Hyundai Accent was second at $5,468, and the Honda Civic came third at $5,480. The top 10 cheapest cars to run include:

1. Honda Fit (2018): $5,348
2. Hyundai Accent: $5,468
3. Honda Civic: $5,480
4. Mini Cooper Convertible: $5,543
5. Toyota Yaris (2020): $5,615
6. Toyota RAV4: $5,618
7. Toyota Corolla: $5,627
8. Nissan Rogue: $5,654
9. Honda CR-V: $5,656
10. Subaru Forester: $5,656

While many of the vehicles on that list are among the most reliable models on sale, Zutobi didn’t look at repair costs for its averages. The total cost to run each car is calculated with annual fuel and insurance costs, so while the Toyota RAV4 costs the same to insure as the Honda Fit ($1,440), the RAV4’s higher fuel costs knocked it down the list a bit.

Zutobi also calculated the most expensive vehicles to own and operate, and unsurprisingly, there are plenty of large trucks and SUVs. The most expensive model was the Ford F-150 Raptor with the 37-inch tire option, clocking in at $7,681. The GMC Sierra came in at $7,301, and the Toyota 4Runner landed at $6,974.